Kalbarri to Perth

After leaving Shark Bay we began the run into Perth. Our first stop was Kalbarri and was also where the bad weather started which would haunt us for the next 2 weeks.

The drive into Kalbarri through the Kalbarri National Park.

The river mouth.

The afternoon and night on the day we arrived the "Zest Festival" just so happened to be on. It is a festival in rememberance of the several Dutch ship wrecks that occurred along this coastline in the 1700's. The locals held a re-enactment on the beach/jetty just inside the river mouth. 

The bonfire was very welcome as the cold weather swept in.

The next day we continued south and luckily had some fine weather for the morning. We took the coast road through the national park and checked out several of the marked locations to view the "Kalbarri Cliffs".

Once out of the park and a bit further south we reached "Port Gregory" which is just a small fishing town. The highlight was the incredible pink lake that surrounded the town. The photo below has not been enhanced and althought it looks like a photoshop experiment it is a true representation of the colour. 

The lake is part of the salt farm and the colour is from high levels of beta-carotene (a harmless and cancer fighting algae) that naturally occurs and thrives in the conditions. You swear your eyes are playing tricks on you but they're not. Pretty cool!

From here we made our way through the Chapman Valley to Getaldton. The weather continued to get worse and further south along the entire WA coast the winds were even stronger so we decided to bunker down for a couple of nights and wait for it to pass (hopefully). After one night in the tent with no sleep due to the car swaying side to side and feeling like we were in a cyclone, we decided to get a cabin for the second night. 

The Lighthouse in Getaldton. 

After two nights and one day sitting inside several coffee shops and Internet cafes, we continued south into the horrible weather. We didn't get out of the car too often or take many photos but from what I could tell the section of coast from here all the way to Perth was pretty uninspiring anyway so we didn't miss much. 

Dynamite Bay, Green Head. 

Our next camping spot was Jurien Bay (above). After one night of rain we woke to blue skies finally. Not much happening in this town. As with pretty much all of the towns along this stretch of coast, they are sleepy fishing towns and the beaches seem ok but were all covered in stinking sea grass.

After leaving Jurien Bay we headed south to "Cerventes" ( another sleepy fishing town). Just out if town lies the "Nambung National Park". The major feature within the park are "The Pinnacles Desert". It consists of pillar like rock formations sticking out of the sand.

The Pinnacles Desert drive below. 

With view down to the ocean this was an amazing drive through the rock formations.

A bit further south but still in the nation park we came to one if many small shack villages that line the coastline. 

More sea grass. 

The shacks.

Lancelin.

After finally making our way to Perth we spent 4 nights/3 days enjoying an apartment and city luxuries. After months mostly camping we certainly needed a break. We didn't get that many photos of Perth as we wanted a break from the cameras too but here a couple we managed to get.

We hired a bike for a day and rode around South Perth and through Kings Park to the botanic gardens. Although neither of us like to be in large cities for too long, we both loved Perth. 

The botanic gardens. 

Whilst in Perth we went to the Casino twice and had mixed luck and also went out for dinner with my long lost second cousin Karren which was a great night.