G'day mate! Welcome to our first glimpses of Australia's west coast. I think you will enjoy what you see. More dramatic coastlines, lots of sandy beaches and an increased focus on marine wildlife. My first impressions is that the west coast is being developed more fully as a holiday destination similar to the coastline south of Perth.
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| Watching over me as I park my car |
The weather continues to be hot and sunny. The average daily temp is 35C (95F) with an average night time low around 25C (77F). It can get toasty inland from the coast where the temperature rises to 40C (104F). The continuing good news is the heatwave warnings have disappeared, at least temporarily. The only cyclone activity forecast is far off shore. There was a cyclone that did make landfall on the northern coast last week a safe distance from where I'm traveling.
I just know how much my North American friends like to read about this Australian weather and these temperatures as they enjoy a snowy and colder winter. I've received photos of the beautiful wintery scenes that the snowfall brings. Keep warm and travel safely!
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Thank you Sajee for reminding me
what February weather in Toronto |
The preferred time to travel north of Perth would be in the spring when the wildflowers are in bloom, the wind is much calmer and there are cooler temperatures. South of Perth would be equally more agreeable.
The most unexpected and welcome gift I received last week was an offer from my very good friend Dave to spend time with him at his cottage (cabin) north of Toronto in September. As odd as this timing may seem, I'm now starting to think about organizing my time now that that I'm planning to return to Canada in September. Back to the current travel itinerary.
May the universe bring endless blessings to you and your loved ones in the week ahead. 🙏
Travel Administration
This week's focus is a simple clothes packing tip that my younger brother shared with me.
Travel Maps
Tracking this past week's travel within Western Australia starting in Esperance on the south coast; ending up in Denham on the west coast.
Western Australia: January 27 - February 15, 2025
Esperance to Hyden
The objective over the next two days (about 12 hours drive time) was to drive from Esperance on the south coast to Jurien Bay on the west coast to start my journey up the west coast to Exmouth.
I thought I'd add excitement to my four drive to Hayden by counting the number of vehicles that passed my car going in the opposite direction plus vehicles I passed or was passed by. The speed limit on most 'open' highways for passenger vehicles is 110 kph (70 mph). Commercial vehicles have a 100 kph (60 mph) limit. For the first two hours (Esperance to Ravensthorpe), I counted 115 vehicles going in the opposite direction, I passed three vehicles and I was passed by two vehicles.
During my first visit to Ravensthorpe to take the silo photos, I stopped for a pie at Ravy Country Kitchen. I enjoyed my first pizza pie which had an amazing crust. I thought I would stop for a second pie as I passed through on my way to Hyden. By chance, I met the family that owned the restaurant when I stopped the second time. I learned that the husband, who was off work because the mine was temporarily closed, was the pizza pie baker. I passed on my compliments about his crust. He related that the pizza pie is likely to disappear as it had limited appeal. As I was leaving with my steak and cheese pie, I suggested that they might try cranberries as a possible ingredient in the future. The baker's wife added that having camembert cheese, her favourite cheese, as well would make a great pie. Turkey, cranberries and camembert cheese pie - a Thanksgiving pie (their words)!
The other notable occurrence in Ravensthorpe is I paid $2.10/litre for petrol. Is the most expensive price to date!
In the two hours between Ravensthorpe and Hyden, 12 vehicles passed me going in the opposite direction and I passed two vehicles. The temperature was 42C (108F) by the time I reached Hyden.
What is of most significance in this part of my journey is I entered the Australian Wheatbelt as I drove northwest from Ravensthorpe to Hyden. Open fields for as far as the eye could see. In total, I drove hundreds of kms/miles through the Wheatbelt. It truly is an awe inspiring experience to have. Both Canada and the USA have similar types of expansive farmland. The difference between Saskatchewan prairies and Australian wheatbelt is the Australian farmland has gentle rolling hills. Saskatchewan prairie is flat, flat, flat.
Hyden
I delayed visiting Wave Rock until early Monday morning. I did visit the Wave Rock tourist information/gift shop/restaurant on Sunday afternoon to inquire about Wave Rock. I had a lovely conversation about Ireland with Siobhán, a visitor centre employee, who was from a small village just 40 minutes out of Belfast. Those seven days I traveled through Ireland two years ago have left me with many fond memories I recounted with Siobhán I also learned in my convo that if I parked by the cafe and walked to Wave Rock (about 200m/600 ft) I could save $7 (pay $5/person instead of $12/vehicle).
I was at Wave Rock by 8 am on Tuesday morning, an eight minute drive from my accommodation. The ticket kiosk opens at 9 am so my visit ended up being free. The cooler temperature (about 28C/82F), no flies and the lack of people was ideal for taking unobstructed photos.
I'm unsure if I would recommend making a special trip to Hyden just to see Wave Rock. It's a seven hour return trip from Perth. That's a lot of driving for what will be a very brief visit.
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| Just the facts... |
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| Wave Rock #1 |
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| Wave Rock #2 |
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| Wave Rock - from opposite direction |
Hyden to Jurien Bay
I decided to make the following stops to break up the six hour drive from Hyden to Jurien Bay.
What started out as being a novel way to promote a local annual horse race has transformed into multiple tin horse sculptures along an extended expanse of the highway. I had the initial brainwave to photograph every sculpture. That idea soon dissipated when I realized these sculptures were non-ending. I leave you with a sample of the twenty plus photos I did take before deciding to stop taking photos. Enjoy the creativity!
Denise, from the Esperance Visitor Center, made the off-hand remark about York's historic significance. I decided to stop to have a first-hand look. Melody at the York Tourist Center (in Town Hall) was a walking encyclopedia on local history. York's claim to fame is being the first inland community in Western Australia. There are several buildings in the town to recount its earlier days.
While walking about the town, I stopped to have a brief chat with a couple 70+ guys who were sitting in front of the bakery wiling their time away. You have probably seen these people (men and women) who are sitting about closely monitoring the local traffic/people and offering their unsolicited observations (perhaps criticisms?).
I joined the scenic Indian Ocean Drive that runs north up the west coast from Perth to Geraldton just south of Cervantes. We have now entered sand dune country. These are massive sand dunes - everywhere. The dunes in my photos have been approved for commercial use including sand boarding and dune buggies. The link I've shared in the name of this section opens a breathtaking four minute video clip of the dunes in the area.
The next stop, which is in the same general area as the Cervantes Sand Dunes is the Pinnacles Desert Drive. Natural limestone formations that you can drive through, stop and walk about and take as many photos as you like. Please keep your hands off the pinnacles!
Just outside Cervantes is Lake Thetis. I've extracted the following quote from the Parks website.
And I quote 'The rocks in the hyper-saline waters of Lake Thetis are not quite what they seem. They are actually living things. Stromatolites, are the oldest living lifeforms on our planet.'
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| Enjoying the warm sun in middle of path |
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| My first live kangaroo sighting |
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My initial reaction was 'How did they escape from
the zoo?' forgetting (for a moment)
they are wild animals throughout Australia! |
Jurien Bay is about 2.5 hours north of Perth. It's one of several up and coming beach communities serving the Perth area. I thought it would be a convenient location to start my travels north to Exmouth which is about a 1200 km (750 miles) drive. My plan is to tackle the drive over a series of days.
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What a lovely tree to
decorate for Christmas.
The leaves turn upwards! |
Mike, at the Jurien Bay Visitor Information Center, put this park on my radar. While the Parks website has good information, this National Park is omitted from most of the travel literature. I spent a morning walking a couple trails, being vigilant for snakes. The other warning that caught my attention was about avoiding the trails if there is a wind blowing on a hot day. Bushfires are a real concern. After walking in several places, you notice how much dead and dry underbrush there is everywhere. A fire would spread in a heartbeat!
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| View from Mt. Leuseur |
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| View from Mt. Leuseur |
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| The Gardiner Track I walked loops around this hill |
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| Notice the vegetation |
Another Mike inspired destination was the Three Bays Walkway. The community built a paved pathway between several bays on their foreshore for easy access and wonderful views.
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| Another very busy beach... |
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| Love the water color |
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There was five kite surfers who were surfing
a long way out in the ocean |
Jurien Bay to Kalbarri
It's about a four hour drive from Jurien Bay to Kalbarri with a few distractions, described below, along the way.
The last Mike inspired stop in my Jurien Bay tourist experience. Mike was right. This lookout did provide wonderful 360 views of the area.
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Good to have the geographical marker
for accuracy |
The memorial was a good lookout point for the Indian Ocean with the added bonus of the Port Denison harbour and beach area.
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| Indian Ocean |
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| Memorial |
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| Port Denison beach |
Another town on my way to Kalbarri was Northampton. I had read that there was a little history to be experienced in the town so I made a stop. I discovered the Tourist Info Center was closed due to the staff having to attend a meeting. The woman who shared this info gave me a few ideas of what I might want to see. I chose the train station for my walk down history lane. Disappointing visit as all the buildings were closed and limited information was available. Kind of sad, given what I did read, referenced Northampton playing a key role in the Western Australian railway system.
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| Train station |
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| Some history |
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| A little more history |
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| Each car had an explanatory plaque |
A true pink lake was waiting for me a little further down the road. The link will provide you with more information about the whys and hows of this lake's pinkness. Apparently, the best time to experience the lake is between 10 am and 2 pm - all to do with where the sun is located to bring out the colour.
Another 50 km (30 miles) down the road was Kalbarri National Park; home to dramatic cliffs on the Indian Ocean. This part of the park was also home to another natural bridge.
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| Natural bridge |
Castle Cove
A short 500m from the Natural Bridge was Castle Cove. The island in the photo provides a strong hint where the name may have originated.
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| Island from opposite side |
Another few miles down the road was Eagle Gorge, so named for the eagles that are known to soar in the area. The air was devoid of eagles. Maybe the strong winds that were blowing impacted the eagles flight patterns.
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| Eagle Gorge beach |
Well, I'm almost to Kilbarri now. Time for one last stop at Red Bluff Lookout. The name originates from the cliff's colour. The wind continues to howl.
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| Red Bluff beach |
Welcome to Kalbarri. With all these stops on the way, who'd thought we'd actually reach our destination. I had the blessing of two consecutive magnificent sunsets; the first of which is captured below.
I also met Ainsley, Karen and Christie where I was staying - Tasman Holiday Park. Ainsley and Karen are from London, Ontario while Christie was a Canadian living in Melbourne. Ainsley updated me on the snowy conditions in the London area which we were both grateful to be a long distance from. I had a follow-up chat with the three of them the next morning.
A key activity when you visit Kalbarri is to join in at the daily 8:45 - 9:15 am pelican feeding. This all started 50+ years ago when a fisherman who lived just across the street used to throw fish parts on the beach attracting the pelicans. The daily feeding is kept going by a group of volunteers.
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| An evening ritual near the beach |
Kalbarri National Park
The Kalbarri National Park extends all around the Kalbarri townsite. On the 'other' side of Kalbarri, is the Murchison River Gorge where the Parks people thought it a good idea to build another skywalk (remember The Gap Skywalk by Albany and the Tree Top walk near Walpole) extending over the gorge.
Welcome to the Gorge. Someone suggested in a Google Review that this was Australia's Grand Canyon. There are two skywalks to enhance your gorge viewing experience. Truly a breathtaking experience! It is quite dramatic as you drive towards the gorge as it seems to appear out of nowhere.
I should mention that as I have traveled north, a multitude of flies have now joined in the sightseeing adventure. More irritating than anything. Some people wear hats with netting somewhat similar to what a beekeeper wears.
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| Looking down through the skywalk |
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| The skywalk engineering facts |
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| More engineering facts |
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| Skywalk profile |
So, Australians have decided that nature has natural bridges or it has windows. Welcome to Nature's Window at Kalbarri National Park. The Window is located a short distance from the Skywalks, offering a somewhat (and equally dramatic) view of the gorge.
It's about 10 am and the temperature is already 35C (95F). The Parks people have closed the 8 km (5 mi) loop walk as of 7 am because of the heat. Several of us tourists venture out in the heat with insufficient water and knowledge of how deadly heat stroke is.
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| The iconic window |
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| Better shot - less sun |
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| Looking up from Window |
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| Path to Window |
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| Path to Window |
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| Path to Window |
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| Dual skywalks in the distance |
The four hour Saturday drive to Denham was only interrupted by a fuel stop about halfway. Something about the temperature being 40C (104F) dissuaded me from making multiple stops. Denham is about 20 minutes drive from Monkey Mia where the Parks and Wildlife people feed wild dolphins daily at three different times between 7:45 and noon. Other marine wildlife like manta rays and sharks also show up periodically.
The only other drama I experienced was when I was passing a truck road train on a section of road that had a passing lane. For an unknown reason, the truck driver decided to let the truck move into the passing lane where I was. Thank goodness for the lack of traffic coming from the opposite direction.
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| How constant the wind blows here |
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| Sculpture details |
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I really liked this sculpture on
Denham's foreshore |
The universe blesses me with my third consecutive stunning sunset on my first night in Denham!
Travel Administration
A tried and true packing method to squeeze more clothes in your suitcase or to make more room for other stuff is to tightly roll your clothing. I can attest to how much less space is required. I can also attest to how wrinkled the clothing become when you unroll them. I've parked my ego while traveling and let the wrinkles free themselves throughout the day. Pardon this week's lack of creativity.
Next Week
Now that I'm in Denham, I'm about halfway to Exmouth, my northern most destination. I'll be leaving Denham on Wednesday morning and driving about seven hours to Exmouth, with a brief stop in Carnarvon for petrol and a few provisions. I changed my plan to overnight in Carnarvon when I did more research about this small town after reading someone's comment in a Google Review about their thankfulness for a hotel's secured parking lot. The town's population is less than 6,000 people; why would a secured parking lot be required? What I learned from my further research was that in 2022, there were only 2% of Australian communities that are less safe than Carnarvon. The things we learn. On Saturday, January 22, I'll start my return trip to Perth. My January 25th flight to Bali is fast approaching!
Look forward to catching up with you next week!
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