Kalbarri to Hamelin Pool WA

Monday 30th April 2018
Well the plan this morning was to leave early so we could start or hike by 8am at the latest but unfortunately our camp was in silence until at least 7am. Therefore, as we don’t like disturbing people we didn’t get away early as planned. We drove to Meanarra Lookout for breakfast. Then headed to Kalbarri National Park for our walk. The hike we were doing was recommended to start by 7am and take at least 3-4 litres of water per person. We managed to get started by 9am and with further instruction from a young NP guy we set out with 3 bottles of water each and with directive to go clockwise to make the walk easier and at least a little shady for the first part. Also the initial part of the walk if we went clockwise meant we started with the difficult sandy section. So we went with the advice and left the steeper rocky cliff section until last.

It was a beautiful walk, starting with Nature’s Window which is exactly that a rocky outcrop with beautiful red rock framing the gorge. Then down to the loop Trail which was 10km (approx 3 hours) and meandered through the gorge. The rocks were a beautiful variegated red, pink, white colour against a beautiful blue sky and green trees near the river. It was a magnificent sight. We only saw about 10 people along the walk and it was beautifully peaceful and serene. I had a swim in the gorge which was very pleasant and refreshing. There was a couple of tricky sections but all in all it was a pleasant stroll. It took us about about 3.5hours at a leisurely pace including swim and snack breaks.

We then headed to Ross Graham Lookout which unfortunately was not that impressive considering the views of the last 3.5 hours. But it was a lovely back drop for our lunch.

Then we headed towards our camp for tonight, about a 3 hour drive which we decided would be Hamelin Outback Station Stay. A 5 star homestead at Hamelin Pool which was really lovely. The pathways were shell based which was a very pleasant change from red dirt/dust. The facilities were amazing. Camp kitchen, bathrooms, sites were fantastic. We might even stay here on the way back in a couple of days.

: Our campsite at Murchison House Station

: We all camped along the river

: A few bunkhouses

: some of the old buildings..

: ..and equipment

: Meanarra Lookout for breakfast overlooks the ocean and town of Kalbarri

: Kalbarri National Park. The start of our walk…

: ..to Nature’s Window..

: ..that frames the gorge

: Now on to the loop trail going clockwise as suggested we walk across the sand flats first.

: DB goes off the trail following some unknown footprints. We had already seen a kangaroo but they weren’t kangaroo footprints. Needless to say he didn’t find the culprit

: Some black swans in the river

: The pink, orange and red rocks were amazing

: Walking along the river..

: ..then we came to the tricky climbing section..

: as it was rocky, I decided this was a good place to have a dip..

: ..as with the rocky bottom..

: I wouldn’t get sandy feet when I got out. It was very refreshing..

: Moving along after my swim we travelled further along the river.

: These melons were the size of golf balls growing wild here, we have seen some the size of tennis and soccer balls growing wild along the highway