Kalbarri

Southwards 373 K's to Kalbarri, a trip that had us nervous about getting a site as we had phoned ahead and were told it was booked out. We also noticed along the way that the number of wildflowers had increased, its good to see the colors all blending together.It has not been a great year for wildflowers and to see carpets of flowers you need to travel inland a little.
We checked out the Caravan Parks as we drove through town, bingo, on the second one they had a cancellation that morning, site 114 is a small site and after pulling out the tape measure I reckoned that we could get the van on site if we placed it between two palm trees and let it overhang into the street a little. So with a little help from the caretaker we set up and booked the site for a week, which was to sit out some of the school holidays, not because there is a lot to do in Kalbarri.
Kalbarri is a small town located on a bay which is protected by a sea wall and sand bar, which makes it a great place for boating and also a safe place for kid's and water sports.There were kid's everywhere, with the sounds of happy family's dominating the area. We rose early next morning for a walk along the beach and up to the bluff, our fitness level is not to good, the relaxed life style is playing havoc with our weight. However after some huffing and puffing we reached the lookout and spent pleasant time looking out over the wild west coastline. The coastal beaches have many reefs protecting them, this looks fantastic to see the waves breaking off shore. We watched some of the fishing boats heading out for the days fishing, its intriguing how they negotiate the Chanel and turn into the surf and power through the waves. The view back over the town is also good.
Every day at about 9am, opposite our Caravan Park (Murchison),Pelican feeding takes place.There is a semi circle railing, giving the Pelican's a little space. The Pelicans are the first to arrive and waddle up to the enclosure waiting for members of the organising committee to feed them the fish. This event is very well organised with the organisers miked up and happy to answer questions, the amazing thing is the numbers of people who arrive to watch and participate, we watched daily from our van and every day there was well over 150 present.
Pete and Pat arrived and set up nearby, so the four of us went to "Finlay's Fish B.B.Q".This place had been recommended to us and was not a disappointment.The owner/cook is an eccentric and his assortment of buildings and decorations around the place are an eclectic collection of Australiana.The absolute surprise is the organisation and quality of the food. Two cooks, one deep fry and 6 or 7 B.B.Q's and the food quantity and quality is excellent. This turned out to be a highlight of our week in Kalbarri.
Judy also created a highlight with an excellent dinner of Roast Pork and Veggies, which we enjoyed with Pete and Pat. Other neighbors joined us after dinner for drinks, which was very pleasant until Pete tripped and fell, straining a hamstring and bruising.
The rest of the week was taken up with sight seeing and book reading, there is a very good exchange book shop at the southern end of town. All in all this was a quiet and restful week, good to recharge the batteries but life goes on and its time to move to Dongara, Port Dennison.