KALBARRI 4 - THE COASTAL CLIFFS - MUSHROOM ROCK AND RAINBOW VALLEY AND A REAL TIME UPDATE (MAY - JUNE 2014)

The scenery around Kalbarri is stunning. There are so many locations from which to choose, we decided to visit in stages. I think I have already commented on those we had met who arrived in Kalbarri and headed out helter skelter to 'do the sights', only to return in the late afternoon utterly exhausted and not really having taken much in. This is not our way of things.

We have already paid our first visit to the inland gorges, now let's head to the coast. Today we chose to walk the loop from Mushroom Rock to Rainbow Valley and return. All the walking trails in the Kalbarri National Park have been assessed and classified according to difficulty. This is a great help in making decisions. The loop we had chosen for today's ramble was listed as 'Class 3' which is generally used to describe a walk which has uneven and loose rocky surfaces and stretches where climbing up and down is required. How right they were!

This is what we were about to take on. 

Things did not look too daunting at the beginning of the path from the car park,

nor did the final stretches of the walk which we could see from the trail markers (the tiny little white strips) as we looked across the valley and hills to the south. "Liz, this must have been wrongly classified". Spoken too soon.

The initial stage of our descent to the sea was relatively benign and structured

and as we made our way further across the cliff tops we saw that we were we communing with nature in more ways than one.

And now things were becoming more challenging

as we looked down at what was in store. But what a view! "Come on Liz, this is fantastic."

"OK, smartie pants, which way now?"

"Follow the markers", was the somewhat scornful response from your scribe.  "I'm not a mountain goat", was the rejoinder.

Despite my resorting to that well know quip from Malcolm Fraser that 'life was not meant to be easy' I have to admit that this section was a scramble. If this is Class 3, what does a Class 4 trail present?

We persevered (obviously) and were soon able to stand at the bottom of the ravine and look back along its surprisingly sandy floor and the rock walls either side.

And, as we turned towards the sea, there was Mushroom Rock, the name of which clearly needs no explanation.

Again, we were not alone. We were amazed to see how close to the surging waves this heron was foraging...but it did keep a close eye on proceedings with what seemed to be an uncanny ability to read the swells and scuttle out of the way of any wash over the rocks.

Looking back up the gully from our vantage point at the water's edge we did wonder how these formations came to be. The explanatory sign nearby told the story.

I know that this photo is off the page, but it was just a tad too small to read otherwise and I could not do better than the explanation provided by the National Park folk. In fact these signs can be found throughout the scenic walks. They are most informative and a credit to the powers that be.

As I have said before, what goes down must go up. It was time to clamber out of the gully up the hillside to the south where the layered form of these cliffs and gullies was on clear display.

From the top of the cliffs the view to the north across the Mushroom Rock (which can just be seen at the left of the photo on the grey, flat rock at the water's edge) gully opened to us.

And in the other direction, we could see the handiwork of some bright sparks who decided they could improve on what nature had sculptured in the rock. This reminded us of an area on the walk around Rawnsley Park in the Flinders Ranges where passers by are invited to add a small rock to the cairns in the area.

Now our ramble took on a more moderate aspect as we made our way along the very welcome flat path towards Rainbow Valley. Your scribe's right knee revelled in the respite. "Yes I know, Matron, I forgot to pack my knee bandage.  I'll put it in my knapsack when we get back."

Along this section of the track we came across these rounded boulders strewn across the landscape.

  

And once again, the good custodians of the park had provided an explanation as to what they were and how they had come into being. 

At the risk of repeating myself, the placement and informative value of these signs does a great deal to add to the enjoyment of the scenery along these trails.

Rainbow Valley is named for the varied colours of the stratas of rock which form the low cliffs of this area.

Whilst they are not what I would describe as spectacular in themselves they harbour another surprise.

Again, I'll let the sign tell the story.

These formations really got me in. I stood here contemplating the concept that these tiny worms burrowed their homes here over 450 million years ago, and reflecting on the fact that these delicate structures remain to this day. Would it be too cynical to suggest that hoons and vandals are highly averse to physical exercise?

Not too distant from the worm pipes, the landscape again changed dramatically as we traversed these sandy flats, the end result of constant earlier wave action when these areas of the raised cliffs were at sea level. A similar process is still taking place at the base of the cliffs along this coastline.

By now we were nearing the final stage of our 3 kms tramp around this part of the coastal cliffs. One last gully between us and the car park which can just be seen at the top right of this shot.

This final stretch of the track was a comparative doddle, 

but did hold one last surprise along the way in the shape of these odd clumps of rocky outcrops, the origins of which remain a mystery to me.  For once there was no nearby explanatory sign, but how could one be critical after all that had gone before?  We were just left to accept them for what they were...odd and interesting.

"Almost there, Lizzie." We could see the silhouettes of fellow adventurers on the hill line of the car park. As we made the last climb out of the gully, a couple did stop us to ask how challenging the 'loop' was in reality. We did suggest as kindly as possible that thongs were not the ideal footwear for what lay ahead. They boxed on regardless. "Good luck."

This had been a wonderful morning's adventure, and there were more to come as we visited the highly under-rated (our view at least) Pot Alley, and took in Natural Bridge and Island Rock. But these are tales for another day.

I must conclude this episode of the adventures of the MobileMarshies with a real time up-date. Things were so hectic in Kalbarri, in the nicest possible way, that, as you can see, I'm eons behind in recording all that took place there.....and we have now moved on to Carnarvon where we have spent the last week.

Before leaving Kalbarri, another significant equipment failure overtook us.....the outer door handle to the van snapped. Fortunately it did hang on by a thread, but this had the potential to be a major disaster. If it had given way completely it would have rendered access to the van impossible without jemmying the door open and completely smashing the locking system. 

What to do? As a first step out came the trusty duct tape. Not a really satisfactory solution. As an insurance against lockout we then left a pair of needle nosed pliers outside the van with the fervent hope we would not have to see if they could do the job.

A phone call to Country Time at Geraldton saw a new handle placed on order with postal instructions to our Carnarvon Park. We had hoped it would beat us there....not so. For the next six days we treated each van entry as if we were handling someone else's new born child....with exagerrated care. But at last the $45.00 dollar (I wont go there!), small strip of plastic arrived. 

Fortunately the most obliging folk at Country Time had provided me with the Internet address of a site which presented visual instructions as to how the handle should be replaced.  OK, that did not look too hard. I should have known better...they left out one critical step....the need to insert and turn the locking key once the handle assembly had been removed and the outside section was being dismantled.

In what I am happy to confess was a feat of a very 'un-Marshie' like patience and thought process, I did eventually nut this out, and without boring you with further details or bragging on, an hour later we were again ship-shape. Another lesson learnt.

I have also spent quite some time disassembling and trying to clear a blockage in our water pressure reduction unit, but this remains a work in progress until I can find a vice (another long story)

Our time here in Carnarvon has been spent almost totally in logistical endeavours. Apart from the mechanical side of things, and hunkering down in the face of some ferocious south-easterlies (which have even gotten all the locals complaining), shopping, cooking up meals to freeze, fitting water filters, filling water tanks, washing the cruiser and the van, haircuts, replenishing medical supplies and so on and so on have all taken time. We are about to head further north to places where the infrastructure and supply lines are limited.

Given that we plan to spend a fortnight with friends here at The Plantation Caravan park in Carnarvon on our return south, we have made no attempt at this point to 'do the tourist thing', other than taking a day trip out to Quobba Station and Quobba Point camping grounds, a potential destination after we leave Carnarvon. Not any more. Windy, dusty, cold and with virtually no facilities is not our idea of a good time (photos later). Our travelling companions were in complete accord. 

We have now decided to leave Carnarvon tomorrow (Tuesday 17 June) and make our way to the western side of the Exmouth peninsular.  Our destination for the next few nights is a place called Yardie Homestead, a working cattle station at which facilities are adequate but limited. From here we plan to explore the Ningaloo Reef, Exmouth, Learmouth and the surrounding areas before making the two day trip north to a spot just out of Karratha, Point Sampson.

This is as far north as we intend to travel this winter. Our current plan is to spent a fortnight at Point Sampson where we'll take in Karratha, Dampier, Wickham and Roebourne before returning to Carnarvon for the dreaded school holidays prior to making our way slowly southwards to arrive back in  Albany in late October.

I was concerned to add this postscript to our Kalbarri epistles for the simple reason that for the next five or six days we shall be in the 'electronic wilderness'. Once we reach Point Sampson I shall endeavour to catch up with what will undoubtedly be an absolute flurry of blogs.

.

Adeiu for now, dear readers. The Marshie pinkies are going to take a break.