This was the second of our visits to the Murchison River gorges in the inland section of the Kalbarri National Park, and, as was the case with our first we were not disappointed in the slightest. Just the opposite. This is stunning stuff, and in real time it now seems so long ago!
Our jaunt down to Nature's Window began at the very well constructed and maintained lookout at the entrance car park. I think I have previously mentioned how well the National Parks lot have done in building and maintaining these facilities. We have never begrudged the moderate entrance fees charged to visit these sites (we actually bought a year long permit which is stuck on the windscreen...we do feel a little smug as we sail blithely through the check points whilst others are queued to pay).
We could see across the river gorge from this first lookout,
but our destination lay much lower down the slope. Off we went down this marvellously constructed pathway which made the initial stages of the descent a doddle, to say the least.
But then things did change, and it was back to a clamber over the rocky plates of the plateau, where, from time to time, one comes across these rest benches strategically dotted along the track. We did note this one being put to good use on our return climb...its two occupants were of a girth which clearly made the rest necessary and bore testament to the sturdy construction of the bench!
On ever further downwards...the river was by now much closer...where is this darn Window?
A final cautious scramble across the stepped rocks of this escarpment, around the point at the end
and there we were. "You're looking the wrong way. Lizzie...that's it, off to your right!"
I almost had something of a sense of anti-climax, but this was it. Ah, that's better. Nothing like a 'typical tourist' shot (which we tend to resist normally)
This is typical of the photo which appears in all the promotional material...and from which this natural feature obviously derives its name.
Of course, those done professionally are of much better quality that this happy snap, and always taken when the colours in the river cliffs are highlighted by a late afternoon sun, not in morning shadow as they are here. Once I took a closer look I was suitably impressed by the extraordinary layers of different coloured rock which are a real feature of this landscape. Indeed, I would have to comment, that even if the feature of the destination of any particular walk is not startling, the en route scenery always makes the effort worth while.
So, that is Nature's Window. From this point a looped trail extends off along the top of the Murchison gorge around the point of the cliffs at the top of this shot
and thence back on itself along the river flats of the bend in the river at this spot. this is classified as a Grade 3 walk, and is one we would normally have taken on, but we were on a mission for the day.
So back up the path we scrambled, taking in the views on offer as we went.....
and then it was off on the dirt road to Z Bend,
where the trail down from the car park to the river was of a very different nature to that at Nature's Window. This was all much more rustic.
Again our descent took us over sections of these flat, rocky plates
until we gained our fist glimpse of the Murchison at this location as it snaked through these steep sided gorges.
Despite the somewhat rough nature of the walking trail, our good friends at National Parks have come to the fore at the bottom of the climb with the provision of this great viewing platform
which is accessed via a very study foot bridge (much to Liz's relief....she is not good on suspension bridges which sway during a crossing)
Next to the viewing site itself, a large fissure in the rock provided an alternative view of the river below.
As I crouched here with trusty camera in hand, I was amused to spot this sign. 'No Access' indeed. Why do they feel the need to caution those with a death wish? But what a spectacular sight.
In typical and much appreciated style, the Parks mob have placed an informative sign nearby the lookout.
which I have (atypically) reproduced here in extra-large format to enable the information to be read. As they say, 'why have dog and bark yourself'....I could do no better than these words.
And this is what we could see from the viewing platform...downstream in the one direction
and (trite as it may sound) upstream in the other. This is indeed a 'Z' bend, and,
at this point it is a bloody long way down to the bottom of the gorge. The mighty Murchison has decidedly won nature's battle between water and rock as it snakes its way through layered sandstone rocks of the Kalbarri National park.
As I noted before, the jaunts to these various tourist destinations often throw up spots of interest during the hike. I have had to engage my most disciplined editing brain in presenting this missive (I took over 100 photos this day), but must include this one example as typical of what one finds all along the tracks.
And, as we made our way back up to the car park, a bonus offering of nature.....the first of the season's wildflowers. I am really looking forward to seeing the countryside cloaked in all its colourful splendour later in the year.
Well, that's it for the inland scenery of the National Park. We still have more coastal cliffs and gullies to explore and then there is the Parrot House, the Cray and Canoe festival and that Australian enigma, Hutt River Province. Kalbarri just keeps on entertaining (and your labouring scribe just keeps on trying to catch up!)
Our jaunt down to Nature's Window began at the very well constructed and maintained lookout at the entrance car park. I think I have previously mentioned how well the National Parks lot have done in building and maintaining these facilities. We have never begrudged the moderate entrance fees charged to visit these sites (we actually bought a year long permit which is stuck on the windscreen...we do feel a little smug as we sail blithely through the check points whilst others are queued to pay).We could see across the river gorge from this first lookout,
but our destination lay much lower down the slope. Off we went down this marvellously constructed pathway which made the initial stages of the descent a doddle, to say the least.
But then things did change, and it was back to a clamber over the rocky plates of the plateau, where, from time to time, one comes across these rest benches strategically dotted along the track. We did note this one being put to good use on our return climb...its two occupants were of a girth which clearly made the rest necessary and bore testament to the sturdy construction of the bench!
On ever further downwards...the river was by now much closer...where is this darn Window?
A final cautious scramble across the stepped rocks of this escarpment, around the point at the end
I almost had something of a sense of anti-climax, but this was it. Ah, that's better. Nothing like a 'typical tourist' shot (which we tend to resist normally)
This is typical of the photo which appears in all the promotional material...and from which this natural feature obviously derives its name.
Of course, those done professionally are of much better quality that this happy snap, and always taken when the colours in the river cliffs are highlighted by a late afternoon sun, not in morning shadow as they are here. Once I took a closer look I was suitably impressed by the extraordinary layers of different coloured rock which are a real feature of this landscape. Indeed, I would have to comment, that even if the feature of the destination of any particular walk is not startling, the en route scenery always makes the effort worth while.
So, that is Nature's Window. From this point a looped trail extends off along the top of the Murchison gorge around the point of the cliffs at the top of this shot
and thence back on itself along the river flats of the bend in the river at this spot. this is classified as a Grade 3 walk, and is one we would normally have taken on, but we were on a mission for the day.
So back up the path we scrambled, taking in the views on offer as we went.....
and then it was off on the dirt road to Z Bend,
where the trail down from the car park to the river was of a very different nature to that at Nature's Window. This was all much more rustic.
Again our descent took us over sections of these flat, rocky plates
until we gained our fist glimpse of the Murchison at this location as it snaked through these steep sided gorges.
Despite the somewhat rough nature of the walking trail, our good friends at National Parks have come to the fore at the bottom of the climb with the provision of this great viewing platform
which is accessed via a very study foot bridge (much to Liz's relief....she is not good on suspension bridges which sway during a crossing)
Next to the viewing site itself, a large fissure in the rock provided an alternative view of the river below.
As I crouched here with trusty camera in hand, I was amused to spot this sign. 'No Access' indeed. Why do they feel the need to caution those with a death wish? But what a spectacular sight.
In typical and much appreciated style, the Parks mob have placed an informative sign nearby the lookout.
which I have (atypically) reproduced here in extra-large format to enable the information to be read. As they say, 'why have dog and bark yourself'....I could do no better than these words.
And this is what we could see from the viewing platform...downstream in the one direction
and (trite as it may sound) upstream in the other. This is indeed a 'Z' bend, and,
at this point it is a bloody long way down to the bottom of the gorge. The mighty Murchison has decidedly won nature's battle between water and rock as it snakes its way through layered sandstone rocks of the Kalbarri National park.
As I noted before, the jaunts to these various tourist destinations often throw up spots of interest during the hike. I have had to engage my most disciplined editing brain in presenting this missive (I took over 100 photos this day), but must include this one example as typical of what one finds all along the tracks.
And, as we made our way back up to the car park, a bonus offering of nature.....the first of the season's wildflowers. I am really looking forward to seeing the countryside cloaked in all its colourful splendour later in the year.
Well, that's it for the inland scenery of the National Park. We still have more coastal cliffs and gullies to explore and then there is the Parrot House, the Cray and Canoe festival and that Australian enigma, Hutt River Province. Kalbarri just keeps on entertaining (and your labouring scribe just keeps on trying to catch up!)
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