Kalbarri

What a lovely town Kalbarri is! After the dry of the north we passed fields of green (wheat) and gold (canola) which was so beautiful to see. The wildflowers were also out in abundance creating such a splash of colour. After the long drive we pulled into a horse-riding ranch and campground. The owners were out but just told us to set up and figure it out tomorrow. We explored the town’s river mouth and playgrounds and the kids played on the GRASS whilst we chatted to locals. After a recommendation we picked up dinner from a kitchen/takeaway that specialise in homecooked meals – yummy slowcooked CURRY – what a treat. (Caravan cooking is only grill/BBQ/or fast cook so you don’t waste gas!)

The next day we headed out early to Kalbarri National Park. We were just going to do 2 short walks to lookouts (remembering one of our family is in an armcast) but the gorge walk looked just too inviting! 1.5 hrs later we had ventured down and out of the Kalbarri gorge and had morning tea beside the river, seen tadpoles and amazing rivergums gripping the rocks for dear life. Jesse completed a Class 5 walk with only 3 limbs ;) What a  champ!

We raced over to the other end of the park and did Nature’s Window walk (easy peasy) before we headed back for lunch and to move to our next stop….which was in a different country!

 

Nature's Window

 

Can you see Kieren & Mr J?

Principality of Hutt River Province

We met Prince Leonard (nearly 90) and Prince Graeme! Hilariously this man and his family seceded from the Commonwealth of Australia (due to a disagreement over wheat farming) and has maintained his own country on 13000 acres of wheat farm just south of Kalbarri. He should have been a lawyer I think as his story is quite unique and he seemed to be a step ahead of the government at the time. He now has his own post office, currency, government buildings, visas and LOTS of memorabilia. Although sadly he doesn’t have a Medicare card which would be quite handy at 90!

They only charged $10/night to camp on their land complete with amenities and campfires so we spent the night at Hutt River and enjoyed the serenity (and marshmallows) but not the ticks that managed to find half of our family L.

For more information visit www.hutt-river-province.com/

Miss T at Pink Lake (Beta carotene farming)