Continuing the journey up north, after visiting two seaside towns - Port Gregory and Harrocks - we get to Kalbarri.

ABOUT KALBARRI
Kalbarri is located approximately 590km from Perth. Temperatures in summer can exceed 40 degrees with a dry and windy climate, while in winter they vary between 10 and 20 degrees and the wettest months are June and July. Kalbarri is also famous for its variety of flowers which start blowing around July. Plus the cooler months are ideal for exploring the National Park.

Kalbarri is an excellent touring base for those who want to visit the National park as it offers all kinds of essential services such as different types of accommodation, shops, gas station, medical centre, police and post office.

Before reaching Kalbarri, however, we stop to explore the long rocky and jagged cliff that gives life to truly wonderful inlets and paths to walk through to fully admire the view. Here you will find several points where to stop by: Red Bluff, Eagle George, Grandstand, Island Rock, Pot Alley and Natural Bridge.
It is really easy to feel all the power of the ocean with its waves breaking on the rocks which therefore can change shape over time, sometimes even forming rocky islets in the middle of the ocean as in the case of Island Rock.

KALBARRI NATIONAL PARK
Kalbarri National Park is the result of millions of years of a geological formation that created deep horizontal strips of multicoloured sand deposited in layers 400 million years ago. The resulting sedimentary rock formation is called the "Tumblagooda Sandstone".

First of all, to explore the park you have to pay an entrance fee of $ 12 per person. However, we have previously purchased a pass - Holiday Pass - for $ 46 which gives us access to all parks in Western Australia with a validity of 4 weeks. If you intend to travel for more than a month, instead, it is worth buying the annual pass for $ 92 (https://shop.dbca.wa.gov.au/collections/Park-passes).
Passes can be purchased online or at tourist information centres in the various parks where present.

Having arrived in Kalbarri in the early afternoon, we don't have much time to do long treks so we decide to travel 35km on Kalbarri Road and visit “Hawks Head” and “Ross Graham Lookout”. Both views have as their protagonist the river surrounded by very high red rocks.

The next day we decide to do an 8 km loop trek called "Nature's Window" because of an opening eroded by the wind that frames a view of the Murchison River.
The difficulty degree is grade 4 (maximum grade 6), that is moderate, and involves a series of descents and climbs on rocks, some of which are slippery, and others on sand. Sometimes we had to climb rocks close to the river with the fear of falling into the water, but luckily everything went the right way and after 3 hours we completed the loop.

At first, the landscape was very fascinating to us with the view of the river and the surrounding high rocks with colours that vary according to the landscape. But after a couple of hours, it seemed a bit monotonous, probably because we were exhausted by the excessive number of flies that covered our entire body and there was no way to get them to go away!

But there are different types of trekking in the area. For example, for the more passionate, there is the River Gorge Hikers of 38 km for a total duration of 4 days.

ACCOMMODATION
We recommend staying 1 or 2 nights in Kalbarri. There is no free camping in the entire park area. In fact, we ventured sleeping in the parking lot of a petrol pump but we were woken up by the Ranger at 6.45 am with a nice reminder but luckily no fine!
There are 2 caravan parks (Murchison River Caravan Park and Kalbarri Tudor caravan Park) where you can sleep in your car or in a tent for around $ 36 for 2 people.
There are also more comfortable hotels or solutions, obviously at higher prices.