Kalbarri - Denham

Kalbarri has been recommend to us several times and as we come along the coast into town the wind, waves and current are churning and the dirty brown water in the river mouth is leaping about - looks intimidating. We learn that it has been 1 year and 4 days since cyclone Seroja rolled through here destroying businesses and homes, some still are covered in tarps awaiting repair and some stand as ruins like the former cafe at the front of the campground.

The campground is long and full to the brim with families on Easter school holidays. We’re in the wayback far corner somewhere but are surrounded on all sides by families with boys - noisy boys who like to play laser tag after dark. It’s hard to fall asleep as our van seems to be some sort of base and one boy even slaps his hand along the van as he walks by, they’re young and I’m sure bedtime is soon. 

We spend a few days off the road here, there’s all of 3 shops to look through, the pelican feeding to watch and a long undulating footpath for the girls to whizz down on their rollerblades and scooter. The wind picks up at dawn each day and its strong enough that we can’t have the shade awning out. Ben is working so us girls hang at the playground, get our schoolwork done and paint Easter Bunnies. 

We head to dinner at a restaurant called Upstairs and there’s a view out over the shops to the water where the sun is setting dramatically.  We order dinner and drinks and the meals are nice, however later that evening there must’ve been some mistake with my meal as I very quickly realise there was a lot of gluten in my dinner.  I spend the next day recovering and Ben is kind enough to ring the restaurant and let them know.

It’s our third night and we’re hoping for a better night sleep but the midnight mouse has other ideas. There’s a scratching noise and Ben is out of bed, there’s a yell and some scurrying as the mouse breaks in. Soon Alila is awake too as Ben is making hissing and meowing noises hoping the mouse will prefer someone else’s home over ours. We spot him in the morning and leave the doors open while we get ready and haven’t seen him since.

As our days in Kalbarri tick over we notice more and more flies till the point where  people have to  walk around with netting over their head. It is unbearable as we try to appreciate the beauty of the Kalbarri National Park, the flies are making it impossible as we’re all but running, waving  our hands erratically. We’re lucky as only Ben manages to eat one. Apparently they blow in from farmland and soon die as there’s very little for them to eat here. 

If you’ve driven a bit of Australia you’ll know that the roads are long and the view unchanging for miles. Here on the North West coast the flora is low shrubs, the colours are beautiful with different hues of green and dusky purple greys and the pink dirt to make it all pop. I wish I could capture it. 

We’ve had some beautiful weather - breezy, super hot and sunny days. As another day dawns we’re out the gate to get to Monkey Mia. Sitting on the wharf with our feet dangling over the side, faces resting on the metal railings, we’ve got a great spot. It’s one of those moments -  calm, quiet, warm and just a gentle breeze. Sometimes travelling can be hectic, noisy and uncomfortable but I soak up this moment entirely - I love the beach in the morning. It’s not long until someone spots the first fin and two dolphins and their calves arrive at the shoreline. There’s a mass of people forming at the roped barrier (the one we crossed to sit on the wharf). The lady gathers the group and leads them to the waters edge, we’re staying put as we have a great view. They have very strict rules regarding who feeds the dolphins, how much and they only feed specific dolphins and their offspring only.  

Afterwards we find ourselves some breakfast and pack a bag as we’re off on a boat trip. We spot turtles lolling around the wharf as we’re boarding, popping their heads up every now and then . The boat is a huge catamaran and we find a spot at the bow where there is a great view.  Alila spots a shark and we see some dugongs.  Another creature we didn’t know existed - nicknamed the sea cow or sea pig they are actually a sea manatee which unlike other sea mammals are negatively buoyant and don’t float but swim to the surface to breathe. We watch the mother and her calf surface and get a great view of their tails each time then they sink back down to munch the kelp beds. The girls are delighted to watch the dolphins play at the bow as we head back to land. 

Alila and April have really enjoyed making lots of friends here at the Denham campground and I think this would be their favourite place so far.  My favourite part is watching the groundskeeper meticulously erasing our footprints with the wide broom on the back of his golf buggy. You’d think no one stepped foot in this camping zen garden. 

Water is a precious resource here so the water always has a flat saline taste to it and the pools look slightly green. They are also shockingly cold and I can’t work out if it’s because my body temp is so high or they are just really cold. Denham is cool and the sunsets and sunrises are amazing.

Here's a snap from our catch up with Brad in Perth