Entry 18 – 2026 – August/September – Kalbarri N.P. & Wild Flowers – Western Australia.
We were entering the cooler environments of Western Australia during late Autumn and early Spring.
It is a period of the year when sections of the Western Australian landscape become covered by wild flowers.
There was a splattering of colour from wild flowers during our time in the Kennedy Ranges. Just a few hundred kilometres south, the landscape seemed to explode with colour.
We were a bit north of our next target location of Kalbarri. The nearby farming landscape changed from paddocks occupied by cattle to a landscape covered by crops.
The untouched, natural flora bush areas seemed to erupt into a landscape, covered by a kaleidoscope of colour.
It was a delightful, fantastic sight.
Enroute to the town of Kalbarri we passed through a section of the Kalbarri National Park. The roadside flora provided tantalising viewing on what was to come.
Available options for setting camp nearby the coastal town of Kalbarri was restrictive, controlled by commercial enterprise. It was a town engulfed with tourists, many non-English speaking foreign nationals.
The area features spectacular scenery with rugged gorges carved out by the Murchison River. There are marvellous viewing sea cliffs and the landscape was covered by the unique beauty of spring time wild flowers.
The landscape is protected by the establishment of a 186,000-hectare Kalbarri National Park. It is promoted as a world class tourism attraction. There had been significant expenditure on infrastructure.
About 35 kilometres inland was a natural bush setting with the Murchison River winding its way through the N.P. with some spectacular gorges. There were a number of different hiking trail options.
A “Walk to the Sky,” where you feel like you’re floating on air, with two cantilevered viewing platforms, seemingly hanging in mid-air, 100 metres above the gorge.
Natures Window was a popular destination. After scaling stairways and a rocky trail, you lined up with other people for a turn to get your own special photograph.
The Z bend lookout trail felt like you were enveloped within a wild-flower garden.
We spent a day exploring the inland area of the N.P. There were many kilometres of roads and we regularly stopped to admire the wild-flowers.
Our bodies felt quite weary by the days end. There were around another 20-kilometres of hiking trails available, we would have loved to explore. Alas our legs didn’t have the stamina to accomplish our wishful thoughts.
The Kalbarri N.P. coastal area had an array of lookouts, providing elevated views of the rugged coastline. There is an assortment of different named attractions. Natural Bridge, Island Rock, Pot Alley and Mushroom Rock to name a few.
We did venture further afield, travelling around 70 kilometres down the road to Port Gregory. It was a beautiful beach side bay. There was a jetty with boat mooring tie up points. There must have been some huge sand ingress into the bay as the bays sand surface was barely half a metre from the jetty platform, leaving the jetty unusable.
Nearby Port Gregory was the much publised “Pink Lake.” It was crowded with young Asian tourists, many dressed up in spectacular outfits. They were conducting endless different poses, seemingly attempting to get that photograph for a “sort after Instagram pose,” with the pink lake as a back drop. The lake was a fantastic sight, though the viewing area was crowded. Normally we would spend some time admiring special settings of this nature. Unfortunately, the human crowds spoilt the serenity of the setting. As soon as we managed to obtain some memorable photographs of our own, we were out of there.
We did sight some of the locals whilst out exploring.
We could have easily spent a couple of weeks and more, soaking in the magnificence of Kalbarri National Park. Unfortunately, it was awash with foreign tourists, most from Asian countries. It lacked the quiet, appeasing atmosphere we had become accustom to at many out-back Australian destinations.
Of note. Our next blog edition 19, will be about our experience of the much publised inland wildflower encounters. We had spent a number of days inland when publishing this blog edition 18. To date it had been satisfying but didn’t have the same razzamatazz presentation as the display of wildflowers seen at Kalbarri N.P.
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