Nature's Window (28/4/14)

I phoned the Kalbarri info centre again today and was told that the road was open but there weren't enough people to organise a 4WD trip with. So after some discussion Geoff decided we'd all go this afternoon in the car but if the road was too corrugated then the car would suffer and so we'd turn back and give it up as a bad idea. I had a lazy morning and after lunch we headed off to Kalbarri National Park. The man at the pay booth reckoned the road was pretty good so I paid the entry fee and we started to drive along the route. The first half of it was sealed but the second half was extremely sandy with some wet patches and was pretty corrugated. We persevered though despite the intense vibrations and eventually made it to the sealed car park at the end. The inland gorges here were huge and the view was great. Even the view from the urinals at the toilet was incredible and entirely unique. Just look at the photo and tell me you wouldn't want a view like that while peeing! Natures window was very intriguing though. It's amazing to think that it had gained its shape simply through erosion. There were quite a few people there so we spent a bit of time waiting to get our chance at a photo and our chance eventually came. It wasn't a queue as such just people being polite and waiting their go. After some photos we walked back to the car and started the journey back along the corrugated section. We decided not to go to the Z bend lookout as it would be more unsealed road to get there plus time was ticking away and we still wanted to visit the pink lake on the way home. So we headed for the entrance and after some more intense vibrations hit the sealed section once more. We soon left Kalbarri behind us and on the way back to Horrocks drove to Port Gregory and the pink lake. The lake has turned pink due to algae that inhabits the water here but you need to be above the lake to get a real idea of how pink it is. From the viewpoint we had you could get a pretty good idea though. After some photos we stopped at the local food store to buy some chips and a coffee and ate and drank these in the car on the way back. Back at Horrocks Geoff washed the car and I hunted round inside the car to find where a rattling noise was that had developed since Kalbarri. After taking off a plastic internal panel I found a metal bracket behind had loose bolts so tightened these up before replacing the plastic panel. I helped Geoff wash the wheelie bins, as the bin men had come, and returned them to their rightful houses. I then spent the early evening blogging for a while before watching another sunset. After our curry dinner I blogged some more, drank beer, watched TV, took a shower and then went to bed. I'm glad we managed to tick off Nature's Window. It was definitely worth seeing.