Kalbarri - Perth (ATA Day 10)

What is about making the last day of a trip a really long drive day? OzBUS had us do Narrandera to Sydney which was a bit adventurous given the time we stopped off in Canberra for....this crowd have us doing Kalbarri to Perth with a stop at the Coastal Cliffs, Jurien Bay Marine Park and the Pinnacles.

Up at crazy o'clock but we had a breakfast of bacon and eggs...Mmmmm. Of course we're out of butter because it wasn't on Ben's shopping list, but thanks to Una introducing me to the cheese and honey delicious combination earlier in the trip I was able to improvise and have grated cheddar, honey, egg and bacon on my toast to avoid the dry toast situation. It wasn't half bad ;)

A short ways outside of Kalbarri we detoured to the Coastal Cliffs which can be described as the Great Ocean Road of the West Coast (except it's not a road it's a short walkway...but you get the idea). There was a short walk we headed off on to see the One Apostle (proper name is Castle Cove) and a ways further on the Natural Bridge. The waves crashing into the cliffs were awesome and the scenery was pretty breathtaking. One thing I've come to the conclusion on during my travels is that all this world exploring is great...but I need to get out an explore what's in my own backyard a bit better (read any bit at all). The Cliffs of Moher is a must see for me by the end of 2010...enough is enough..I need to become an Irish tourist in Ireland :)

Back on the road, we drove on until it was time for lunch. We pulled in to Jurien Bay Marine Park where we had the last sandwiches I'll eat for a while. Having barely digested the ham & cheese goodness we were off climbing up the sand dunes with sandboards and candles in hand. After waxing up the underside of the board most of the bus crew had a few runs at sliding down the dunes on the boards. My first attempt ended prematurely when I got scared about how fast I was hurtling toward the fence at the end of the dune. I tossed myself to the left, thus ending up rolling to the bottom off the dune at speed and having to run after my board to retrieve it. My second attempt was perfect...but Una was chit-chatting at the bottom and didn't get a picture of my triumph. My third and fourth attempts ended up like my initial run with me tumbling down the dune rather than sliding gracefully, though I blame these crashes on the fact that some of the guys were trying to go down the dune standing up and when they fell off they took chunks out of the runway we were using so each time my board hit a divot I got chucked off. That's my excuse, and I'm sticking to it!! ;)

The final stop before Perth was at Nambung National Park to see the Pinnacles. We wandered amid the limestone pillars for half an hour or so taking jump shots and pictures of the more shapely rocks. The ground was covered in a yellowy sand rather than the red that we've seen for so long..it was a bit weird, but a nice change.

Last stop Perth....10 days on the road bringing our Lemmie and Loonie bus tour total days up to 101...not bad within 4 months on the road. Both buses were very different. It's hard to get to know people in just 10 days, but in saying that the guys on the WestExpo bus were lovely. I'm looking forward to seeing some of their pictures when they send them on :)