Day 105 Kalbarri, WA

World Class is how I would describe Kalbarri National Park.  From the moment you enter the park at the rangers station, where seniors pay $8.00 admission, to when the world seemingly drops away and you are left in awe at the enormous gorge that lies in front of you, everything about this place is indeed world class.

Once inside the National Park the road lead us straight to the Skywalk.  This structure is truly an engineering marvel.   Two cantilevered viewing platforms hang in mid-air 100 metres above the gorge.  Over 1000 tonnes of sandstone was excavated during construction and reused to create the surrounding tiered landscape.  The skywalk is made of 117 tonnes of weathering steel and able to support a weight of 1000kg/square metre.  Amazing.  There is "give" in the platforms that means they do sway a little.  It can be off-putting particularly for someone like my husband that is not fond of heights.  But the views.  They are mind-blowing magnificent in every direction. 

 There are interpretive signs along the pathways leading up to and between the two platforms and they are well worth stopping to read.  The one I found very interesting was this one about the arthropod that lived in this area more than 200 million years ago!  They ranged in size from 2cm to a whopping 2.5 metres!

After a coffee and muffin break we drove the short distance to Nature's window.  This would have to be one of WA's most iconic natural attractions.  It is a Class 3, 1km return walk.  The walk is straightforward for the first 500 metres but then it is a scramble over rocks to reach Nature's Window.  There are so many people here wanting to have their photo taken that you literally have to form a long line.  Hey......this is tourist season!  But it is so worth the walk.  Once again the views are second to none as we view the Murchison River snaking its way through the gorges.  The Murchison is the second largest river in WA at 820 kms.  While we were waiting to get our photo at Natures Window, Philip walked a little way along the 8km "Loop" trail that goes alllll the way down to the bottom of the gorge and then allllll the way back up.  No thank you 😊 

Next stop on our itinerary is Z-Bend Lookout. It is considered to be the the most breathtaking view of the park.  The gorge plunges 150 metres down to where red river gums create a striking contrast against the sandstone.  The walk is Class 3, 1.2 kms and is a well maintained  gravel path with quite a few sandstone steps to take you down to the lookout.  It is all downhill to get to the lookout so the return journey is a little strenuous uphill walk, but once again worth every little bit of pain.  How is this for a view!

There are lots of wildflowers along the trail into Z-Bend.  Western Australia is known for its abundance of wildflowers and seemingly all year round as it is still only July.

It was such a pleasure to visit Kalbarri National Park.  There has been a lot of money spent in this park to bring it up to world class and I would say that it is money well spent.  Everything within the National Park is well maintained from the roads to the trails to the infrastructure and a lot of other States throughout Australia could take a leaf out of Western Australia's book.  They do not skimp on funding their National Parks!