Gorgeous little town at the mouth of the Murchinson River. Very pretty beachfront that is protected by the river mouth form the waves and the weather. Lovely park along the beach front with BBQs picnic areas and an adventure playground for the kids that looks so good I may have a go later. Has all the basic shops and loads of place to eat including two pubs. May have to try them out later.
War MemorialOld gun
All Aussie towns have a war memorial that is usually very prominent and very well looked after. Kalbarri is no exception. Something to be proud of. God Bless the ANZACs.
We stayed at the Murchinson River Caravan Park right on the riverfront and it was lovely. Walking distance to the shops and pubs, with nice grassy pitches and very clean modern ablutions. A bit pricey but got a Top Parks discount that made it a bit better.
Pelican
Pelican feeding at 8.45 every morning is a big attraction.
The Lynton Convict Hiring Depot (1853–1857) was the first convict depot north of Fremantle, Western Australia. It was established on 22 May 1853 with the arrival of the 173 ton brigantine Leander, which transferred 60 ticket-of-leave convicts and Pensioner Guards (retired British soldiers) that had arrived at Fremantle on the Pyrenees on 1 May. It was established to supply labour to the Geraldine Lead Mine, 64 kilometres (40 miles) north of the site on the Murchison River, and to local settlers. The depot was closed by order of Governor Kennedy on 3 January 1857 due to the high cost to the government of its maintenance.
Information Building
Lynton Convict Hiring Depot is situated approximately 6.3 km (3.9 mi) east-southeast of Gregory, Western Australia. By 1856 a store, bakery, depot, lockup, hospital, lime kiln and administration block had all been built but a lack of fresh vegetables had seen the convict population ravaged by scurvy. It was decided to close the settlement and the convicts were transferred with the officer in charge to Champion Bay in 1857. The transfer seems to have been due to the growing importance of the town of Geraldton, and the need for public works in the district.
Items found during restoration
Five women from the “Bride Ships” were known to have arrived in Lynton.
Restored bunkhouse for up to 80 people
Lynton remains the most intact example of a regional convict depot in Western Australia. Entered on the Register of the national estate and vested in the Northampton Shire Council, conservation works are in progress via the Northampton Historical Society who are doing a great job with income from donations only.
The Station is on a working farm property that also includes Linga Longa Farm Stay. So please respect the signed and rules if you visit.
Pink Lake near Port Gregory, a bacteria produces beta carotene that makes the lake look pink when the sun shines on it, apparently, it looks best at sunset but it was always raining at sunset when we were there. BASF have an extraction plant for food use as food colouring.
Town is probably too grand a word for Port Gregory. It is a hamlet at best with a caravan park, a beach that is protected by a reef, a general store and a pink lake, the caravan park was delightful and had all the facilities you would expect including grassy sites and a lovely undercover BBQ area with a pool table, darts, air hockey, bar football and even an arcade game. It even had petrol and diesel pumps, just in case.
The Pink lake is pink when the sun shines on it and it took a few visits to get good photos of it, the pink colour is caused by beta carotene producing bacteria and apparently id best at sunset, unfortunately, it was raining at sunset when we were there.
BASF extract the beta carotene to make food colouring and other things.
A very nice little town with all the facilities you need caravan park, two pubs, IGA, chemist, post office, etc. It has a little jetty and beaches that are beautiful and clean. Weather was not good whilst we were there so went to the Jurien Bay Hotel twice which had little creatures pale and Guinness on tap along with the ubiquitous Aussie tap beers. The food looked and tasted great and as we were in Lobster season (which for some reason they call crayfish) I had to try one and it was delicious, perfectly cooked and topped with garlic sauce. They know how to cook a Lobster. Unfortunately the same can not be said of steak as although I asked for it rare it was well done. Nevermind there was plenty of yummy garlic sauce to go with it. There is also 10% off food if you are staying at the caravan park.
The BP servo in town must be one of the last attendant service stations in Australia. It was manned by a very pleasant fellow from Kent (a long time ago judging by his broad Aussie accent) whose daughter now lives in Rochdale. Keep it up sir that personal touch was much appreciated and sadly lacking in today’s society.
Next stop Port Gregory Caravan Park between the Indian Ocean and the Pink Lake. Come highly recommended by our neighbor in Jurien Bay CP.
We have spent the last few days in Jurien Bay dodging heavy rain storms and cleaning up after an overflowing toilet. In between times we went to the pub and visited the Pinaccle desert in the Nambung National Park near Cervantes. The Aboriginal people of the area thought that the pinnacle desert was a place of devils and the pinnacles themselves were the fingers of dead young men, who had visited the area against the advice of the elders and disappeared, reaching out to get back to our world.
We found it an eerie place as well as having a stark beauty. The jury is still out on how they were formed.
Welcome to Travelling Banjos a travel blog written by two Brits travelling from Perth WA back to our home in Teralba NSW via the ‘Top End’. We are Phil and Jools Band and want to share our experience with our friends and anybody else out there who is interested. We will update every few days with pictures stories and comments on travelling and life in general.
Hi all been busy back at work for a while so never got to finish this off, i will endeavor to do so next week and add in our experiences at next weeks Tamworth Country Music Festival.
