In October 2016, we went off to explore the North of WA. 414 km and four and a half hours to our destination of Geraldton. From there another hour and forty minutes to the beautiful scenic Kalbarri. We did a fair bit of urban exploration and site seeing and this was the true epitome of 'winging it' when it came to camp spots.
My very first YouTube Video was of this trip. It's a little rough and ready and theirs some footage from other times and places thrown in.. but it can give you another perspective -> Here
It was Spring time, a little sunny, a little over cast. Louis and I were on Tafe holidays for four weeks, so we took the opportunity to go away for (I can't remember how long we were gone) maybe five days. We always went camping down south because it's so lush and green and just such good vibes. We were curious about the north so we made our destinations Geraldton and Kalbarri.
Our main motivation to go was to see the Pink Lake (between Kalbarri & Geraldton). Generally speaking we didn't have anything in particular to see, so we just went with the flow each day which is usually how we like to do things.
Not too long into the road trip we came to the seaside town of Jurien Bay and decided to have a look to see what was there. Not much it turns out.. But we took some silly photos and had a quick walk on the beach which was nice. Then it was back to driving.
I think it was about three in the afternoon when we got to Geraldton. We were quite surprised when we first got there. I guess we had no pre-conceived ideas of the place and no idea of what to expect, but it was quite a large built up town and a really a nice place. We stopped at a big park to have a stretch and decide on Google Maps where we might be able to camp.
We were in good spirits.
Now. As for where we camped. I couldn't even tell you the spot.. We usually try and find a free, unmarked spot to stay the night (No set camp site just a random bush track type thing) and that works most of the time. But we were losing day light and we had so much trouble trying to find a secluded area to go for free and couldn't even book into any camp sites last minute (it was a long weekend). So we literally ended up staying on a massive empty block in the middle of a dingy looking neighbourhood. Not gonna lie, I was pretty freaked out the first night. I kept imagining some random guys coming in and causing trouble, or worse. Typical me. But! It was actually perfectly fine. A little unorthodox, but it ended up being so good we stayed for four entire nights! It went from being a scary place to one we felt really happy at. Here are some photos from there.
We called it "The Land with the Purple Sheaths" because there were loads of pretty purple fern things surrounding us.
Day one was basically set up camp, cook dinner and sleep. The next day we went to town to see what was there. It was a lot of fun running around an abandoned apartment block, and out the back of the Head Space Headquarters which was also abandoned (it was full of awesome art). Time stamp 0:29 in Youtube Video.
I remember the feeling so clearly of being here. It was such overwhelming inspiration. It might look gross and grimy but at the time I was really intrigued by street art and graffiti so it was great. We didn't bring enough paint because we didn't expect there to be such good opportunities to paint. I still enjoyed filming and taking photos. This was also the first main trip where I was using a film camera so I have such fond memories of that, too, and just buzzing with inspiration.
We wondered around and explored the town for three days which is longer than we usually would, but we liked it that much we thought what's the rush?
The foreshore was really nice and we cooked breakfast there each morning and brushed our teeth and got ready in the public toilets as it was just easier. If you have kids they would absolutely LOVE the playground there, it's next level. We ate chips on the grass a couple of times, but the seagulls were also next level annoying.
On day four we set off to Kalbarri, stopping at the Pink Lake on the way. And some cool bridge.
You can't really tell it's pink in these, and close up it's only slightly pink. It's from a distance that it really shows. But still we really enjoyed marvelling at the pink water. Time stamp 0:45 in Youtube video
Then we arrived at Kalbarri National Park. There are so many areas to explore there but we only went to one area, it absolutely blew our minds.
We were planning on staying the night in Kalbarri however, the town was abit of a let down for our expectations. It was a public holiday, so plenty of kids and families filling all of the camp sites, so probably nowhere for us to stay. We thought okay, let's at least get a coffee or some lunch but everything was shut! We didn't really account for the public holiday. We really liked our other spot in Geraldton so much, that we decided to head back there for another night before heading home to Perth. We were pleased enough with seeing the beautiful views at the Park. If we were to go again I would try for an off peak time or just be more prepared with where to stay, and I would like to spend more time in the National Park.
So that's basically it, I didn't capture photos or videos of every single thing but here are the main parts. I loved getting these photos back from the printer and they bring back warm memories every time I see them.
Most images shot with my Minolta Auto Focus camera
Some with the Samsung Galaxy s6
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