Kalbarri here we come.

29/7/16
It's harder to get WI-Fi access on this trip that to get a politician to buy you a drink! As a result I'm a few days behind with the blog, but here goes...

We had a short day's ride today from Northmapton to Kalbarri via Horrock's Beach. It was only around 140 Km.

After a relaxed breakfast in Northampton we made our way to Horrock's Beach for a coffee stop.

The road started out flat and straight, I'm starting to sense a theme here.

Horrock's Beach.

Horrock's is a little gem on the edge of the Indian Ocean, and the coffee was good. Unfortunately the photos the waitress took of Andrew and I didn't work out so well, so here's a photo of "The Odd Couple" bikes outside the Horrock's general Store.



Fishing is a favourite pastime at Horrock's and a few people were wetting lines and launching boats.

This fisher-person caught my eye, but I don't know if she caught much else. 

Dropping the boat in the water for a day's fishing. Good luck.

Offensive beach sign. 

Everyone knows dogs should rule the world.

It was about now that I had one of my "not so good ideas". The beach looks pretty firm, I'll just pop down there on the Guzzi and get Andrew to shoot a pic or two. What could go wrong?

Bogged! Down to the axle and bellied out on the soft beach sand.

As soon as I hit the sand I knew I was in trouble. It was SOFT! All was OK until I tried to turn and the front started to plough in the sand. Then when I tried to go up the sand back to the car park, it was all over. In hindsight it was a bad idea with road tyres, road pressures, and all the luggage on board. It took Andrew, a German tourist with his son, and I to extricate the beached whale. Memories of Morocco came flooding back. Anyway, after a lot of grunting and sweating I was back on the hard stuff. Note to self: Don't do that again.

Our next stop was the Port Gregory Convict Hiring Station. No, I wasn't looking for a job. The Convict Hiring Station was set up in the 1850s and it was where you went if you were a landowner and wanted some cheap labour.

It's located at the foot of some small, rolling hills. It's quite a pleasant location, but I'm sure the convicts that lived there didn't see it that way.

You can read about the station here:

http://www.asha.org.au/pdf/australasian_historical_archaeology/25_04_Gibbs.pdf


Then we were off to do some touristic sight seeing along the coastal cliffs just South of Kalbarri.

Check out the colour and clarity of that water.

Stunning.

Cliffs to rival The Great Australian Bight.

The Natural Bridge.

We were fortunate enough to see two whales making their way North. They were a long way off shore, but it was still pretty amazing to see.

Leaving the whales behind, we then rolled the last few ks to The Palm Resort, our cheap and cheerful motel, for sustenance and sleep.

Tomorrow we swap wheels for wings, and fly like birds...