Denham to Geraldton

Shell Beach

Shell beach, as the name suggests is a beach of shells, not sand. It looks like pristine white sand, like all the other WA beaches but it is billions of tiny white cockle shells. Apparently the shells are up to 10m deep in places. It happens in this area of Hamelin Pool because of very high salinity levels in the sea water making it uninhabitable for any of the cockles natural predators to survive. So naturally, they flourish. Billions and billions of tiny white cockle shells, pretty impressive. 

Shell Beach.

Hamelin Pool

Hamlin Pool was something we drove past on the way to Denham but we decided to pull in there on the way back past as we were heading back towards the North West Coastal Highway. We were very glad we did call in to see it too. The Stromatolites are a creature that looks a bit like coral and have been around for 3500 million years, well outdating any complex life on earth. Hamelin Pool's Stromatolites are one of the biggest known colonies on earth. We were just more impressed with the colour of the water of Hamelin Pool. It made for postcard perfect photos. The water in Hamelin Pool is twice as salty as normal sea water, it is connected to the ocean but I guess it isn't subject to much current and the shallow water would lead to increased evaporation and therefore leaving more salt behind. The Stromatolites like the shallow, warm, extra salty water apparently. 

 The Stomatolites at Hamelin Pool.

The Stomatolites at Hamelin Pool again. They don't look much but it sure is a good view.  

Us at Hamelin Pool on the boardwalk. 

The Principality of Hutt River

A quick international trip. Near the town of Kalbarri, we visited the Principality of Hutt River.  We met Prince Leonard, he is a very chatty 91yo. He told us all about and showed us his letter from Queen Elizabeth (of England, not Hutt River) as well as plenty of other interesting things that are gifted to royalty from royalty all around the world.
The Principality of Hutt River and Prince Leonard came to be a prince in April 1970 when Leonard was granted the legal status as a sovereign nation for his property Hutt River. This was after a lengthy dispute with the Western Australian government over quotas put on wheat crops. He had 4000 hectares of wheat crop ready for harvest when the quota was changed so he could only sell 40 hectares of his crop. I would be cranky too! In January of this year (2017) Prince Leonard abdicated his throne after 45 years of rule to his youngest son, Prince Graeme. We also met Prince Graeme, who was a fantastic host, showing us around their immigration office where passports and visa documentation is taken care of, they were not too strict. He also showed us around the chapel.

This is a sculpture of Prince Leonard's lid.

We camped the night at the 24hr rest area on the south side of the North West Coastal Highway bridge over the Murchison River, it's called Galena Bridge Rest Area. There are toilets and some shade available. Fireplaces are also supplied but fires are banned over summer completely. 

GPS coordinates - 

Kalbarri National Park

 The mighty Murchison River. Actually not a joke, after heavy summer rains this river would be quite a sight.

Horseshoe Bend on the Colorado River, Page, Arizona, USA? No. Again, the Murchison River in Kalbarri NP. 

Nature's Window. 

We camped the night at Port Gregory Caravan Park. It was a good park, we had zero complaints. Tent sites are nice and grassy, amenities were all dated but clean. Hutt Lagoon at Port Gregory is also interesting it is a saltwater lagoon that is pink. The water is actually pink but it didn't really show up in any of the photos, I think it is the reflection of the blue sky making the water just look brown in the photos but to the eye it was quite pink. I didn't stuff around with the big camera to get a good photo unfortunately, just took a few with the phone and moved on - later realising my error.

Kalbarri to Geraldton

Horrocks Beach, Horrocks, WA. Awesome beach, awesome spot. Would love to come back and stay longer. Tiny little beach town, would be so relaxing to spend a week at just fishing and taking it easy.

Our first real mechanical woes.

A wheel bearing seal that I damaged when installing before we left Port Hedland let go about half an hour out of Geraldton. It was only the seal, I could tell that the bearing was still ok - slightly loose but still working alright, just now low on grease. It made it to Gero' where I set up my makeshift workshop in the carpark at Repco. This wasn't as handy as it sounds. I did get the seal I needed from Repco and I did install it in the carpark, but like the cheap nasty Repco seal before it, I damaged it when getting it in and it tore itself to bits before the wheel even hit the road. After trying two other places with no luck I stumbled on a good shop (the biggest Auto1 I have ever seen) that had exactly what I wanted. A seal with aluminium outer ring but not a marine seal, also not the kind of marine seal with flippers and a tail. This allowed me to get the tight fitting seal installed without damaging it and we were back on the road! 

In Geraldton we stayed at the Belair Gardens Caravan Park. I will tell you more about this later as it is too early to tell what it's like. Night 1 as I am writing this.