Kalbarri/wildflower Trip: Day 1

Yesterday we travelled from home to a campsite just south of Badgingarra. The worst part, of course, is getting out of the city and past Midland. Then we took the Great Northern Highway and went slowly through to the Brand Highway turnoff following a large mining vehicle being transported with full complement of pilot vehicles. As we passed Ginger’s it reminded us of meeting Robyne there on the way up to Mum’s or going up to Western Flora. We didn’t stop there this time.

The Brand Highway turnoff has changed and at first we were worried that we were going the wrong way, but eventually came across a welcome sign showing we were on the right road.

For lunch we wanted a really nice spot, and we were in luck. At Regans Ford there is a rest area near the river. It was a beautiful day, about 25 with a cool breeze and we stayed there about three hours, having lunch and a rest, and taking short walks.

We then had about a 40 minute drive to our camping area. We fiddled about a bit to try to find the best spot, basically level and in the sun. We had to raise the front wheel slightly, but were pleased with our place overlooking a view of the surrounding area. There were three other campers, two caravans and a big motorhome, which gave us a sense of being in a little community without losing much privacy.

We have slow internet here and that means I will have to add photos later.

I was very stressed getting ready for this trip even though I had the whole of Tuesday to get ready and load up the van. Once on the road the stress gradually dissipated, especially when we were at Regan’s Ford.

We have about 240 kms to go to reach Geraldton where we will meet up with Marie, Geoff and Glenn. We started our trip a day after them and they’ve already had a night there. Eversley is also around as she is doing a wildflower tour in this region with a base in Dongara. She has already been to Coalseam National Park and says the wildflowers are wonderful.

We have lots of wildflowers here at our campsite, the usual shy little flowers that you have to get close to to appreciate. I thought I found an orchid, but Stephen says it isn’t as it doesn’t have the right number of petals.