Today has been on our radar since we booked it in Carnarvon on our way up the coast weeks ago. We woke to reduced winds but intermittent showers.

We headed out to the airport and received a call that the plane was coming from Geraldton and had been held up due to the hangar door not opening…. so a new series of wildflowers was photographed outside the terminal while waiting.

The plane and pilot eventually showed up and we were given the safety brief before boarding and enjoying the flight via the coastal cliffs.

An added bonus was a distant view of the pink lake we stopped by on the way up the coast. Still pretty in pink.

We spent the next 20 minutes enjoying whales from the air before arriving at the islands. There is a wreck of a trading boat from Holland (the Batavia) from over 400 years ago which crashed on the reef with over 300 people on board after a mutiny. There is a long story of murders and hangings and the oldest European structure (a small stone fort used for battle) in Australia on these islands which we were lucky enough to see.

Once landing on East Wallabi Island we walked across to Turtle Bay and set up in a shelter for morning tea. After refreshing ourselves we walked the Tammar track where we saw skinks, Ospreys in a nest and after a lot of searching, a few Tammar wallabies resting under bushes.

Then it was back to our shelter for lunch and a snorkel for those inclined. In the end, all bar Sue and I went in. The water was cold, but the coral was apparently the most colourful of the trip. Heaps of fish made the explore of the most southerly coral reef of the Indian Ocean a worthwhile experience.

While the others swam, a local skink took a real shine to Sue. I think these lizards are very comfortable with people!

Then it was time to retreat to the airstrip with the sky looking ominous. We made it back ok with a few squalls while flying back to the mainland.

Once back at the caravan park Mel and Doug managed to find us on their bikes before heading off for more exploring of the town. The Scott’s headed out to finish seeing the local coastal gorges while the Allen’s walked to town to sort food to cook for dinner. Bob and I went for a walk around the waterfront and enjoyed largely functional lungs 🙂 . At the furthest point of our walk we bumped back into Mel and Doug and after more chatting we all ended up back at the Kalbarri Hotel for a drink to finish a really lovely day.

Tomorrow is our last day in Kalbarri. We are planning to head up into the national park for some hikes of varying lengths to round out our stay.