5 March 2000

Got away from Carnarvon around 8:00 a.m. and headed for Geraldton.

Drive pretty uneventful. Drastic changes in countryside and vegetation, from red sand and bluebush outside Carnarvon to lush greenery further south.

For reasons indicated yesterday, decided to give Denham and Monkey Mia a miss. But as Kalbarri is only 150 kms from Geraldton, decided to go there. Glad we did. Beautiful little place at the mouth of the Murchison River where it flows into the sea. Arrived around 2:30 p.m. and found a motel. Then sat on cool, geen grass in park overlooking river mouth and watched flock of galahs feeding nearby and had fish and chips for lunch (very good, too). Kalbarri is a clean, green, friendly, sparkling little town. It is obviously very tourist oriented, with a large amount of resort, apartment, villa, motel and caravan park accommodation. There are plenty of tours and other organized activities for those so inclined, but there are also plenty of other activities for those who prefer to do it on their own. The town and its situation reminds me of a younger more touristy version of Laurieton. Water access ranges from river to lagoon to surf. The area is blessed with magnificent scenery, from coastal headlands overlooking the Indian Ocean to lookouts over the Murchison River gorges, and the gorges themselves. Some of it we have already seen this afternoon, but the Murchison River gorges we hope to see tomorrow. There is a back road (part gravel) which runs down the coast from Kalbarri to Port Gregory and then cuts across back to the highway, coming out at Northampton, an historic old town 50 kms north of Geraldton.

Also down that way is the Hutt River Province which we will have to go and see, if possible. We might even get to meet Prince Leonard and Princess Shirl. (Years ago Len - I forget his surname - decided to secede his property from Australia and form his own country. The authorities tried to stop him, but Len was a bit of a bush lawyer and had done his homework well. Apparently there was nothing they could legally do to prevent him. So he seceded and called his new "country" the Hutt River Province. He set himself up as its head of state, calling himself Prince Leonard of Hutt and giving his wife the title of Princess Shirl. The Province had its own postage stamps printed, had its own passport stamps and everything. A wonderful piece of whimsy and eccentricity. I hope it's still going, although I haven't heard anything about it for a long time now).