Kalbarri

I am finding I am having trouble keeping up with this, so I will skip over some events.

I began yesterday in Perth with a visit to the CWA state headquarters. After a tour of the building, I met the group of hardworking ladies who make protheses and drain bags for mastectomy patients. 

This is the showroom CWA of WA runs to sell items member have made.

Sara Kenny and I then took a long walk past Parliament Building and back to King’s Park to view it in the sunshine. The park overlooks the downtown, the Swan River and South Perth. What a spectacular view!

At lunch with the sewing ladies and some of the CWA staff, each lady took turns telling a story about their experience living in Australia. One of the ladies was one of the early settlers of the farm land in WA. She and her family moved to their farm in 1966, when nothing was there. She spoke of the importance of CWA. CWA was her social life for many years. Another lady described the two-room school she attended. All grade levels were divided between the two rooms! One woman talked about how in the early days (1950s and 1960s), each farm family was given a box of medicines to take with them. Each item had a number on it. If a family member was sick, they’d radio the doctor who would tell them which numbered medicine to give the patient. The problem was that some of the medicine got old and dried up before they were used. Yikes!

I was soon off to the Perth Airport to leave for Geraldton. The plane ride was only an hour and I was able to look out the window to watch the coastline. Very cool! I recognized my host right away. Heather Allen is the president of the CWA of WA. She and her husband, Peter, drove me to their home with has a view of the Indian Ocean. Very cool (again)!

This morning, Peter drove me on the North Coastal Highway to the town of Northhampton, a small town north of Geraldton. On the way, we stopped at a grain storage facility where they keep the wheat, canola, or canola inside buildings. I soon met my host for the day, Barb, as well as her husband. We chatted for a while until a phone call came in from the local radio station. I went to a quiet room to be interviewed, but we didn’t realize that the dog had been shut in with me. The man began to interview me, but we were interrupted every few seconds with, “Yip!” “Yip!” It was really funny. I got up to let her out just as Barb remembered she was in with me. The interview went okay. He asked about my group, IAHCE, and its connection to CWA of WA. I talked a little about the ACWW conference I’ll attend and the resolutions on protecting pollinators and insuring all children get adequate iron our delegation will be introducing. The host asked where I’d be going next. I told about the day trip we’d be taking to Kal…Kal…

He interrupted and said, “Kalbarri?” Yes, that was right. He asked where I was going after that. I was so glad I’d practiced the name of Sara’s town…Badgingarra! I think I pronounced it more or less correctly. Mercifully, the interview was soon over and I think the man probably edited out a few yips before he aired it.

I got a little tour of Northampton, whose motto is "Make a Ewe-Turn in Northampton." The town is filled with sheep statues, including one named "Heather" that is the CWA of WA's contribution. (Hm, who do I know named "Heather"?)

Barb and her friend, April, and I were soon on the road to Australia’s #1 Mainland Beach in Horrocks. The Indian Ocean was rougher than the last time I’d seen it. No one was out surfing nor swimming in those waves! A boat that was anchored near shore bounced around in the surf. I was surprised to see that dogs were banned from the beach. Nearby, beach cottages were available to rent. It looked like they were made out of the asbestos laden building panels that were popular several decades ago.

We made a quick but interesting stop at Lynton Convict Hiring Depot that was being restored. This functioned from 1853-1857. It was for prisoners who had served their time and who could be employed to the local lead mine and to local settlers. Several buildings still remained, including an old barn that had been made into a farm museum. They also pointed out the local trees that are bent because of the winds.

Soon, we were on our way to Kalbarri Park. The views of the ocean and coastal cliffs were spectacular, but the wind was so strong I could hardly get a good photograph. We ate lunch at a local bakery and I tried steak and kidney pie for the first time in my life. We stopped at a wonderful bird sanctuary and saw many endangered species they are trying to breed. We attempted to walk to Nature’s Window, a famous view, but the heat got to us and we returned to the car. Several tourists have died trying to walk in the canyon and we did not want to add to the toll.

I dozed on the way back to Northampton to meet up with Peter. It had been a fun and exhausting day. On the way back to Geraldton, we were able to talk an alternate route that took us over (orange) dirt roads, past windmills, sheep and rolling hills. The predominate crop was wheat, but all the fields had been harvested. 

The evening ended with a delicious supper Heather had ready for us.