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My last night in Freo was supposed to be a relatively low key affair, I wasn't going to go out for long, just a quick beer maybe and then back to the hostel for some kip before an early start in the morning in preparation for my tip up the west coast. Who was I kidding? One beer quickly turned into a few beers and then a few more beers in the Newport Hotel (well, it was student night after all.....). The early night I had planned went out of the window very quickly, which in hindsight wasn't much of a surprise with my track record. However it turned out to be a good night and a chance to say farewell to some of the lads in the Old Firestation hostel. It was quite fitting that my first night in Freo began in Little Creatures and that Little Creatures was the scene of my last night in Freo as well. The best pub in Fremantle by far, and it will be fondly remembered, as will my three months staying in the Old Firestation. But, all good things must come to an end and with one chapter of my Aussie adventure ending another one is just beginning. This is where the real travelling starts I reckon!
It was an early start the next day - I needed to get into Perth for 7:15am. As usual, I still had a bit of packing to do in the morning, amongst other things like checking on the internet to see where I needed to meet the Easyrider coach. Lastminute.com as per usual and it doesn't amke things any easier with a hangover. I managed to make it to Northbridge and was joined on the first leg of my journey to Kalbarri by three Irish girls - Attracta, Anna-Marie and Sabrina. The weather leaving Perth was attrocious, probably one of the worst days since I had been there, so roll on going up the West Coast for some warmer weather, I thought!
The coach driver was Ryan, an Australian who used to work for Easyrider but now only works on a very casual basis. We were to travel around 700 kms today, making a couple of stops off for refreshments and to see the Pinnacles desert " A life changing experience" Ryan proclaimed. It wasn't a very nice day unfortunately, so that was a shame, but as I was to find out the further north we went the better the weather became. Luckily once we reached the Pinnacles desert the rained had ceased and we could look around in reasonable conditions. On the way to the Pinnacles we passed through Cervantes, a small crayfishing town close to Nambung National Park, which is where the Pinnacles are located. The Pinnacles itself is a desert, close to the the coastline, where thousands of lime stone pillars are scattered across a moon-like landscape across a golden desert floor. * I may have stolen that description from the lonely planet in case it is copyright protected or something. It was however a fantastic spectacle and Ryan drove us around the National Park and gave us some time for a photo opportunity before we headed off towards Kalbarri, via Geraldton, where we were to see Traffic lights for the last time until Broome!
Onto Kalbarri and we made very good time getting there late afternoon. As we arrived into Kalbarri the weather had improved and there was the sight of clear blue sky for the first time! Kalbarri is a picturesque town with a small population which swells in the holidays and at weekends with tourists. It has a beautiful beach and a fantastic, scenic coastline. One pub, one tavern and a couple of supermarkets and enough activities for maybe a four of five day stay. I decided that one night in Kalbarri was not going to be enough and made the decision over dinner to stay longer and explore Kalbarri and take part in some fo the activities on offer.
We booked into the local YHA hostel - Kalbarri Backpackers Pelicans Nest and Ryan offered to take us to the local Fish Restaurant - Finlays for a feast of fish food costing 10 bucks. Being a fish lover I decided to join in, as all four of us did. Finlay's is a true Aussie restaurant. Run by fishermen who go out and catch the fish themselves and amke the food themselves. It has a really laid back atmosphere and the food was not only superb but plentiful. I would definitley recommend anyone going through Kalbarri to try Finlay's out. From Finlay's we moved on to the only pub in town, where by a stroke of good fortune the Karaoke was on. A few drinnks later and i managed to drag Anna-Marie up with me to do 'Eye of the Tiger'. I won't comment on the performance but another song on my growing CV of karaoke performances. I don't think Austrlalian Pop idol will be banging down my door though!
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