bird and brother: Out of the North ~ Kalbarri

Well we are now officially in the South-West - we passed signs by the road saying "you are crossing the 26th parallel and leaving the North-West." Far from being just the crossing of some arbitrary geographic line, the change is palpable. Trees are tall, they have leaves and cast shade. Rivers have water. Hatchbacks and sedans have staged a dramatic comeback, usurping the dominant position of the four wheel drive. And there are towns. So many towns. We have to choose which ones to stop at, as it's actually less than three hundred kilometres from one to the next.

Kalbarri, the first town on the stretch of coast leading down to Perth, seems to epitomise the transition from North to South. Sitting at the mouth of the Murchison River, it's a holiday town with some great surf breaks and a long calm riverside beach where Perth families catch some Sun and go stand up paddling on the estuary. Then just a few kilometres from town is dry and dusty Kalbarri National Park, where the Murchison has carved out big red gorges. It's almost as if you make the crossover from North to South in those few kilometres between national park and town.

We only had a couple of nights in Kalbarri, Easter holidaying families had filled the place up and we couldn't book in for any longer. Still, it was a good couple of days of exploring the town and the area, my first time with little bird in our tula carrier, some good food and relaxing times. It's a place we could come back to: less dazzling than some places further North, but an easy enjoyable little holiday town that reminded me of childhood Summers by the beach.

A transition in more ways than one, at Kalbarri we finally faced up to the reality that this is not just an extended long weekend or holiday. This IS our real life for now, which calls for an approach to day to day living together which is altogether different to the way we would usually live on a two day or even a two week holiday. What that actually means is still a work in progress.