We pressed on once more towards Northam.
As we drove south the countryside started to change. The flat expanses of the Pilbara and the Gascoyne gave way to gently rolling hills and the vegetation became a bit more prolific. While we had been seeing wild flowers ever since we came int Western Australia, they had so far been in isolated patches. This morning we saw a shallow valley with great swathes of all kinds of wild flowers. There were brilliant yellow Grevillias, red, pink, mauve, and silver bushes, bright purple, yellow and white plants. The profusion was as exciting as it was unexpected.
There are now fields planted with some cereal crop, possiby wheat, and this changes the whole feel of the landscape from bush to farmland. I guess we are getting closer to the civilised part of WA.
We stopped for lunch at the rest area in the shadows of the Galena Bridge over the Murchison River. This is a famous camping area but we weren't too impressed so we decided to head for Kalbarri.
The road goes through the Kalbarri National Park which is famous for the gorges formed by the Murchison River that are only easily accessible in a 4WD vehicle. Instead we took delight in the seemingly endless display of wild flowers. We took the opportunity to stop in a patch of sunlight to photograph as many species as we could. The photos do not capture the effect of the mass of flowers but are just samples of the extraordinary variety to be seen.
Kalbarri is a NO CAMPING WITHIN 16 KM OF THE TOWN kind of town and we had a bit of a problem getting into a caravan park. We eventually accepted an unpowered site in a park by the river and spent a pleasant night.