After parking the car , we headed down to the beach and around to the point . As we walked , we saw a few guys talking - the waves behind them were above their heads .
As we headed around the corner , we found a strange gent , with his Jeep parked on the beach - the sand at his front tyres was still damp from a previous wave , and he had reversed up the dune as far as he could . To be fair , the Jeep isn't in the best condition , with several scrapes and scratches , a few broken lights and the odd rusty bit - there may be more after today - the salt spray was getting blown up the beach from the crashing waves .
Back to the point and we sat and watched some of the surfers . They are definitely a hardy bunch , especially here . They get in by jumping off the reef edge when a wave comes , then paddle as hard as they can to get away from the rocks - the waves & current take them back toward the beach at a great rate of knots . The guy pictured below is wearing a helmet , when he jumped in he was swept about 150m back toward the beach , and took him about 10 minutes of paddling to get out to where they catch the waves .
He eventually got this wave - gives you an idea how big the waves are today !!
After watching one guy get a wave almost all the way to the beach , his next battle to get out was fraught with danger as well . He had to try to get across to a gap in the rocks which were right on the beach and he got pounded by a couple of waves for his trouble , but made it out without any visible damage .
Next stop was lunch at Gorges Cafe ( yes the one I got the voucher for yesterday ). The meals were excellent - Lemon Pepper Squid , and a Chicken & Bacon Club Sandwich , with a couple of milkshakes to go with them . Definitely one of our better wins - a great cafe with excellent food !!!
After lunch we headed out to Murchison Station for a quick look , then out to Kalbarri NP to revisit Natures Window and the gorge .
It's very different this visit , next to no wildflowers , and much to our surprise , next to no water in the river . I have included 2 photo's , the 1st is today and the 2nd was last year in October .
As you can see , the river has dried up somewhat , but the vegetation now is a softer green , and the light is not as harsh .
Natures window looks better today than it did last year - mainly due to the light . Same deal 1st photo is today , 2nd is last year .
The temperature wasn't as hot today as last year - a pleasant 25 degrees . The next photos are West Loop Lookout showing the river again , 1st today , 2nd last year .
The road in was a lot worse than last year as well , sandy , corrugated , soft spots , holes etc . There was talk the road would be tarred this year - guess that is one of those politicians promises , never quite arriving , but promised many times over .
That's us for today , a really good day has been had !!
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