Northampton

You may read many an article claiming how W.A is not RV friendly; this is not our experience.  There are so many RV Friendly towns in W.A and free camping we are pleased to announce is alive and well.  Northampton is a classic example of this, along with Horrocks and Port Gregory.  If you are free camping, as we do, a water refill station along with a Dump Point is really all we need.  Northampton has just that and is very easy to access as it’s close to the Highway.  The Visitor information centre although closed when we went through, looked worthwhile; set in an old building and right on the highway, definitely worth a look.

We camped at the free camp site of Galena Bridge and it was sublime!  Certainly worth spending some time here.  Black Swans and many varieties of ducks, insects and lizards.  We loved it here so much; sure we love a good beach side camp but for us the river side spots are our favourites.  It is a large area with good facilities and a walk along the river to explore is something we just loved. It was a gem of a spot to see in the new year, 2016 was now upon us.  Heading off at 6.am we soon took the turnoff to the Kalbarri loop at Northampton with the beautiful Port Gregory Pink Lake in our sights.

It wasn’t far and we came across the Lynton convict depot, as it was still quite early we had the place to ourselves.  We spent a good hour exploring the area and the history in this region can be felt the moment you step out of the car.  So much information presented in the partially restored holding building.  It was a real education for us all and a solid reminder of our Australian history.  There is a wonderful farm stay option here at Lynton too, although we did not stay there it looked amazing, Linga Longa at Lynton as the sign says.

Just a short 600m drive and you can further appreciate the history of this area, in the remarkable Lynton Homestead or commonly referred to as Sanford House, Museum and Stables which are all open to the public and Free.  This remarkable building built in the 1850’s has a view one has to experience.  Views to the Indian Ocean and you can even catch a glimpse of the renowned Pink Lake of Port Gregory from the verandah.  We spent much time here just taking in the history and lovely views.

What a day it was and it was far from over, the long awaited Pink Lake of Port Gregory was next on the agenda.  As a family we had been talking about this lake for sometime and here we were about to see it!  Capturing what we saw on camera simply did not do it justice.  The rich pinky hues were superb and leaves one in awe of it’s splendour.  The colour is caused from an abundance of salt tolerant algae and that vision is something this family will hold in their memories forever.

 

Horrocks is a lovely beach side town that is stunning in beauty.  There is a great low cost camp site on the outskirts of town, the road was a little to rough for our setup but is worth considering if you are equipped with a solid offroad van.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.