4th - 5th Nov
 














 So we depart the long awaited Kalbarri and head once more south with no real destination in mind. We intend to visit Port Gregory and the famous Pink Lake but it will be far too early to set camp, even for us! Retracing our journey through and beyond the wonderful farmland south we soon glimpse the Pink Lake ahead, "it's Pink" expresses the navigator, sharp as a knife as usual, and pink it is, very, very pink. Though we take numerous photos they hardly do justice to this natural phenomena, so contrasting both the surrounding landscape and our long held notions of what lakes should look like! 
 
We drive down the eastern shares then turn north to skirt the western shores to Port Gregory nestled between the Pink Lake and the Indian Ocean, sounds somewhat an exotic location, well, no, not really! Port Gregory is a small fishing community with many old fishing cottages build many years ago on slim budgets, not really on our go to list but worth the visit.

As we continue southwards, between Northampton and Geraldton, a sign takes our fancy, "The Burnt Barrel", and a quick check on TripAdvisor claims a top feed! Put the brakes on at the first available turnaround and backtrack for the 13klm journey for lunch along a good but narrow, winding and hilly road. The Burnt Barrel sits on an old vineyard no longer producing, a couple of reasonably new corrugated sheds and lots of vacant land with some good shade trees. Walking into the complex we pass a very large and quite new shiny black smoker about the size of a small car, smells great.Thru a gate into a lawned area with rough timber pergolas with corrugated roofs and picnic tables which look very inviting. 
 
Inside the shed a bar offers a good range of drinks but specialises in their own labels of beer and cider which they have brewed for them. A young couple own the place, he a Hungarian chef and she a local girl with the brains and people skills. The menu was various meats smoked, such as Pulled Beef, Lamb Ribs, Pork Belly and Chicken Wings served with a variety of salads, their own take on Coleslaw and Pickled Vegetables. The best option was to design your own platter for two, and that is what we did and it was scrumptious, washed down with their own cider (or 2). The place was not busy that day and we had the chance to chat with the young couple for some time, learning that they will next year provide camping facilities for the likes of us! Good one!
 
Now only 20klm from Geraldton we finally decide that Dongarra, a further 50klm south shall be our destination for the day. It and it's adjoined village of Port Denison is a picturesque place situated on the coast with a wide creek running to the ocean. It is a very popular tourist destination especially for the folks in Perth, offering a beautiful coastline, very good harbour and boat launching facilities with safe ocean access, a picturesque township and four first class large caravan parks. There is also a good selection of restaurants, cafés and take-aways in town, and even a small drive-in theatre which operates 1 or 2 nights per week during the holidays. 
 
One of our favourite attractions was the old Priory Pub and Guesthouse located on the banks of the stream behind town. Once the home to religious orders it has for a long time been a pub offering accommodation in one of the old 2 story buildings and a bar and restaurant in another. It is a place with character and we were happy to sit in the garden outside the main bar and enjoy a few ales. Another great spot was a small cafe in an old tin shed right on the southern most beach offering great casual dining, fish'n'chips, steak sandwiches and a few more upmarket plates, popular with the locals as it is out of town and you can escape the day here very easily.
 
Evi had us up power walking (limping) each morning along the coastline into town, one morning pushing us to about 8klms, quite the task mistress! The foreshore has a walking track the entire length of this towns coastline making it very attractive for exercise and outdoor activities, didn't help the waistline though!