Kalgan River Floatabout

Waiting to start our next farmsit near Albany, we stayed at a tranquil campsite on the Kalgan River where mobs of red kangaroos, some as tall as me, mingled with the campers. 

A treat for us, was the daily arrival and departure of beautiful Baudin’s Black Cockatoos, becoming gradually rarer due to habitat loss.

Also present in large numbers, were families of magpies popping in for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

We spent a day on a tour with the Kalgan Queen, chugging from Emu Point up the Kalgan River.

At the jetty, we met Perch, a pet pelican who had been disentangled from fishing line at an early age and never forgotten the kindness of a human.

 As we got under way, we were divebombed by a white-bellied sea eagle after his daily snack of pilchard courtesy of the captain.

 

We passed Green Island, a year-round breeding ground for pelicans, then met an acrobatic osprey also right on time for his snack.

On the way, the captain regaled us with lots of amusing and interesting nuggets of history and natural science. For a titillation of our tastebuds, we had local oysters, strawberries, honey, and savoury damper after the captain’s mother’s recipe and billy tea. 

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Albany, Kalgan River, Kalgan River Cruise, Western Australia