KARIJINI NATIONAL PARK

23^rd July 2012

It’s to be a day of travelling today and as we pass through Roebourne we fill up with fresh drinking water at the information centre.  Where we are headed there will be bore water but drinking water will be non-existent.  As we turn south away from the coast at Port Hedland we stop at a supermarket to replenish our supplies.  Our camp for the night is in a rest area (along with twenty or more like minded travellers).  At seven thirty the next morning we continue our journey travelling up the Hammersley Range and arriving at Karijini National Park two hours later.

Some of the scenery inside Karijini National Park

We check in at Dales Campground in the park and set up on a site before making our way to the nearby Dales Gorge.  The track takes us along the rim of the gorge and the scenery is beautiful.

The rim walk at Dales Gorge

The gorge widens out where two gorges converge into one.

Looking down into Dales Gorge

Up one gorge is Circular Pool

Circular Pool - The little dots on the rocks bottom right corner are people

and up the other gorge is Fortescue Falls.

Fortescue Falls

The water is freezing cold but some people are actually swimming and climbing up where the water is tumbling down the rocks.  In the middle of summer this would be a great place to frolic in the water but it is winter and the temperature of the water has got to be one degree above freezing.  Flirting with hypothermia is not our idea of fun.  The next morning we hop into Mitzi and drive 42 kms along dusty dirt roads to the more inaccessible gorges in the park.  

Following another vehicle on one of the dirt roads in Karijini National Park

We first walk to Oxer and Junction Pool Lookouts where there is a spectacular view into the convergence of four gorges.

View from Oxer Lookout into Joffre Gorge

In front of us is Joffre Gorge, to the right Hancock Gorge, to the left Red Gorge and coming in from behind us is Weano Gorge.  A sombre reminder of just how dangerous these gorges can be is a memorial to an SES Volunteer who was drowned in a flash flood trying to rescue an injured tourist.  Regans Pool in Hancock Gorge has been named after him.  We decide to take a look at the track leading into Hancock Gorge.

Rocky track leading into Hancock Gorge

It is very rocky and very difficult to traverse.  We manage to get about halfway down before deciding it is way too dangerous for us – and we hadn’t even got to the hard bit.  The scenery even from this point on the track was stark and beautiful.

The towering walls of Hancock Gorge

The red rocks known as banded iron formation date back 2,500 million years when little oxygen filled the atmosphere and the only forms of life were simple bacteria and algae.  We made our way back up to the ridge (after much huffing and puffing) and took the track into Weano Gorge.  There were lots of rock steps down but it was definitely much easier than Hancock Gorge and near to the bottom the track levelled out

Wok stops to take in the view into Weano Gorge

and brought us to a rock ledge overlooking a lovely clear pool

Wok surveys the pool in Weano Gorge from a rock ledge

which reflected the red rocks and white trunks of the Snappy Gums.

Reflections of Snappy Gums

Further down the gorge narrowed and became impassable – that is unless one was willing to wade waist deep through the water to the next bend

The red rock walls close in

where there was another rock ledge leading to another deep area of water which was impassable.  It didn’t take long for us to come to a consensus that this would be as far downstream we would go and were quite happy to watch the mirror reflections in the still water.

Mirror reflections in Weano Gorge

Now that we had covered the downstream area of the gorge we followed the track upstream where the clear water flowed beside the red walls of the gorge.

The crystal clear water reflects the layers of red rock

Apart from a few birds we hadn’t seen much animal life but ‘ever on the look out’ Wok spotted this tiny striped lizard sunning itself on the track.

Just look at this lizard's long tail and long toes

Wok had by this time decided a walking stick would come in handy and after scavenging around this ‘I’ve really hard a hard time of it’ gum tree

Wok searches for a suitable stick in the flood debris under this gum tree

came up with a reasonable facsimile.

Wok with walking stick

We eventually made our way out of the gorge and on our way back to Mitzi found a ‘Nulla Nulla’ bush in flower.

The pretty purple flower of the Nulla Nulla

On the way back to camp we stopped in at the park information centre for some nice long relaxing showers - just the thing for tired aching muscles.  In the morning Wok made friends with some ‘top notch pigeons’

Wok tries to make friends with some Top Notch Pigeons

with a crushed up ice cream cone.

Yum Yum!  Imagine finding ice cream cone way out here.

Then it was off to have a look Kalamina Gorge which is more accessible than the other gorges in the park.  After a short descent down the side of the gorge we come to a glorious waterhole

Waterhole in Kalamina Gorge

with water cascading down the layers of rock at one end into the gorge.

Kalamina Gorge waterfall

From here there is only one way to go and we follow the rock ledge downstream.

Walking downstream in Kalamina Gorge

Wok is intrigued by the different rock layers

Wok checks out the different rock layers

and this red layer striped by blue asbestos certainly stands out.

Red rock layer with blue asbestos stripe

It’s a magic place just strolling along the rock ledge beside the clear stream.

Wok enjoying the serenity

The red rocks and bubbling cascades are a photographer’s delight.

Red Rock photo op

The forces of nature can be seen in the gorge with this curved rock strata showing that tremendous force was once unleashed in this area albeit a long long time ago.

Evidence of enormous forces exerted upon the rock strata

We retrace our steps back up the gorge and are still awestruck with the beauty of the rocks

Another photo op

and tumbling water.

Try real hard and you may hear the sound of the water cascading down the rocks

Our stay in Karijini National Park has come to an end.  We are all gorged out.  Karijini is a fascinating place with stunning red rock gorges, waterfalls and crystal clear pools.  A surprising treat in this stark dry landscape.