Karijini National Park - what an incredible spot!

14^th - 16^th August

Our mouths were agape the entire time we were in Karijini National Park. Why have we never heard of this absolutely breathtaking place? Wow, wow, wow! Words that spring to mind are awesome, phenomenal, incredible, overwhelming and amazing. Be warned – photo overload to come.

Day 1 – Dales Gorge

We left the Auski Roadhouse early this morning to travel about 50km to Karijini National Park and were at the Visitor Centre when it opened at 9am. Got a National Parks Pass ($44 allows you to enter any National Park in WA in a four week period which we thought we would make good use of), maps and other useful information. We then headed to the Dales Camping Area to be allocated a site (Euro Loop #32) and set up camp. There are only two designated camping areas within Karijini and both are extremely popular.  Volunteer camp hosts man the camp entry area and monitor the comings and goings of campers so they know each day how many spots are available. We were lucky to get our spot straight away given we had arrived early but every morning cars line up at the camp host area and wait to see if anyone is leaving to be allocated their spot. There is no booking at this particular camping area.

Once we were set up in a nice little private area – our home for a few nights we spent the rest of the day exploring Dales Gorge in the area immediately adjacent to our camp spot. There are a huge number of walks and climbs within Karijini and the WA Department of Parks and Wildlife have done a great job creating maps of each area which give a description of the walks and viewing areas, classifies the walk trails according to Australian standards and gives the distance of the walk and approximate time frame for a return journey. Once you start walking, there are coloured markers along the way to ensure you are on the right track (which at times was very hard to determine).

From our camp site we walked along the rim of the gorge to the Circular Pool Lookout which offers excellent views down into Circular Pool. From there we continued along the rim to the Three Ways Lookout which is the point at which Dales Gorge goes in three different directions. The thing that struck us immediately about these gorges in the sheerness of the walls and the layers of different coloured rock of which they are comprised.  The banded iron formations exposed in many of the rock in the gorges originated more than 2,500 million years ago as iron and silica rich sediment deposits were transformed by the pressure of further sediments laid down over them forcing trapped water to be driven out and gradually turning the sediments into tough, well-bedded rock. Horizontal compression later caused the rocks to buckle developing numerous vertical cracks, before lifting to the surface to form dry land. A sharp drop in sea level caused the rivers to cut down rapidly through the land, creating sheer-sided gorges. Combined with millions of years of erosion, the rocks have been sculpted into the present landscape which is simply amazing. (Geology info thanks to WA Dept. of Parks and Wildlife brochure for Karijini National Park).

Just near the Three Ways lookout we saw a large bee hive absolutely alive with buzzing bees - can see where the term ‘a hive of activity’ comes from.

The fun then began as we descended from this lookout down into the gorge via a steep, rough trail complete with a ladder at the bottom to assist in getting to the gorge floor. We followed the gorge around to Circular Pool which had not long before viewed from above. A pristine pool (circular in shape, hence the name) fed by a waterfall and surrounded by fig trees grasping onto the gorge wall and seemingly growing out of nothing but rock. I had a swim here – very brisk but I can’t be at a waterhole and not swim. Stephen was supportive from the water’s edge.

From Circular Pool we embarked on the Dales Gorge Walk – 2km along the gorge floor linking one end of the gorge to the other.  Very pretty but a little challenging as you had to clamber over rocks and cross from one side of the gorge to the other, sometimes in water. It was cool and quiet down there and the walk was a great introduction to what Karijini has to offer. We were rewarded at the end of the walk with the narrow gorge opening up to Fortescue Falls. Ate our picnic lunch here on one of the cascade levels of the falls (lunch with a view) and had a swim.

A little further past the falls (you need to climb up the dry part of them to rejoin the track) is Fern  Pool – another gorgeous swimming hole with a small water fall, lots of fish swimming around your feet and beautiful maiden hair fern growing out of the rocks. My Mum would have loved this – she grew lots of maiden hair ferns at home but none were ever as healthy as these ones.

Waterlogged and worn out, we climbed back out of the gorge (easier at this end than where we climbed down but still a pretty decent aerobic workout) and meandered our way back to camp via the 2km Gorge Rim Walk. More great views to see and very interesting plant life growing on the rim – very different to the bottom. We felt we deserved a restful evening at our campsite and an early night. We are very impressed with Karijini so far and looking forward to what the next few days has to offer.

Day 2 – Weano Gorge

Today we travelled through the Park about 50km (Karijini is WA’s largest NP encompassing some 627,441ha) to the Weano Recreation Area to explore Weano and Hancock Gorges. Some of the walking yesterday was challenging but today was even more so. Interesting that here in WA, the National Parks people make it very clear about the difficulty level of the walks and warn about standing near cliff edges, climbing on slippery rocks etc but then just leave it up to the individual to assess their fitness and ability level and proceed accordingly. No barriers or rails within the park (except at the lookouts) and very few aids to assist people with walking. Our experience in other places is that anything that is vaguely challenging is shut off and people are not allowed to enter. I wonder how long Karijini will remain like this.

Our first walk today was in Hancock Gorge to Kermits Pool. Most walks begin with a steep climb down into the gorge and this one was no different. We descended via uneven rock steps and a number of ladders to the gorge floor and then walked along the gorge towards the pool. The gorge got narrower and narrower and eventually we had to climb onto the gorge walls and inch our way along the rocks. There was also some walking through water but not too deep. The gorge finally opened into what is called the Amphitheatre – a natural rock amphitheatre which was good for a rest and a song!! The next bit of the walk was called the Spider Walk – a narrow passage through the rock approximately 1m wide with water flowing. Traversing this section involved avoiding the water below by positioning your hands and feet up the sides of the rock and inching your way along like a spider. Fortunately this section was quite short and opened up into Kermits Pool – beautiful but really, really cold. We sat here for a while and soaked it all up. I had a quick swim and then we headed back to the top of the gorge. What a start to the day.

After lunch we had another exciting walk/climb down to the Handrail Pool which is within Weano Gorge. Starting with a climb down (for a change) and then a walk over rocks and through water. No chance of keeping your feet dry here! As the gorge got narrower, it was necessary to negotiate slippery rocks and running water and eventually we came to the top of the pool where we needed to use the handrail and rock steps provided to lower ourselves down into the pool area. Quite amazing. Didn’t swim here – just too cold, but enjoyed the solitude before climbing back up the handrail steps and back from where we came. This walk is only 150m long but it took quite a while to negotiate the trail.

We then continued 1km along Lower Weano Gorge track, climbed back up the gorge at a different spot and returned to the car park via the 1km Upper Weano Gorge track. Again, the contrast between the vegetation on the gorge floor to the gorge rim was very noticeable. Along the Upper Weano Gorge track there were lots of beautiful wildflowers and huge termite mounds.

Our final sightseeing for today was to enjoy the views from Junction Pool Lookout and Oxer Lookout – both spectacular.

Another night of not much except sitting around the campsite as we were pretty knackered after our exploration today.

Day 3 – Joffre, Knox, Kalamina Gorges and Astronomy Night

Drove again today to get to Joffre and Knox Gorges – our first adventures for the morning. The top of Joffre Falls is just a short walk from the carpark. We enjoyed looking at the falls from above and then made our way along the track to take us to the pool at the bottom. The track was relatively easy at the start taking us slowly down into the gorge however, towards the very end we got to a spot where the trail marker said to go down and we both looked at each other and said ‘really’. It seriously looked like the trail just went over the cliff and we couldn’t see where you would put your hands or feet. We stood there for about five minutes watching some people come up and some others go down and finally decided to leave our packs and give it a shot. Once we were over the edge, it wasn’t as bad as it looked but definitely not for the faint hearted. The pool at the bottom of the falls was really lovely (so worth the cliff dive!) and had a small beach to sit and relax on while the adrenalin rush subsided. The climb out wasn’t too bad and back at the top we walked in another direction to the Joffre Falls Lookout for a different perspective.

Next stop – Knox Gorge Track. This spot edged in as my favourite of the three days as it was quite surprising. The walk started as they all have done with a steep climb down onto the gorge floor and a walk along the floor picking your way over rocks and through some water. We had been walking for a while and were thinking we might turn back when we turned the corner and the gorge narrowed to a tiny opening which looked out into another part of the gorge and a huge drop to the floor of that section. There were a series of little pools leading to the drop off which is where the walk finished (yes I had a swim). On the way back we passed another few pools and Stephen found one he could jump into from a rock. We had been told we couldn’t swim in this gorge so he hadn’t brought his swimmers so after a bit of deliberation over jocks or no jocks it was a quick nudie swim (even though he managed to drop his jocks into the water when taking them off which kind of defeated the purpose of taking them off in the first place!!).

We left this part of the park and stopped in at Kalamina Gorge on the way back to camp. We did the 3km Kalamina Grorge walk which took us along the bottom of the gorge however, this walk was a bit disappointing. Nothing much different to see and all the water holes were covered in green algae which wasn’t very pretty and meant you couldn’t swim. The walk ended at Rock Arch Pool – the rock arch was an interesting formation but the algae on the pool detracted from the view. There was a nice little waterfall at the other end.

Stephen here now…….Back at camp we were in for a treat tonight. We had signed up for an Astronomy evening that was being run at the camp and sounded interesting. The guy running the show had a magnificent set up with four enormous telescopes set up and a sound system to set the mood. We had an absolutely perfect night for star gazing – not a cloud in the sky and the moon set early. Highlights of the evening included clearly seeing the rings of Saturn, exploring globular clusters and peering into star nurseries where new stars are being born. We also spent some time gazing at a star that astronomers estimate is due to go supernova anytime soon. However, anytime soon in astronomical terms means anytime in the next thousand years. Needless to say, no interstellar fireworks on this night. A great way to spend an evening in the outback and we even got a Milky Way bar at the end. Thanks to Remtrek Astronomy for a memorable evening for our last night in Karijini.