KARAJINI NATIONAL PARK
This section follows on from the Geraldton to The Pilbara section.
We went for a swim and swum right to the end of the gorge. We were regretting not packing a waterproof case for one of the cameras so we could have got some great photos down the other end which is only accessible by swimming.
We stayed overnight at the roadside stop and realised we were not that far from the town of Tom Price so we went in there to have a look around and to stock up again on groceries and fuel (and a Karajini Map from the info centre...) before heading into the park - again...
The track to the right past the duck pond was great and it came to a awesome swimming hole that in our opinion was the best swim spot in Karajini. Paul even walked another 200m past the swim spot while Lisa happily kept swimming.
Finally after a week we entered the Karajini National Park. The view along the road was incredible.
We headed straight to the Karajini Information Centre.
The visitors centre staff were actually not very helpful.
They couldn't tell us which walks were best for mornings or arvos, much about the area and had even run out of the much needed maps and walk info handouts.
And with no internet we couldn't even download one.
We weren't very impressed.
Then we checked our online booking form and to our surprise - we were a day early..... oops!!
It didn't matter. We decided to head to the other end of the park and do Hamersley Gorge for our first day instead of later during the trip. It meant we could simply stay at one of the many overnight roadside free camps out in that area before coming back in the next day.
We initially tried to tow the trailer along the dirt road in but at the 10km mark we stopped and turned around and took it back to an overnight roadside stop before heading into the gorge for the day in 4WD and without risking the trailer on the terribly corrugated roads.
We climbed to a peak before the main car park which gave great views over the whole area and back towards the folded and faulted layers of rocks near the car park.
There was also another lookout just prior to walking down into the gorge which also gave great views and more twisted and tortured layers of rocks.
Despite there being a few cars in the car park (and not one trailer....), there wasn't many people down in the gorge. It was a case of everybody was spread out over many different areas and walks which made it seem not very busy.
Compared to Newman, the town was super clean, small and friendly with all of the things we needed.
Sadly what it didn't have was a lookout the looked down over the town, despite having some higher areas around the town.
After getting into the Dales Camp Ground we set up our home for the next 7 days.
By then it was really hot so we decided to head to Dales Gorge for the afternoon and have a look around and go for a swim in Fern Pool.
It was too late to do the big walk so we left that for the next day.
The next morning it was up early to beat the heat and tackle the 3 hour Dales rim and gorge walk. By the time we stopped and took photos and had a swim at the end, it turned into a 5.5 hour session.
Whilst we saw people along the rim and in the swimming area, while we walked through the gorge below, we didn't see a single person for over 2.5 hours.
That evening we enjoyed a great first sunset in the camp ground.
Lucky we were getting up early anyway because the noisy Galas were feeding in the trees around our site at daybreak.
It was another early and long walk with Kalamina Lookout, Gorge walk and a pool at both ends of the gorge for a swim.
Once again it took about twice as along as advertised for us to complete it.
The pool at the end wasn't that deep but it was pretty cold!!
We hiked back out and then went to the other end of the gorge to a beautiful pool that had a small waterfall at the end.
While we were at the pool the wind dropped out and Paul managed to get some great reflection photos over the water.
The sunset that evening had clouds and was very different from the night before.
The full moon came up 10 minutes later through the trees.
The next day we decided to tackle Knox Gorge.
The lookout from the top is pretty impressive.
The track that winds down into the gorge is a challenge to say the least.
It is very steep, has loose rocks and a few steep cliff style edges that are not for the feint hearted.
Once at the bottom, the map says to head left all the way down to the end where there is a swimming hole.
However, we found a small track to the right that led only a short distance to a nice little waterhole that had some ducks and birds in it.
The track looked like it continued on towards the right so we watched the ducks for a while and vowed to explore a bit more after we had done the trek to the left.
The walk down to the left is excellent and a little bit of a challenge as there is pools of water that go right to the edge of the rock walls meaning you have to walk up onto the rocks to get around and back onto the track.
The end section is incredible!
It has weathered rock formations in a big deep gully that goes well beyond the chain that stops you from getting into serious trouble further on.
Its one of those places where something is always in shadow which makes photography a challenge.
For the whole time, we were the only ones there.....
Cant believe this place wasn't marked on the walking map.
By the time we got back to the top it was mid arvo and we were stuffed!
So we had a quick look at Joffre Lookout where we were going to do the walk the next day and called it a day.
The next morning we finally got a chance to go and have a look at the Eco Resort.
Considering it is twice the price of Dales Camp, we were certainly glad we were at Dales!!
However it does have the advantage of being closer to a few of the walks.
A few days at each would be pretty good.
Once the sun had got a little higher in the sky we headed over to Joffre Lookout and before heading down into Joffre Gorge.
We took the long route around the end of the gorge and climbed down the metal ladders.
On the way home we found a Dingo walking through the camp.
We stopped to watch it and saw it go over to a campsite and start drinking out of a bowl. So we stopped and took photos.
We dropped in the next morning to the camp owners who were nice people and showed them the photos.
They had a few big lenses like Paul and were avid bird watchers and had placed the water bowl out in the hope to attract birds.
They had been perplexed for days why when they got home from a hike each day, the bowl was always empty.
We had solved the riddle and emailed them the Dingo pics.
On our final day in the park we planned a double header.
We decided to do Weano Gorge & Handrail Pool early in the morning to beat the crowds and then do Hancock Gorge & Kermit's Pool after lunch.
It would be a big day but we were up for it.
As we arrived there was a group of teenage girls on a canyoning adventure that came down into the pool.
The downside of being early was the water was very cold.
We did however manage to swim the entire length of the gorge pool and watch the canyoners hook onto safety harnesses and go beyond the chained off barrier that stops the regular tourists from going too far and getting into serious trouble.
On the way out we found a few species of small birds on the side of the track having a lovely time bathing in a small shallow pool of water.
There was water going everywhere as they flew down into it and splashed water all around.
After a well earned lunch break we stopped at the Junction Pool Lookout before heading down into Hancock Gorge and Kermits Pool.
Once again the water in Kermits Pool was freezing cold but we had to swim along the long thin pool to be able to get out at the other end and do some further exploring. Unfortunately we couldn't get a camera into the second half without a waterproof housing.
As our last stop for the day, we had a look at Oxer Lookout before heading back to the camp ground.
The next morning as we headed out of the park , we stopped at the garbage disposal area which also has a large water tank for fresh water for the campers if required.
It had a few small leaks in it and was a haven for the local birds who knew about the endless water supply
The trees were full of small birds.
After a long days driving we stopped at a small roadside camp that was on the edge of a small creek. We had seen it on the drive north when we saw some other caravans parking there.
It was a beautiful little spot and we had the place all to ourselves.
The next morning we woke to birds everywhere in the trees and we spent an hour using the roof top camper as a bird hide while Paul took lots of photos.
The last drive home was a long one but there were a few stops for large wide loads that took up most of both lanes and a stop at a dried lake bed to see some corrugated iron cut outs of sheep and sheep dogs - and a red fox.
All in all it was an excellent trip of over 4500kms.
Karajini in our opinion is a must visit location and certainly a bucket list for those travelling within the Pilbarra region.
We thoroughly enjoyed it and we'd like to visit it again in a different season.