Leaving Mt Robinson we continued north along the Great Northern Highway deeper into the dry, sparsely populated Pilbara Region and into the Hamersley Range. The range was named on 12 June 1861 by explorer Francis Thomas Gregory after Edward Hamersley, a prominent promoter of Gregory’s exploration expedition to the northwest. Karijini National Park (formerly known as Hamersley Range National Park) lies within the range.
Karijini is WA’s second largest national park, covering 627,000 hectares. Much of the southern half is inaccessible, with visitors concentrating on the spectacular gorges to the north.
We arrived at the Karijini NP three days prior to our campsite booking at the Dales Campground within the Park. A visit to the Information Centre revealed that the park was full, as we expected, and couldn’t move our booking forward. The staff at the Information Centre suggested a free camp near Mt Bruce just outside the western boundary of the park. As it was relatively close to Hamersley Gorge and several western gorges within the Park, we headed out there, being able to visit those gorges from Mt Bruce before moving to Dales Campground to explore the gorges in that location.
The campground at Mt Bruce was huge, enabling campers a lot of separation. We stayed at the van on our first day, meeting another couple from the BOG, Warren and Gail, for evening drinks. We set off early the next day to explore Weano Gorge and Joffre Gorge, taking some of the shorter walks to waterholes and lookouts.
On the Sunday we ventured up to Hamersley Gorge, 55km to the north. I explored some of the pools and took a long swim in the main waterhole. By the time I got back I was cold to the bone. It took over 30 minutes to stop shivering. We bumped into Wayne and Helen from the BOG, and as we were both heading into Tom Price for supplies, we had lunch together there. After Tom Price we returned to Mt Bruce.
On Monday we packed up and moved onto our booked site at Dales Campground. We had booked 4 nights, but as we’d already spent 2 days exploring the west end of the park, we only needed 2 days to do the east, so we left early. On the Monday we did the Dales Gorge rim walk and at night we enjoyed an entertaining three hours stargazing with Remtrek Astronomy, hosted by Phill, who’s been doing these sessions in Karijini NP for 27 years.
On the following day we enjoyed Fortesque Falls and Fern Pool, and I did a short walk into Dales Gorge. It was all very relaxing and satisfying. Karijini is a wonderful park, well worth the visit.
The first gorge we visited was Weano Gorge, heading into the lower gorge toward Handrail Pool. It’s a tough life for some in these steep rocky gorges.The gorge shows signs of tens of thousands of years of flooding torrents of water that have polished the rocks to a smooth finish. No, Carol didn’t slip on the rocks, she just thought she’d try an influencer pose. The gorge narrowed down for part of its length.At one point a small waterhole had developed, requiring us to negotiate around it on the terraced rocks surrounding the pool and through a narrow section.Upon reaching Handrail Pool the name became evident. It’s amazing how over millions of years the iron laden rock had formed a steel handrail to the lower pool. The water was absolutely freezing. I couldn’t swim more than one third of the way across the pool before having to return, despite there being access to another pool through a narrow gap across the pool. Carol wisely chose not to negotiate the ladder to the pool.After emerging from the lower gorge we stopped for a swim in a sun drenched pool, which was just warm enough for Carol to enjoy.After the warmer swim we followed the track along the floor of the upper gorge, which then took us up to the rim edge for spectacular views back into the gorge.The next gorge we visited was Joffre Gorge. Numerous steel ladders allowed a descent into the gorge. Carol chose to opt out this time. I ventured downstream to a larger, lower pool which was another great, though cold, swimming spot.At the upstream end of Joffre Gorge is a spectacular amphitheatre and waterfall. Unfortunately no water was falling.Our camp at the Mt Bruce campground outside the western end of the park. Balcony views of the sunsets were amazing.The Hamersley Range, on our way to the Hamersley Gorge.Hamersley Gorge’s banded iron formations that originated more than 2,500 million years ago, which were subsequently compressed and buckled over time.Water flows though numerous pools in the gorge. I didn’t venture too far upstream, but the long downstream pool, just visible in the middle photo, was too much of a temptation to not swim the 200m to the end of the pool. Mild hypothermia was the result upon the return 200m. The bottom photo shows how deep the gorge is, from the lookout to the pools below.Dales Campground within the Karijini National Park. Heaps of space between sites made for a pleasant stay.Dales Gorge rim walk.Fortescue Falls (left) and Fern Pool (right) in Dales Gorge. The latter was particularly beautiful with cool, clear, deep water, and fish that nibble your skin.
The floor of Dales Gorge, and a local inhabitant (that I couldn’t identify).
3 thoughts on “Karijini”
Hi Guys,
Looks and sounds like you are having a great time. We are enjoying your pics, you have been to and seen some pretty special places. Cannot believe that the water is so cold, guess that is why there are no crocs in it. We are in the process of enclosing our garden to keep the vermin out. Your house sitter has had a few moments since her op where she has been a bit down in the dumps. Lorraine has gone over to cheer her up regularly. Anyway keep on trucking Cheers
Looks like an amazing place. Your photos are great as usual. I do like the map you you have done at the end of the blog. It gives a good perspective of where you are.
Travel safe
Hi Guys,
Looks and sounds like you are having a great time. We are enjoying your pics, you have been to and seen some pretty special places. Cannot believe that the water is so cold, guess that is why there are no crocs in it. We are in the process of enclosing our garden to keep the vermin out. Your house sitter has had a few moments since her op where she has been a bit down in the dumps. Lorraine has gone over to cheer her up regularly. Anyway keep on trucking Cheers
Hi Graham & Carol, looks amazing, beautiful photo’s.
Looks like an amazing place. Your photos are great as usual. I do like the map you you have done at the end of the blog. It gives a good perspective of where you are.
Travel safe