Karijini
We had seven nights booked at Dales Campground in Karijini National Park. Closer consideration of the park map and highlights quickly indicated this was a generous amount of time. The park is split into two main clusters of gorge walks, with a 50+km stretch of corrugated road separating the two. Dales campground had one great walk on offer and three beautiful swimming holes (though Circular Pool was closed while we were there). The majority of the walks and gorges were based out at the other site, where there was another campground, albeit priceier than Dales. We'd have been better off splitting our time between the two campgrounds. But we embraced the fact that we had time on our hands and enjoyed a slightly slower pace.
Dingos appeared nearly every day at Dales Camp, normally trotting a comfortable distance behind the sites in the early evening but occasionally too in the day. We heard fabulous howling in the night on a couple of occasions.
On our first day we did the relatively sedate Dales Gorge rim walk, taking our time to absorb the new landscape and flora. In the late afternoon we ventured down into the gorge for a swim at Fortescue Falls.
The following day we tackled the corregated road out to Kalamina Gorge and enjoyed a stunning and easy walk though the gorge to a beautiful swimming hole at the end. We had a "small world moment" when we got chatting to the park ranger who happened to be a former Kangaroo Island local who was well aquatinted with our family and friends who holiday at D'estrees Bay.
After the rough trip out to Kalamini we opted for the slightly longer but sealed route out to Weano Gorge the following day. We were certainly happier and I think the car will thank us for it.
We'd heard mixed reports about the difficulty, particularly with small kids, of the walks into Weano and Hancock Gorges, so we were open to the possibility of taking it in turns to do the full walks. We started with Hancock Gorge which ends at Kermit Pool. This was a fabulous Indiana Jones-esque walk with tight sections where the gorge walls pressed in from both sides, stretches of wading through water and a leg which could either be swum or done spider-walking along the rock wall. We opted for the rock wall rather than run the risk of hypothermia in the icey water! It was certainly a scramble in parts requiring full attention on our own footing and Hugh's (Claire rode in the backpack), but I didn't at anytime think we were taking too great a risk. Getting into the water was fun, changing shoes and taking trousers off. The water was pretty cold and came up around knee height on me, so for Hugh it was a bit chillier. We then all (bar Claire) took the optional plunge into Kermit's pool at the end of the walk which definitely was cold. We made our way out of the gorge buzzing with cold and the thrill of adventure.
For our second gorge of the day we tackled Weano, where we chose to take the Handrail Pool spur first. This was a shorter walk and not as challenging as Hancock but with a fabulous pool at the end, accessed via a steep section with a handrail down. Again, this wasn't a problem with Hugh. He stayed between me and the rock face as we carefully picked our way down. The pool was freezing and the most exciting part, which Hugh and I did together, was a channel that led off from the opposite side of the pool, deeper into the gorge, only accessible by swimming in the icy and narrow water around a bend. This led to another big drop off to another deep pool that had been chained off, and where we turned back. Soon after our swim a man emerged from the further spur with a nasty gash on his face and massive bruising on his ribs and knee, testament to how slippery and dangerous the gorges can be. We warmed up and dried off walking the full Weano Gorge loop then checked out Oxer and Junction Pool lookouts. We got home in the dark very ready to climb into bed.
Friday was a rest and rain day. The majority of the rain fell overnight and by around 10am we were able to venture out from under our awning without getting drenched. We made the most of the "lock-in", cooking pancakes, washing clothes and lots of water play. Hugh and I went for a great wander to the Fortescue Falls lookout through the post rain wonderland of mud puddles, diamante clad foliage, jubilant birds and eucalyptus filled air.
The gorges reopened the day after the rain allowing us to do the bottom stretch of Dales Gorge walk. We took our time and finished with a swim at the verdant Fern Pool. The place holds special significance to the Aboriginal people and it certainly had a special feel about it. It was full of life and a soft rich energy, where the other pools were all light, water and rock with a dormant physical energy.
We decided to give up our seventh night at Dales to spend a day at Knox and Joffre Gorges and then overnight again at Going Overland Flat Spot. Knox and Joffre were another two fabulous and, in parts, challenging gorges. We started with the tougher Knox, which had a small but stunning pool at the end and an intriguing roped-off chasm beyond the pool. We wouldn't have managed to get the kids in and out of Joffre with enough time to set up camp in the light so Matthias and I tag teamed the last gorge. Without the kids Joffre was an easy walk ending at an amphitheatre pool and waterfall. Joffre also had the best lookout point in the park, which the kids were able to enjoy, spotting Matthias as he returned from his solo hike.
The dilemma of more rain on the forecast had us reluctantly changing our plans. Up to 70ml were forecast for the Tuesday with severe weather warnings. Instead of overnighting at an unofficial stop near Hamersley Gorge, we rushed our morning in Tom Price to restock and refuel so that we had enough time to walk Hamersley Gorge before hightailing it up to Millstream National Park.
I was really glad we didn't miss Hamersley Gorge, even though it meant an after dark arrival into Millstream. Hamersley was unique for its beautiful exposed rainbows of banded iron and trio of cascading plunge pools.
