It was a long trip to Karijini from Point Samson so we decided to stay the night at the Munjina (Auski) Roadhouse and go into Karijini early the following morning. An uneventful stay at Munjina although Stephen took the opportunity to wash the caravan. It had been looking very old and used and with some TLC it came up looking loved and new. What a shame we are about to haul it over red dirt: again!
We were up early and arrived at Karijini about 10am. People were lined up and as one lot of campers went out, one went in. Two of the three nights we were there the full sign was up early in the afternoon.
We were staying at Dales Campground which is at Dales Gorge. After setting up and having an early lunch we walked around the rim of the gorge and down to Fortescue Falls. It was really hot and you needed plenty of water and your hat to keep the sun off your head. An easy walk with a set of descending stairs into the gorge at the end. Little did we know that this would be the norm for the next few days.
We walked onto the Fern Pool, a lovely waterhole with lots of fish biting your toes. Met a nice couple from Phillip Island and chatted for a while. After our refreshing swim we headed back to the Fortescue Falls where Stephen took lots of photos while I swished my feet in the water. Lots of people at these two places.
We continued along the creek at the base to Circular Pool at the other end of the gorge. We were completely blown away by the geology of the walls of the gorge. This too was to become the norm over the next few days. Stephen went for a swim at Circular Pool but I chose not to as there were lots of mossies just waiting for me to get into that water and I wasn’t about to satisfy their need for my blood. The pool was really cold as it sees little sun during the course of the day.
Then came the ascent to the top of the gorge. Gasp!! The phrase ‘what goes down must come up’ was very apt in this situation. After breathlessly climbing our way to the top of the gorge we walked back to the van for a well earned drink and nibbles before dinner.
The Pilbara is very different from the Kimberley. The red earth is a much more maroon or rusty colour than the orange pindan of the north, sticky and kind of greasy however they are very similar in that the dust works its way into every nook and cranny. As we had no water for a shower it was a quick wash with the cloth and a new set of clothes to make one feel better. An early night as we had no electricity and no TV; God forbid we might talk to each other.
Up at sparrow’s fart with the birds making a racket as usual. We drove to the visitor’s centre around 9am and grabbed a map of Weano and Hancock Gorges. These gorges were about 45 kms from Dales along a dirt road. All of the walks at Karijini are rated from 1 – 6, one being very easy, six requiring ropes and experience abseiling. On arrival we were not sure how we (I) would go with some of the harder walks/climbs but we were about to find out.
The descent into Weano was very downie, very, very downie (a made up word to describe descending from a great height at a steep angle using steps that do not meet the building code. You know: downie!!). We eventually made it safely to the bottom with me wondering how the hell I was ever going to do the uppie bit at the end. We followed the path along the creek with lots of crawling along narrow ledges, up over very large rocks and then back down through a gap in the rocks we found. This saved us walking through the water and taking our boots off. With shaking limbs because I had never done scary stuff like this before (or should I say had refused to do stuff like this before) we continued on towards Handrail Pool, which is a 5!! Prior to going through the crack in the wall we dumped anything that was unnecessary – everything except the camera – then proceeded to do even scarier stuff. Once through the crack in the rock you had to hang onto the handrail (hence the name) then climb down a knotted rope ladder. How good am I!! The pool was very cold but as clear as you get. We walked around the back of the pool and decided to try our luck and see how much further we could get through the water. I managed to get a little further but Stephen bravely continued and disappeared from sight. Would he ever come back?? Of course he did or I would be home organising the funeral you silly old duffers. It was just as much fun getting out of the pool and back up the rope, back through the crack and then to discover that I had taken the right path while someone, who will remain nameless, took the wrong path and had to go back and start again. We safely retraced our steps and were back on the top of Weano Gorge by lunch time. We sat in the shade and ate our lunch to recharge the batteries.
We were so pumped up we decided to tackle Hancock Gorge. This walk starts as a 4 but quickly becomes a 5. The challenge was not for me this time but for Stephen. Why, because there is a steel ladder involved!! The steps down were again designed to accommodate a giant, not a short arse like myself. Then came the ladder which finally took us into the gorge. After some theatrics for the camera Stephen safely conquered the ladder and we continued on. I was not feeling as brave this time as there were a lot of very narrow ledges to be traversed so I took the sooky la la route, dumped the clothes and swam through the water, while Stephen took the high ground. Not sure that I was that smart as it resulted in me falling twice on my bum because of slippery rocks. I ended up crawling on my hands and knees through the water while Stephen remained high and dry. We made it as far as the Spider Walk but decided we had done enough for this day and began to retrace our steps. Up the ladder yet again then we managed to not follow the track via the steps to the top. Don’t quite know what happened but the path we took was much better, not as long and nowhere near as steep. Sometimes you are just lucky!!
The afternoon was quickly slipping away but we had time to go to Oxer and Junction Pool lookouts, then called into Joffre and Knox Gorge lookouts on the way home. The last two had us gasping, particularly Knox. It was about 100 metres down to the pool and looked fabulous. Oh no, we will have to stay another day and come back. Will the legs hold up???? We arrived back at the camp exhausted and it doesn’t matter how much swimming in beautiful clear pools you do, you still feel grotty. We boiled the kettle and had a wash and an early dinner. We met 4 young men from Lilydale who were taking a gap year travelling around Australia. Unfortunately one of them was wearing a Richmond jumper so we had to do the obligatory teasing and offering our sympathies to him for barracking for such a loser team. Off to bed, we were buggered!!
Up early yet again, those damn birds. We had decided to ‘do’ Knox Gorge first then assess how we felt before going to Joffre Gorge, however we did take lots of photos of Joffre and were not too disappointed when we discovered about 3 bus loads of young people swimming in the falls below.
The descent into Knox was a scree slope which is slippery shale and you really had to watch where you put your feet. My legs were really tired from the previous day and the giant steps once again were not helping. The walk along the creek bed was not too bad and we had brought our water shoes which helped a lot with the slippery rocks. There was one bit of narrow ledge stuff but not too bad. We passed the pool we had seen the previous afternoon and ventured on much further. We finally arrived at a small pool where the water ran through a very narrow crack in the wall leading to a waterfall and Red Gorge Pool (Red Gorge is a 6). This is not accessible unless you can abseil. Stephen managed to climb through the rock via a fallen tree branch to the top of the waterfall and got some great photos. The rocks in this gap look like waves but the photos will explain this better than I can. We spent some time here then retraced our steps and swam in the pool we had previously passed. The water was very cold but we were hot and it was really refreshing. Boots back on and the climb to the top. Back to the caravan and a bucket bath yet again.
We both agreed that we had had more fun at Karijini than at any other of the National Parks we have visited. The gorges provide a refreshing retreat from the arid plains above. In the north of the park, small creeks, hidden in the rolling hillsides suddenly plunge down 100 metre chasms. Hopefully Stephen’s photos will give you some idea of the magnificent geology of Karijini.
http://picasaweb.google.com.au/stephen.hede/Karijini?authkey=Gv1sRgCKeep_2n1vLWigE#
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