Stop #41 - Karijini National Park

Point Samson was OK to visit, not much to see, the cold and blustery conditions made the visit less appealing.  

Dampier was great, beautiful beaches, we had morning tea at a café overlooking the bay and yacht club; Jai in heaven after eating scones with jam and cream.  

I'm glad we did take time away from our usual  parks, coast and gorge sites and visited some working towns in the Pilbara, teaching the kids about what drives the development of a town, and the industries of such remote towns like Karratha (Iron Ore, Gas and Salt) and Dampier.  

With the primary industry education out of the way, we had to make a decision of which way to head next, continue along the warmer coast or head south into the colder inland.

Karijini National Park was one of the places we were in two minds about visiting on this trip, as it required a significant detour from the coastal track, and meant that we would be missing some towns that we wanted to visit.  But having been told by numerous friends and family, and again by fellow travellers during this trip, that Karijini was a must see, we'd be kicking ourselves for not checking it out whilst we were out this way.

So we backtrack to Port Hedland and head south, the temperature cooling to mid 20s during the day.  It was a long drive from Point Samson, so we decide to free camp at the Albert Tognolini rest area; a beautiful location, on top of the hills before entering Karijini.  

I took the opportunity to go for a trail ride the next morning, my lack of fitness showing as I huff and puffed my way up the hills.  Does anyone know a good Personal Trainer that can help me out?

We pack up in quick time, with the car still hitched to the caravan and having only popped out one side of the beds.  The drive to Karijini is short, and we stop off at the Information centre to get the low down on what to see and do in the park.  The ladies were most helpful, and we take advantage of the spacious, new and clean amenities at the IC; the simple things in life are not taken for granted when you've been stuck in caravan and free camping for the past few months.

We set up camp at Dales camp site for the next couple of days, using it as a base to visit the various gorges in the next couple of days.

First stop is Dales gorge itself, one that contains 3 waterfalls that was described to us by the ranger as being cold, colder and freezing.  Instead of driving, we take the opportunity to ride to the gorge, with Jackie jogging in tow.  Before heading down the gorge, we spot a sign warning hikers of the raw blue asbestos that is found in the Hamersley ranges in this region.  Of course we explain to the kids what the warning was about, and why we need to be careful; this causes Jai to fret and Grace to be concerned, and they were on the constant lookout for blue asbestos throughout the whole trek.

After locking up the bikes, we head down the steep steps leading to the bottom of the gorge.  The steps are made of solid steel, a reminder that of the abundance of the material within this region.  

Reaching the bottom, we read signage that informs us the trek through the 3 water falls was 3 hours return, unperturbed we march onto Fern Pool the supposed "cold" one.  As we hike to Fern pool, it was hard not to notice the layers of rock or slate that surrounded us, the layers peeling off as the erosion from each wet season gradually eats away at the gorge.  The vegetation around us is lush, surrounding us are large old trees, with protruding roots that made the trek into a natural obstacle course.

We reach Fern pool after a short hike, and as per the name, the pool is encased with ferns all around the edges.  There is a board walk leading to the edge of the pool, with tourists clammering for spots to afix their towels and belongings.  We find a spare spot to place our belongings, and head to the platform next to the pool.  After a bit of coaxing and some coercion, Grace and Emma jump in, followed by myself.  And yes, it was cold.  We start swimming towards the waterfall, hoping the blood circulation warms us up.  We climb onto the ledge under the waterfall, and to our delight, the water falling onto our heads was warm.  We stay at the falls for a while, enjoying the warm shower, and receiving free foot exfoliation from the local fish picking away at the skin on our feet.

We quickly towel off after we exit Fern pool, and start on our trek to the other side of the gorge.  Reaching Fortescue falls after a short time, the pool does not look too inviting, so we take pictures and move on. 

As per Jac's post on gorges, not all of them are the same.  Yes, we've done a few of them on this trip, and with the weather being cooler in Karijini, by magnitudes compare to Litchfield, it would take a special something to topple the walks we'd done previously in much warmer climate.  For me, what makes the gorge is the destination and the experiences along the gorge.  Take Katherine gorge for instance, for me, although it is a mighty gorge, it is too large and monotonous for my liking.  And with the sighting of crocodiles this season, we were not able to swim in the river, taking further away from the experience.

With Dales gorge, and with the others within Karijini, the gorge is right upon you, encapsulating you, providing you with a sense of belonging and feeling like you are the water rushing down the gorges during the peak of the wet season.

So we push on past the number of rock climbs, drops, gap squeezes, wading, creek crossings, fallen trees and rock hopping, to reach Circular pool at the end of the gorge after 45 minute of quick paced hiking - so much for the 1.5hour estimation on the sign.

Circular pool is small, very much like a miniature version of the pool at the end of Emma Gorge.  Certainly the water looked cold, people shivering as soon as they exited the water further proof to coldness of the water.  Jackie had somehow promised to swim at the pool, missing the other ones, and I had no intention of entering the waters.  True to her word, Jackie dives into the cold water, giving out a yelp and "It's FREEZING".  No kidding wife, even the kids had no intention of swimming in the pool, well not intentionally anyway.  Emma was fooling around on the rocks at the water's edge, and slipped, falling into the water, drenching her clothes entirely.  Of course we all break out in hysterics, and Emma predictably screams at all of us to stop and throws her usual tantrum. 

 

With Jacs towelling off and putting on warm clothing, we head back to Fortescue falls, climb back to the top of the gorge and ride our bikes back to the caravan.

We had limited time at Karijini, so with many gorges to see, we took off early the next morning to tackle to more gorges within Karijini.

First stop was Kalamina gorge, after driving through some very rough terrain, we eventually get to our destination.  By now we are all used to driving at pace over rough terrain, once again I am very grateful for the robustness of the Landcruiser.

The terrain at Kalamina is much the same as that of Dales gorge, however it is more picturesque, with more water features and crossings and more challenging climbs; this walk is also 1.5 times longer than Dales.  The end of the Kalimina track is somewhat disappointing, a natural rock arch, however the makeup of the gorge made up for the disappointment.  Certainly a gorge we'd recommend families try.

  

Next stop is the more popular Weano gorge, a further 45 minutes down the beaten track.  By now the kids have had enough of the gorges and walking, and no amount of bribery (lollies) or coercion can convince them to complete a full walk.  We read out a description of the Lower Weano walk, and in particular Handrail, to the kids and Emma pipes up with "I want to go there".  Handrail is described as "challenging" and "difficult" and rated a 6 in difficulty, the highest a walk can be rated, not one recommended for elderly hikers or small children.  So Emma has to go and see what the fuss is all about, and prove the detractors wrong.

The descent down the gorge is short but steep and rapid, Jai as usual races down the track first.  As we walk towards Handrail, the gorge starts to narrow, the walls slowly creeping in, to the point where there is a narrow passage leading to Handrail.

The rocks are shiny from erosion and the constant foot traffic, the waterflow becoming louder as we approach Handrail.

The kids are the first to reach Handrail, and upon peering over the ledge, Grace returns open eyed, exclaiming that it "just drops off".  The rest of the family need to see it for themselves, and like most of the time, Grace was correct, there was a steep drop down to the watering hole.  

My initial thoughts are of safety, whether the family can negotiate the climb down the rocks safely, taking into account the slipperiness, and steepness of the climb.  After consultation, we are all in agreement that we want to climb down, and as can do it safely.  

I climb down first, confirming that the climb is not too dangerous or difficult for the kids, followed by the rest of the family.  

There is a sense of relief and achievement once everyone is down, and a look around the amphitheatre at the base of the climb confirms the effort was worth it.  It was now apparent why the climb was a category 6, certainly one that could not be completed by every hiker, especially the elderly and very young. 

After taking a few happy snaps, some with assistance from the park ranger who happened to climb down whilst we were there, we headed back up the railing and towards the car.  

Climbing back up Handrail is just as treacherous as climbing down, even more so, after the kids had plunged into the pool at the base of the walk.  The twins climbed up first, then Jackie, followed by Emma and I.  Of course the little trooper insisted she climb up all by her lonesome, with no assistance from anyone.

We drove back to the camp site via the sealed roads, not wishing tackle the rutty gravel roads we experienced on the way in.  The distance being much more significant, but I thought we'd give the "Cruiser" a rest from the ruggedness.

We leave the next day bound for the Coral Coast, happy that we made the decision to detour via Karijini.  It truly is a magical place, with much to do and see, plenty of challenging walking trails.  The 3 nights we spent there was too short, and we did not see and do half of what the park had to offer.  Our schedule did not allow us to spend more time here, however this is certainly a place we'd come back to, perhaps when the weather is warmer and the waters flowing freely.