YoungNomads: Karijini National Park

We set off from Indee Station heading towards Karijini NP…. We were in a hurry because it had rained during the night and was going to continue and the dirt road out of the station was getting boggier, so sooner we left the better!

Leaving Indee Station

Unfortunately the drive to Karijini was rainy and we couldn’t really get a good view… we arrived at Dale’s Camp Ground around lunch time and managed to get a camp in the “Kangaroo Loop” close to the “Daytrippers”, we have managed to catch up with them again. We are going to experience Karijini together… I think I’m sort of nervous cos Bree keeps smiling at me and saying we saved the hardest gorges to do with you guys… J During our drive today we clicked over 10,000kms travelled since we left on our journey in May!!

Our first night we accompanied Bree, Gary and the girls to the Karijini Eco Retreat for a special birthday dinner for Miss Ella – she turned 8 years old the day before but wanted to wait for her dinner till we got there. OMG what a ride, the road was so rough and Gary was driving…. and just skimming over the shocking corrugations, we just hung on for dear life J and put it down to experiences!!…. But it was all worth it for Ella Bella Boo!

We woke up to a brilliant sunny morning, we got ourselves up and ready for a 9am start. Gary, Bree and the girls came in our car and we took the long way to Weano Recreation Area. There were two gorges in this area to hike, both rated at class 4 and 5…. I’v never hiked a class 5 previously!

First off it was Weano Gorge which ends at “Handrail Pool”. Wow, some challenges for me here but managed to get through all of the obstacles! Geoff did an extra bit with Bree and Gary which challenged him (and his shoulders and guns)… We all had to shimmy down the hand rail and straddle it to the pool…. Awesome!!

Weano Gorge

Then it was on to Hancock Gorge, the whole route was class 5! Wow talk about shimmying around the rock edges… scary, exhilarating and apparently we learnt a new sport of “Bouldering” thanks to Bree and Gary! We passed through the Amphitheatre, Spider Walk and Kermit’s Pool. OMG, I surprised myself, I really didn’t think that I could do what I did today, now I know I CAN! We finished off the day by going to Junction and Oxer lookouts…. Just stunning!

Hancock Gorge

We shared dinner with Bree, Gary, Tori and Ella - a lovely platter!

Next day we headed for Joffre Gorge, it was absolutely amazing, we viewed it from the top first up and I thought omg, how am I going to get down there? We descended to the bottom and realised that we had a constant audience watching our every move from the lookout above… (were they holding their breaths like I was, hoping I wouldn’t put a foot wrong and slip and fall?) there were some tricky rock ledge manoeuvres! The sun started to warm us finally, yay! The end of the hike delivered a beautiful curved pool and falls.

Joffre Gorge

Knox Gorge was next, a very steep, rocky and gravely walk down to the bottom, we crossed the water several times until we got to the gorge risk sign. There was a narrow crevice leading to a class 6 hike area… omg! We all negotiated our way through, bum on one side of the rock wall and feet on the other and sort of scooted my way along to the most brilliant falls and pool (but we couldn’t go any further otherwise we’d be swimming out of the gorge with no way back up… I was very nervous and thought, no way! But in the end I did it.

Knox Gorge

Knox Gorge - Wow we were totally stoked to get this far!

Our last day of hiking was to be Dales Gorge which was walking distance from the camp ground. We walked along the top of the gorge and got our first glimpse of Fortescue Falls, just beautiful. We continued on to Fern Pool which was breathtaking! Many little fish, Gary actually caught one by hand for the girls to have a closer look at. Geoff hung his feet over the edge of the pontoon, they nibbled at his feet (similar to what they do in Phuket). Back to the falls for our lunch break – gorgeous spot. The hike through the rest of the gorge was so diverse, the scenery kept changing and kept us in awe, Fig trees hanging off the side of the gorge walls were amazing! We continued on to Circular Pool which was stunning! Ella decided she wanted a shower under the warm water of the falls, what a special spot. We finished the hike with a very long and very steep climb up the side of the gorge to the top, bloody hell, I was heavy breathing big time and my legs were burning. What totally amazed me was Bree (super woman) carried her little koala (Ella – 30kgs) on her back most of the way up!! (training for her cross fit I think J)

Circular Pool - Dales Gorge

Giant Fig Tree near Fern Pool - Dales Gorge

Fern Pool - Dales Gorge

Little fish having a nibble on Geoff's feet hahahaha! - Fern Pool - Dales Gorge

Fern Pool - Dales Gorge

Fish caught (by hand) - Fern Pool - Dales Gorge (it got thrown back) :-)

Fern Pool - Dales Gorge

Fortescue Falls - Dales Gorge

Dales Gorge

Circular Pool - Dales Gorge

Very long and very steep climb back up Dales Gorge

I don’t think that I have ever been physically challenged as much as I have been here in Karijini but what wonderful rewards I have had for my determination and courage! The scenery and the absolute beauty of the gorges was breathtaking!

We were so very lucky to experience this beautiful place with Bree, Gary, Tori and Ella (The Daytrippers), I didn’t know it at the time but they are a family of spider monkeys!! I have never seen the rock climbing and bouldering talent of a whole family before, Tori (a 10 year old… lead the way most of the time) – they gave us the inspiration to push ourselves to the limit and have loads of fun at the same time…. Thanks guys, just magical! Unfortunately we had to say goodbye to them again… we love you guys and will miss you Daytrippers!! XO

Seeya Bree, Gary, Tori and Ella!

The temperature here has been freezing during the nights and early mornings, the last two mornings it was zero degrees, brrrrr! The camp ground was pretty good, they provided loos, bbq and burners, we have learnt very well how to be self sufficient and survive unpowered and with limited water and to use the facilities provided! This was good because Geoff was able to catch up on all the news when he’d catch up with the men folk around the burners each morning and night whilst they were boiling water for teas and coffees for the women folk! J

Our Campsite

About to enjoy happy hour at Karijini!

Our little friend!

Our last day here Geoff and I decided to do a day trip to Tom Price a mining town close to Karijini. We did a Rio Tinto mine tour which was massive!! It was pretty cool and also visited Mount Bruce on our way back to finish off our Karijini experience!