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| ready to go a-gorging |
The Karijini National Park is on most people’s route if you are heading inland from the Ningaloo Reef. In Australian terms, its just a short jaunt a little way across the map heading east from Exmouth (about 7 hours!) just past a place (not a person) called Tom Price. It promises some spectacular views and fascinating natural gorge walking amongst some of the oldest rocks in the world. And by not going overboard with signs when you are on it, with small discreet coloured disks on the rocks, it occasionally keeps you thinking about where to go next.
We got to Karijini towards the end of the afternoon, so only had time for a short descent to Fortescue Falls - the idea of coming back up a steep crumbly slope in the dark didn’t appeal so we left the extension trip up to Fern Lake for another day. The water was cool and refreshing and clear enough that you could see the rocks below to navigate your way in. The strata of the rocks were almost like steps as you descended down to the water.
The following day we took a longer walk along the Class 4 route to Circular Pool, a couple of kilometres up the gorge, which presented us with the opportunity for plenty of rock-hopping and jumping along the way, that the boys loved. Every now and then as you are brushing aside hanging fronds or bushy long grass to find your way, you have to remind yourself that there could be some unwelcome visitors hanging about. Fortunately we only came across interesting and friendly ones - a Golden Orb Spider, and a Giant Centipede and plenty of lizards, including a legless lizard. (It’s a specific variety, honest).
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| Golden Orb Spider |
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| Giant Centipede |
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| Lizard (with legs) |
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| Frankie in the pool, Jules and Louis under the waterfall |
You passed some amazing views of the impressive gorges, banded with different hues of orange and red, creating mirror-like reflections in the crystal green water below. It was a very hot morning, with no wind, and as we reached the welcome sight of Circular Pool, we were very much ready for a swim in the lake. If you swam to the far side, after adjusting to the unexpectedly cold water, there was a warm waterfall, made so by the fact that it flows across the sun-roasted rock above the hole. We paddled there for an hour or so before coming back up a different route, and giving the boys a chance to scramble up an even steeper, crumblier route than the previous day. We had to rein them back in frequently as they were keen to leave us behind and get to the top!
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| Rock-hopping |
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| getting back to the top |
A German girl from a nearby RV came to us for help and showed us some mysterious bite marks on her ankle; possible a spider. We weren’t really able to help her very much, other than an ice-pack which didn’t seem that effective - although I think the glass of wine was welcome. She was fine in the morning so it probably wasn’t anything (immediately) fatal......
It was very pleasant to eat outside in the evening, the flies for the most part disappeared when the air cooled. Unfortunately our RV wasn’t a great off-roader so we were only able to spend a couple of days at Karijini, more’s the pity. There remain numerous other gorges that will have to wait for our next visit!
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