Karijini National Park

Back to a super isolated camping spot on red gravel with a few dingoes spotted and a lovely little spinifex pigeon. The camp ground was full of spinifex that had a mild poison on the tip so if it rubbed against your skin it hurt…we didn’t believe this until we all brushed it with our feet or hands…true! 

The stars were amazing again! Off grid camping had its challenges with no water or power but at least we had a rough and ready toilet and shower about 200m from our campsite. Tyler loved playing in the gravel and both boys and us covered in red dust!

We visited most of the gorges. One was closed due to a millipede infestation. We started with a few lookouts and then a hike down Knox Gorge. The path down was so extreme we had to turn back. We got to swim in Joffre Gorge, Fern Pool and Hammersley Gorge/Spa Pool. Most of the hikes were Class 4 or 5 with steel ladders, loose rocky ground and cliffs nearby…eek stressful…but both boys were super sensible and relished the challenge.


Family photo at Spa Pool :)

Hammersley Gorge and Spa Pool were about a 2 1/2 hour return trip on a dirt track out of the park. For this reason it wasn’t as busy as the other gorges and we even had the whole place to ourselves at one point!




Boys were so proud of themselves for conquering the tricky tracks!

Another day another gorge, this time Joffre Gorge. To get to this one you had to climb down about 5 sets of ladders! Boys loved playing in the shallows with the rocks. A juvenile brown snake surprised us by these rocks too.


Fern Pool and Fortescue Falls


Fern Pool was the most popular spot in the park by far with bus loads of tourists being dropped off here for a swim. Was beautiful with Maiden Hair Fern growing by the waterfall and little black bream nibbling at our feet.

                                                             Oxer Lookout
 

Knox Gorge - worst hike! Photos of loose large rocks are the track - not joking!



Back at camp….boys happy and busy! Went to sleep almost instantly every night from all the climbing and hiking!


More beautiful stars at the campground and our bush babies…


Kalamina Gorge









                                                         

                                                        Cute Spinifex Pigeons 





A dingo exploring our campsite when we drove out - shoulda left him a sausage!



Two happy boys - always excited to go on another challenging hike to explore a gorge :)

 




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