Karijini - the Jewel in the WA Crown!

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Karijini was one of those places we'd been looking forward visiting ever since we touched down in Australia - thanks to our eager host Mary at the first place we resided in Perth. She laid a photo-book of Karijini and other Western Australian wonders on our table in the dining room - I saw it, and I was hooked.

The national park is situated about 1500km north of Perth, inland from Exmouth (east) to the tune of about 600km, and about 4/500km south of Port Hedland. Its only about 50km though from a little known (outside of Australia) mining town called Tom Price which had nothing to offer other than cheap booze and weird books in the tourist office! This corner of Australia is an area called the Pilbara which is mainly famous for its abundance of iron ore and, well, Karijini.
It covers an area of about 600,000 square kilometres which makes it the second largest national park in Western Australia and bigger than small countries like Luxembourg.
In Germany, they average 232 people per square kilometre. In the Pilbara they have 1 person per 10 square kilometres. Its a big place - and theres not a lot in it.

There is though, fortunately, Karijini national park, which is the most naturally stunning yet incredibly accessible place on earth I have ever been.

It seemed for a while the dream of seeing the beauty of this place wasn't going to happen - after the whole van-dying-must-leave-Exmouth-on-a-cheap-tour scenario which we'd found ourselves in. We'd decided to travel up to Broome on the Easyrider bus which took 3 days and 2 nights to do, but unfortunately only took in the most popular sights at Karijini - which turned out to be lovely but we would have missed a LOT of gorges.
We were in luck though for a change - The Karijini Eco-Retreat needed 2 workers for a week. 'Why bloody not?' we said! This would guarantee that we'd see it all, or the majority rather, and earn a few dollars while we do it!

The work was the easiest gig I've ever had, cleaning 'luxury tents'. By luxury we mean you have a wooden floor, a double bed and in some rooms an en suite bathroom. For this privelage you get to pay $300, and there is nothing to keep away the cold during the freezing nights out there in the bush.
That was the first thing we noticed - the cold. It was 26c most days we were there, but only 2c at night, a massive drop and the coldest we'd experienced since leaving England. Laura ended up shacking up in my (single) bed with 2 hot water bottles and 3 blankets!
We even got a golf buggy to bomb around the retreat in and all our food was provided, on top of $20 an hour. Life was sweet.

It got even sweeter when work finished. A short walk, by short I mean literally 5 minutes, there was Joffre Gorge, a gorge that criminally Easyrider wouldn't take you too! It was so close you could see its rim from the retreat!
It was here I fell in love with Karijini. The viewpoint into the gorge wasn't particularly impressive but as you made your way down the natural steps, helpfully guided by arrows stuck to rocks, the gorge soon became amazing. The redness of the rock was astounding and the walls loomed high over you. The rocks were so jagged you could almost see the time when the Earth was pulled apart here. And we didn't know what we were going down too - we just knew we were going down into a deep gully along the side of a steep face.
Footing wasn't a problem - the natural steps provided ample room to manouvre your feet so you could make the next leap of faith, and the rock was solid - no loose stuff to provide an extra challenge.
At the bottom we found water, a relatively shallow looking pool. To the left the gorge continued to place we could not see, the water flowing down a small waterfall into perfectly still pools for as far as we could make out. We decided to go right. Clinging on to the wall with our backs to the water we managed to climb right down to the water where the pool had petered out into nothing more than a shallow stream. A rock was still obscuring our view round the corner so we jumped across the stream and onto a mountainous beach of small rocks. Here we were treated to Joffre Falls - a slow moving but beautifully constructed waterfall cascaded down an amphitheatre of rock, starting from the left at the top and finishing up at the pool at the bottom.
We were completely alone and I felt like it was us that had discovered it - there were no visible signs of human interference anywhere, no people - just us. It was absudley stunning, and it was all ours.
Wanting to completely immerse myself in the park I stripped down and made a beeline for the water, and then swiftly recoiled as the water attacked my feet and lower legs. The water was same temperature as the nights out there - it was easy to forget in the heat of the day that we were actually in their winter.
I couldn't bring myself to get my whole body in but managed to bear it up to my waist and got over to the other side and truimphantly scaled the waterfall.
Laura looked tiny on the rocky beach as she was completely dwarfed by the surrounding walls. It was a stunning area, and if it wasn't so freaking cold we could have stayed forever!

After work the next day we went back to Joffre, but this time we went to the top of the falls, where the stream gradually built up and then eventually fell off the rocks to a pool below, before making its journey down the rocky steps to the bottom of the fall.
The views from the top allowed us to see all the way down the gorge. Where we were was just a small stream with even smaller waterfalls so we could hop over the rocks and get a few different angles. It was here I realised what an interactive park this was. You don't just go to a viewpoint (though you can) and have a look - you get the chance to really discover it for yourself. You can go where you want, climb or descend where you please, swim in a pool of your choice by yourself or hurl yourself off the side if you choose. This is why I fell in love with the place almost immediately - it really felt like I was the first one to go there.

The second gorge we visited was Knox Gorge, which was a brisk 4km walk from the retreat, and this was another stunner but different in many ways.
The walk down was a steep path with many loose rocks which presented an exciting challenge, and at the bottom we entered what looked like a set from Jurrasic Park.
Old trees sprung from the rocks and their roots continued their growth down the side, a trickling stream weaved its path down the middle and many bushes allowed us to see no obvious way of discovering the gorge.
Alas, we were in for another adventure. The path was a series of hops over the central stream, ducking under bushes and in one part, ducking under a bush whilst balancing on a log to cross the stream.
The gorge towered over us for a good 100 metres as it started to open out, and also thin out in terms of the flora growing down there.
For a reason that escapes me I decided to go in the water again, and like a few days before it was less than enjoyable. There were numerous ledges on the side to throw myself in off though which I gladly did, and once again we were completely alone.

On the way back we found a still pool just at the bottom and to the right a little bit of the path we came down. A tiny waterfall barely flowed to the far right and the pool was a luminescent shade of green. A tree was completely bent over creating a natural bridge on the left of the pool. It was incredibly peaceful, so it was unfortunate that we had to make our journey home before nightfall (we ended up getting a lift so could actually have stayed longer!).

Our best days out though was reserved for one of our last days at the park. It was something we'd heard about on the first day we arrived and it was hit and miss if we got to do it or not - canyoneering in Karijini.
It was rated as one of the top one thousand things to do in the world, one of the top hundred things to do in Australia and one of the top 10 things to do in Western Australia.

The day started at the retreat where we met our guide for the day, Dan, a super fit Karijini enthusiast. At his tent he kitted us out in our safety equipment (harness, helmet) and also gave us wet shoes and a double layering of wetsuits! He also told us to pick a tractor tyre inner tube, which we would be carrying for the first part of the day.

He took us to the top of Knox Gorge, where we made our descent and did the familiar walk we had done a couple of days before, but this time we went further. The further we went, the narrower the gorge got, until we were met by an inviting sign that stated 'DANGER - The area ahead is a level 6 walk. If you go past this sign there is no way back. This should only be attempted by professionals with the correct equipment'. Ahhhhhhhhh.............

This was where the adventure really began. We made a steep ascent into the narrow gully where we found a huge tree that must have bent swept down during the wet season. Through our narrow viewpoint we could barely make out pools in the not so distant. The sky was just visible though a small gap in the gorge above. The red walls of the gorge now looked black as they were completely in the shade - the walls either side of us were a bluey/grey colour, a result of millions of years of being washed by the water.
We descended down into the 'V' gully - the tubes went first, and then we followed, wedging our selves between the 2 walls, using our backs against one wall and our feet against the other.
We maneuvered down slowly - the trickling stream below us got further away - a fall now could result in serious injury, so you made sure you didn't fall! Laura struggled so made her way down the wall until she was stepping in the stream. The bottom was barely wide enough to put your feet down with out getting stuck.
I continued down at the top of the v until we came to the top of a pool. I made my way down to where Dan and Laura were standing and peered over the edge - it looked like a waterfall leading into a deep pool. The cold water stabbed at our legs like a thousand needles - didn't that sign before say there was no way back?! Well, this was the point of no return. Go over this waterfall and you definitely aren't going back!

Dan did his final check that we were ok to do this - we were going to slide down a natural waterfall! Dan went first and then gave the all clear for Laura to go, which she did, screaming of course!
And then it was my turn. Sitting at the top, the water wasn't powerful enough and the rock wasn't steep enough to just propel you off, so I edged nearer the slide using my hands.
In no time I was sliding towards the drop until there was nothing in front of me but a cold bath of liquid hell. The drop felt bigger than I think it actually was, but coming up from under the water left one feeling - well, after survival (getting out of the water) - I want to do that again!
We couldn't as the fall was an overhang, so we made our way to the next drop, a 6 metre abseil down another fall. I went first this time followed by Laura and then Dan.
At the bottom of this fall was a small pool we had to swim across towards a log which helped us get out of Knox Gorge - and into Red Gorge.
Here the Gorge really opened up - the red walls returned and to the left and right there was nothing but water. Looking back at Knox Gorge there was the tiniest trickle of water coming from an impossible gap - it didn't look like anyone could have come from there - but we had!
After a short hot chocolate and sweets break we were given hats and water gloves to continue the journey.
Red Gorge was a place that wasn't visible from any lookout and there was no plan to make it one. Laura and I were joining an exclusive group of people that had the privelage to have been down here.

To get out, we had to float through a series of pools on our tires, getting out and climbing over huge rocks that had come from the walls above that must have collapsed at some point.
Every pool felt different - some were straight, some had a bend, some had trees on the side, some had red walls, some had grey walls. It felt like we were floating through history. It was staggering to consider these gorges were 2 billion years old and completely untouched, not even a viewpoint!

At the final pool we arrived at Junction Pool, the meeting place of Joffre, Hancock and Red Gorge, where we stopped and had lunch. Looking up we spotted Oxer Lookout, a place where you could see the end of Red Gorge and Junction Pool and a little bit of Hancock Gorge - the people up there looked tiny - the walls of the gorge were about 110 metres high.
The sun had decided to come out so we gratefully warmed up a degree or two, a false sense of wellbeing seeing as though we had to actually get back in the water!

That we did after lunch, floating across the pool to Hancock Gorge where we would begin our ascent out of here.
This was where the oldest visible rock in the world was, rock that was two and half billion years old - and we were about to climb it! We looked up at the waterfall flowing down to us, it was another one that cascaded rather than fell to a pool, so it offered up steps to climb on either side. 'The Chute' was a lot bigger than the other falls we'd seen so far, and it was another thing that wasn't viewable to the general public.

At the top the gorge snaked round past a couple of small pools before we found ourselves at another waterfall that led up to Regans Pool, a pool named after Jim Regan who died here trying to rescue some tourists that had got trapped.
This is where we would have to do a climb, so me and Laura fannied about whilst Dan set the ropes up for us. I attempted to get round to where the falls were but ended up slipping in the pool - my body must have been numb by now as I barely registered the cold.

The climb wasn't so much hard as just at a difficult angle to grab things. There were enough ledges to put your feet on but they were steep and there wasn't too much to hang on too - but we were attached, so at worst we'd get a few scratches.

The top of the falls here was what led to arguable Karijinis most famous photo spot, Kermits Pool. I'd seen this in a lot of photos but realising where it was and what an adventure it was just getting to it really blew my breath away.
The pool itself is small but is completly enclosed by dark grey walls, with a small hole looking through to a rich red gorge. The tiniest of falls flows into the clear blue pool and its from here that photographers get their perfect shots. I wish I'd had my good camera here!

Leading down to Kermits Pool, or away from in our case, was the Spider Walk, another narrow gully which you had to 'walk like a spider' to get out of, this meaning having both arms and legs stretching across the stream below to make sure you got up the gully without getting wet.
From here on the walking was a lot easier - it was just a case of getting out. Ascending up through hancock Gorge was beautiful, though there were a few people coming down there was still that feeling that it was yours.
At the end we went to Oxer Lookout and looked back on what we had accomlished. This had been one of the best days out I'd ever had, and I'd do it again in an instant!

We weren't done with Dan though - before the end of our stay we had a staff outing to a 'secret' spot in Joffre gorge. We had to float through the pools we'd seen earlier in the week to a steep waterfall that led down to a 12-metre jump, which I gleefully did! The people who had jumped got treated to another place few people get to see, which was a continuous but unflowing pool that was a lot thinner than many other gorges we'd seen. Getting out was interesting as there wasn't much footing but we made it, up a small waterfall.

Unfortunately because we had to work during our week there we did miss out a couple of gorges, Weano Gorge and another one whose name I forget.

On getting picked up by Easyrider we got to sample the more famous areas of the park, Circular Pool, Fortescue Falls and Fern Pool. These places are very sacred to the Aboriginal people as in the creation dreaming it is beleived that the rainbow serpent passed through these areas, carving out the gorge where these pools were situated.

The first place we visited was Circular Pool. The walk down was enjoyable, once again there was no definite path so there was a bit of climbing, a little jumping and a lot of watching where you put your feet.
After crossing the stream we arrived at the pool which was stunning. Completely calm with clear water flowing in from a small waterfall on the right hand side.
The area was surrounded by bright green moss and plants which clung to the wet walls, the high red walls of the gorge dwarfing us and the pool.
As usual, I had to get in - and it was a lot warmer than my previous experiences at the other side of the park! There was only me and an irish lad who took the plunge, but it was well worth it.

Next up we had to make our way to Fortescue, which involved retracing some of our steps, passing through grass that was taller than us, crossing streams and ducking under rocks - it was real adventure walking.
The falls themselves were another stunning acomplishment of nature - another amphitheatre of rock divided by the gushing water into a small pool below.
Fortescue falls are a lot more open than other falls in the park - though they are in a gorge, the area surrounding them gradually slopes out, so it felt a lot more airy here without the imposing walls of rock.
Similar to other falls though was the ability to climb up and down them, which I gladly did - as with most things I wanted to appreciate it from many different angles.

Last for the day was Fern Pool, the most sacred place in the park. They ask you not to jump in here or make loud noises to resprect their creators.
Fern Pool is quite a large pool, almost turquoise in colour with colonies of fish inhabiting it. Like Fortescue it isn't enclosed by a gorge but is comlpletely surrounded by plants and has a small waterfall that is plit in two falling off the rocks at the far side.
The swim over to the falls was longer than I expected, but once there it was really like being in paradise. The falls dropped lightly so you could sit fully under them quite comfortably, or sit behind them and watch the world through a natural 'stained glass' window.

Even now as I write this 4 months after I went there I still get a buzz thinking about it all. It had everything for me - beauty, adventure, new experiences and above all it was quiet. It truly was the interactive national park - an incredible amount of fun hidden away in a remote area of Australia. But it is unquestionably worth the effort getting there - I strongly suggest you go!

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