Australia - Karijini National Park

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THE WEST COAST

Monday 31 May - Coral Bay to Karijini
We left at 8am for the long drive to the Karijini National Park. It was a bit of a mission to leave as I lost my room key and the battery on the bus went flat. Luckily, I found my room key (John reminded me I'd taken it with me to the shower the day before, and as for some reason our dorm room had been unlocked the whole night I'd not needed it again to get back in, so it was in my shower bag) and the bus got started. In the time we were waiting I saw Graham again, so all good! John and Lya were not coming to Karijini which was a shame; we had a new arrival called Olivier though. The journey was really horrible. As Easyrider didn't want our nice new bus to be ruined, we swapped into an old one and there was no air conditioning and it was so hot; a really hot dry heat. And to make it worse to save time we took a dirt road short cut to Tom Price during which we realised that a panel was loose on the side of the bus. Therefore the bus started filling with dirt. Within minutes we were covered! I had to sit in the front next to an open window to get some air; when I looked back the others were in a huge cloud of dust. We got out at Tom Price looking like a load of Oompa Loompas. My black top was brown, my hair had changed colour and you could even see the red dust on the hair on my arms! Poor Lauren seemed to have it worse that time! It was not at all nice. We had to do a supermarket shop in Tom Price looking like that! But, as Tom Price is a mining town I guess they weren't really bothered by it. They mine the Iron Ore at Tom Price and the town is named after the guy that found it. It's a bit of a sad story really, as 2 hours after he got the call to tell him his find had been verified and that he was going to be a rich man with a mountain named after him he had a heart attack and died. So, they named the town after him as a greater honour. We nearly didn't get out of there either. I tried to get back in the bus with the key and it twisted and nearly broke. I had a few seconds of the terrifying panic where you realise you've really messed up and try and put it right (i.e. twist it back) but it wasn't happening so I had to admit it to Jenny who just laughed and said it was the wrong key anyway and she doesn't know what that one is for. Phew! We drove on into Karijini and saw loads of Wedgies (Wedge Tailed Eagles) and Jenny told us to watch out for Dingos whist we were there (which reminded me of Rob's - from my last trips - story about Dingos at Yulara - near Uluru/Ayers Rock - how when he was working there doing the sleeping in swag tours like Caryl and I did, that every night he'd brush over the dust around the swags so it was smooth, and in the morning there were always Dingo footprints across there! I‘m glad I didn‘t know that before I slept there) Karijini means meeting place to the Aboriginals, it's where 4 gorges meet and it was used as a meeting place for Aboriginal tribes. Three lived in the area, they were all very spiritual and therefore have a lot of Dreamtime stories and ceremonies. They didn't have to travel as water and therefore food was in plentiful supply in the area. A lot of areas in the park, like the Hammersley Ranges that were named after a Brit called Lord Hammersley are being given back their Aboriginal names as a mark of respect to the people who lived there. The park is 83k acres in size and the second biggest National Park in Western Australia. It's quite famous in geological circles as it contains the oldest exposed rock in the world. The rock is all iron ore (it goes red when it oxidises, like rusting). We crossed the railway used to transport the Iron Ore from the mines to the coast - some of the trains are 6km long! We had to travel another dust track which caused the bus to fill up so much we had to stop. I could not breath! We were covered. Then we found that the trailer was open so our rucksacks were covered too. It wasn't great. Luckily, the luxury camp site we were staying in looked pretty nice. We were lucky as we were in the Eco Retreat tents, most backpackers sleep in swags. Andrea, Lauren and I decided to share - the zip wasn't working in the first tent we tried so we moved into another which was nicer as we all had our own bed. After a shower, in which there were some unpleasant spiders (Caz, you'd have hated it, even I didn't like it) and getting ready in the dark Andrea, Jenny and I went for dinner in the restaurant, which was a nice but very spicy pasta. We had a nice time. There were a foursome of 3 older ladies and one younger man on a table having a great time. They were obviously totally p*ssed. There were talking very loudly, and randomly going over to another table and asking them what they were having, poking at their food. Bless them. We then went over to Western Xposures camp to look for Nicole and found her, she seemed very excited to see me! We had a good chat with all of them and met Stradsy an ex guide who Rob and Kat had talked about. We watched the moon rise there, never seen that before, hadn't realised that until then but realised it's always just up there but watching it rise is fascinating, it glows golden like the sun, just doesn't cast the same light. I tried to take some photos but couldn't keep the camera steady enough so planned to take some the next night (I missed it the next night). We went back to our camp at about 9.30pm as it was getting cold and went to bed, after getting some extra duvets off the spare beds. It was therefore toasty warm in bed and Andrea, Lauren and I fell asleep chatting. Had a good nights sleep, only had to go for a bush pee once!

Tuesday 1 June - Karijini National Park
We had to get up early and it was COLD! I didn't want to get out of bed. But I did, I got dressed had some breakfast then we went out to the gorges! First stop was Dales Gorge. We walked along the top first (it was a long way down) and got some amazing views. There are so many colours with lots of different reds, blacks and greens and our cameras struggled a bit to pick it all up. We saw lots of nice trees, including a type of Gum Tree I’ve not seen before called 'Snappy Gum', because the branches snap off easily as there is a lack of water at the top of the gorges (Aussie names for things are so inventive). We walked to the end of the gorge to see Circular Pool, which is basically a circular pool (see what I mean about the Aussie names). It was quite spectacular, most fascinating was the tree on the other side of the gorge that seemed to be hanging on for dear life! It was getting hot so I put my hat on and seemed to end up as the joke of the day. I do look a bit daft, but as someone said it's a good one for protecting me from the sun. We walked down into the gorge which was hard going as it was a narrow, wobbly, steep and slippy walkway. I made it safely though. We walked along back towards Circular Pool and it was so lovely, like walking down into a little Garden of Eden, a completely different world from the heat and the dust up top. There was so much greenery and lots of tiny waterfalls going down tiny little steps. It was a lot of clambering up and down rocks and it didn't seem too safe, apparently it'd get worse this afternoon though. The water was icy cold, there was a really nice bird that seemed to be tiptoeing along in it. It looked just like a person too scared to get in the sea. Circular Pool up close was really lovely, again so many colours and the cameras struggled to capture it but after 3 years of having my camera I've finally found the 'exposure' settings so ended up with much better photos in the end. We then walked back along the gorge; it was a lovely walk so peaceful. We passed by the Green Pool (which is green, who'd have guessed!) which was so clear, it was all so nice it was almost surreal at times (there was a living tree submerged in the water. Looked spooky but nice). We saw some asbestos in the rocks, looked nasty. And lots of Oche that the Aboriginals used to paint with. After Green Pool we got to Fortesque Falls which were so pretty, again tiny waterfalls cascading down tiny steps. I slipped 3 times there, not right over luckily but enough to start me thinking I was going to end up going over by the end of the day…… We then got to Fern Pool; words can not describe how stunning that is. It's so beautiful, the water is so clear, seemed to be so many shades of blue in the one pool. There are little ripples and sparkles. There are petrified tree trunks just coming out of the water. It was so tranquil. It's sacred to the Aboriginals but they are happy for you to swim if you respect it and don't make loud noises. As it was cold I couldn't guarantee I would not shout or even swear so I didn't go in, looked inviting though. I spent a while looking down into the water and trying to get photos of everything reflecting into it. I got some nice photos of me by that pool, obviously the setting helped! We headed back to camp for lunch, past loads of really big termite hills. Again it was bumpy and I swear we actually took off at one point and stayed off the ground for a good few seconds. The camp we're staying in is really nice. We have one shower and toilet between us that's just ours, we can use the communal ones though, most of the tents have en-suites but they pay $180 a night and we are paying $20, so can't complain really.
After lunch our first stop was Oxers lookout where 4 of the gorges meet; Knox, Dales, *HANCOCK* and Joffre from which Red Gorge comes off. I was very obviously excited to see Hancock Gorge, especially as we were walking it later. The view was awesome, the gorges are so deep, it's a long way down! At the top there is a memorial cross to a volunteer rescuer that died saving two backpackers (That was a sad story, we heard it the night before from the Manager at the resort. The backpackers had ventured somewhere that wasn’t safe). We had walked Dales Gorge in the morning so were going to do Weano next then Hancock last. We descended quickly into the bottom of Weano Gorge and very soon found ourselves thigh deep in icy cold water (we'd been warned we were going to get wet!). It was cold but soon got used to it and it was so clear we didn't mind. It was so so slippy though and for the whole of the afternoon it was hard to take photos as we had to hang on tight to something (Lauren and I put all our stuff in my backpack and agreed to protect the cameras at all costs, she started off with it). The water felt so fresh and clean. We had to wade through the water and climb along the edges of the cliffs and up and over things. The steps were so little and narrow it was hard to get a foothold. At one point we had to back down a really steep passage clinging onto the railings and then climb down a rope! It was a bit scary. The pool at the bottom was so lovely though. The reflections in the water were astounding, I got some good mirror photos. At first none of the others believed it was actually the reflection in the water and even they were there. To get back out we had to come the same way; first climbing up the rope ladder. I had to go up last as I had a skirt on, poor Jenny was behind though! The walk back seemed easier as we were getting into it but it was hard work getting back up the steps to the top of the gorge! Phew, needed a rest at the top!
Then it was to Hancock Gorge! Wow, talk about saving the best for last (we'll have to have a look into whether it was a relative of you Hancock's that found it). We had to climb down a ladder into it; I should have gone first but ended up last, Jenny had to send the boys round the corner as I came down (note to self: never wear a short skirt when you're going gorge walking). The whole walk was amazing, hope the pictures do it a little bit of justice. Everywhere there was so much colour, coming from the sky, the rocks, the water, the trees, the plants and then all of that was reflected back up at you in the water. I'm so lucky to have been there. The actually 'climbing' was much harder though; it was even quite scary at times (Maff, maybe I can count it as one of my 4 things?). We were quite high at times and it would have hurt if we'd fallen. At one point we had to shuffle along a narrow ledge right above the water below. Then we had the Spider Walk; if you see the pictures you'll see why it's called that. I was doing so well until just after I'd taken the photo of the others going along and put my camera in my bag my feet went from under me and I ended up flat on my back. My first thought was to lean forward to protect the cameras and I got sitting up then couldn't get much further as it was so slippy. Luckily Lauren was laughing, and we were both happy after we'd checked the cameras and I eventually got up and on my way. However only 2 minutes later, whilst approaching Kermit's Pool (no idea where these names came from) I slid down the side of some rocks into a slippy path. I went right over that time, and couldn't get back up; partly because it was so slippy but mostly because I was laughing so much and everyone else was laughing so much it wasn't helping. I actually couldn't get back up that time, just kept slipping back down and nearly ended up over the edge in Kermit's Pool. As I was already soaked and as the climb around the edge of the pool looked a bit precarious I decided to swim across so gave Lauren the backpack (she'd been doing a much better job with it anyway) and swam through. I'd like to be able to say I enjoyed it but unfortunately as it was so So SO cold I didn't. It completely took my breath away and I couldn't wait to get out of there. Andrea swam it as well but she's obviously a lot tougher than me as she didn't make such a fuss. I was then well and truly soaked, but luckily not cold. It was worth the swim as the view down further into the gorge (we didn't go further as it's so dangerous, you need ropes and the like) was really nice. A French trio wanted to attempt it, despite being warned that you were not allowed to and reminded that a rescuer had died down there saving some backpackers who'd done the same. They still went, seemed very selfish to me. Reluctantly we had to leave and the only bonus was that I didn't slip over on the walk back up, luckily!! It was still scary and slippy though, I didn't like the bit round the edge of Kermit's Pool (was not going to do the swim again!). We all made it back to the top safety and then a very tired us made our way back into camp. We got changed and then Andrea, Jenny and I went for dinner. The 3 ladies were in again, and drunk again, bless them. We'd seem them all day through the gorges, they were having a whale of a time! There was also a couple rubbing head torches like Eskimos might kiss; interesting people stay at the Karijini Eco Retreat!
It was very early to bed for us as we were exhausted. It was a bit of a stressful night for me as after the dust of the previous day my asthma and therefore cough had got worse. I seemed to be gasping for air when I coughed and I was a bit scared to go to sleep. Andrea and Lauren promised to keep an eye on me and eventually I drifted off. I woke up at 11.30pm to pee and it was interesting to hear someone driving round the camp and a bit scary to hear dingoes howling in the distance!!!

Wednesday 2 June - Karijini to Coral Bay
Before leaving we attempted to fix the faulty panel with Andrea's towel and some duct tape. It did help! We made it to Tom Price without getting covered in dust, got some supplies and I visited the Pharmacy where they kindly told me that the medicine I'd been given in Denham was probably making my cough worse and was out of date anyway! We saw the 3 ladies again, they were off on a mine tour. I'll miss them. The journey back was horrible, it was so hot, there was still no air-conditioning and it was still so dusty. As the trailer had opened again our rucksacks were even more covered in dust. In the end we had all the windows wide open but getting blown about was more preferable to sitting in the hot with all the dust. We saw quite a few Emus, nearly run one over that left it a bit late to cross, a Bull that wasn't getting out the way for us in a hurry and then a wild horse which didn't look very happy. It was all ribs and sadness so we stopped to give it some water but it kept walking way. It was so sad as when it looked up with it's ears forward you saw a glimpse of the horse it used to be, but it just seemed to have given up. It reminded me of Giffy. We were so glad to get back to Coral Bay where we could attempt to get ourselves and our stuff clean. I think it's pretty much ruined then. I can't get the dust out of my backpack so am going to be covering myself with it for ever now. I've got clothes that are completely stained which is really annoying; if I'd worn them whilst walking the gorges I'd understand but you don't expect to get so covered in the bus! The dust is in our room and just everywhere, was horrible.

Karijini National Park is one of the most beautiful places I've ever been; Hancock Gorge is especially spectacular (not just saying that because of you guys either) and Fern Pool is especially beautiful. Although the journey there with all the dust has left me lot very well, it was definately worth it. It's somewhere in Australia I'd love to go back to.

Next up back to Coral Bay........and then swimming with Whale Sharks!!!!

Lots of love Xx

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