Day 8 Perth to Broome - Karijini

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We had pancakes for our breakfast today to give us energy for a day of swimming and walking in the gorges of Karajini. It was a short drive to our first stop which was at ??? It was a steep decent into the gorge and then a short walk to the first pool in which we could swim. It was only 9am by the time we got to the gorge but it was already 30 degrees! So we took shelter in the shade whilst some of the group took a swim in the pool. We opted out of swimming in this pool as it looked a little murky and Jo spotted a worm and a big spider also having a swim in the pool! From here we then walked to another pool called ???? but we again opted out of swimming in this one as the surface of the water was alive with water-boatmen! After a little time relaxing and exploring around the pool it was time to make our way back out of the gorge. We took a short drive to the next gorge ???? where we had some lunch before descending into the gorge. For this gorge we had to climb down a ladder as well as lots of rocky paths. Once at the bottom we started our walk through the gorge. Part way through we had to remove our shoes and carry them as we were wading through the water. We had to climb along cliff edges and over slippery rocks, with a couple of the group slipping and having near misses along the way - luckily no injuries for us! We eventually arrived at the ampi theatre which were very impressive naturally formed rocks around a pool, which were positioned as if they were tiered seating in a theatre. From here the next part of the walk is named the 'spider walk' this is because you have to use your arms and feet in a star shape against the 2 sides of the gorge to climb down over the fast flowing water below. A couple of the group decided to sit this one out and a couple others started but had to turn back for fear of falling but Will led the way and we both made it down to Kermit pool which was beautiful - a crystal clear pool in the middle of the gorge. We had some time swimming and cooling down in the water before we started the climb back up to the ampi theatre where we joined the rest of the group and headed back up the gorge to the next pool. The next walk again involved wading through water and climbing along cliffs to get to the pool but when we arrived the water was again alive with water boatmen so we refrained from swimming but after a quick rest our guide led us through the water - camera held firmly above our head and we walked bare foot through water, over rocks and along cliffs to the hand rail gorge. To get to this gorge you had to pass through a narrow gap in the Rocks where there was free flowing water and very slippery rocks, holding on with both hands to a metal handrail which has been built - the last part of the descent involved climbing vertically down some stone steps next to a small waterfowl which led into the rock pool ????. We had an exciting time whilst down there as there the group following us had a lady who thought she would use the waterfall as a slide - little did she now that there were a pile of rocks at the bottom of the waterfall which would have broken her back for sure! From here we headed back through the rock pools, along the cliffs and over the rocks out of the gorge and back to camp for an Aussie BBQ dinner.

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