Karijini National Park

After spending of an hour or so on the phone booking our next couple of weeks accommodation (thanks to the school holidays) we were finally on the road and heading out of Port Hedland.  We travelled 350kms into the heart of the Pilbara.  The road was in great condition and was very busy.  There were road trains everywhere!
We finally made it to Karijini National Park.  We visited the information centre and office to get our campsite.  I don't mind staying in national parks, eventhough the facilities are very basic (pit toilets, no showers or water), it's cheap and there is enough space between camps to still feel like you are "away from it all."
We quickly set up camp and headed for Fortescue Falls.  It was only an 800m walk but very steep and narrow to a waterfall and swimming area.  We didn't swim, it was far too cold (although there were people swimming - I think they must have been Tasmanians).  We headed back to camp for an early night.


It was absolutely freezing this morning! It was so cold, Mav woke up at 5am screaming!  He is like me, he doesn't like the cold.  It took us a while to get out of bed and motivated but once the sun came out, it warmed up quickly.
Jason wasn't feeling very well today so we decided to just visit the lookouts and not do any of the walks.  That's the great thing abot this place, if you are unable to do the walks or you don't want to, you can still see the falls and gorges from the lookouts.
Our first stop was at Circular Pool Lookout.  It looked down on a small waterfall and swimming area.  We drove another 50kms down the road to Weano Gorge.  We visited Knox Lookout which gave us a view of the gorge.  We saw people climbing across the cliff faces below so some of these walks are not suitable for the kids.
Our next stop was Jeffre Gorge.  This was by far my favourite in Karijini.  You looked down on this stunning green water and magnificent waterfall.  The water was so clear you could see all the way to the bottom.  We also stopped at Oxer lookout and Junction Pool lookout.  Oxer Lookout is where 4 gorges meet so that was a spectacular site.  Junction Pool Lookout was also good, it certainly gives you an appreciation of the shear size of the cliffs.
The boys were once again in fine form and Jason almost left Zander behind (on purpose!)  They seemed to settle down a bit this afternoon and we all had some quite time (and a nanna nap!)


If you are ever in this area Karijini is certainly worth a visit, but after spending almost a month in the Kimberley, it doesn't even begin to compare (I think I am beginning to sound like Jason!)


Nat