Wide open spaces

Having been enjoying the coast over the last few weeks, we were not convinced that we wanted to head back inland to the dust, with long walks to gorges. When we were on the Gibb, people told us we would get ‘gorged out’ after a while and now we were beginning to understand that. In the end, too many people had told us it was an amazing place, so we decided we would be foolish to skip it when it was so close. The way to Karijini was pretty slow due to a long stretch of road works. At one point we had to stop to let oncoming traffic pass and we were sandwiched between more than 10 road trains which snaked their way along the road. We felt pretty small surrounded by them all. We were seeing more and more wildflowers along the side of the road as we approached our destination. Once we got sorted with a site and were set up, I showed the kids these really cool activity books we were given which entitled the kids to earn a junior ranger’s badge if they completed a certain number of tasks. It was a great initiative run by the Karijini National Park, and we were amazed that more of them didn’t do this as it was a great way to get the kids more involved in the natural environment that we were currently in. One of the tasks was to collect a bag of rubbish so the kids took turns coming out with me for a walk around the campground and each did their bit to clean things up. After dinner the kids got into bed and Kat read the kids a couple of chapters from one of their books, a routine that we had settled into which definitely helped the kids wind down and get to sleep more easily.

We decided that we would not try to do all the walks the park had to offer, but just to chose a couple of shorter options, as none of us was really keen to tackle any more long walks. Em and Kat headed off the next morning from camp and did a walk that took them through the wildflowers and along the top of Dales Gorge while Oli and I finished up a few things at camp. We then drove down to the car park and waited for the them to call us over the UHF radio. Once Em’s voice came through and she and Oli had a few minutes of fun talking in their call signs, we headed down the walking track to meet up with them at the top of the gorge so that we could all walk down to Fern Pool for a swim together. The view from the top of the gorge was spectacular, very different to what we had seen along the Gibb. The gorges were narrow and deep, with towering sides dwarfing the water below. The walk down was pretty easy, starting with about 300 steps down, before meandering along a track next to the creek. After about 20 minutes, the path opened up into a lovely waterhole which was fed by a small but wide waterfall which flowed off an overhang, creating a cave behind the waterfall which was covered in ferns. We got changed and headed down to the waters edge where we dipped our feet in, allowing the resident fish to come and nibble them which was a strange but somewhat enjoyable sensation. We all jumped in to the cold but refreshing water and swam over to the waterfall, before climbing up the slimy rocks which lead us behind the waterfall and into the fern cave. We sat there for a few minutes, enjoying a setting that felt more at home in one of Emily’s fairy books, before swimming back over to the shore to get dry and warm up. We headed back towards the car, struggling back up the 300 steps, relieved to make it to the top. After lunch, the kids worked hard filling out the rest of their junior ranger booklets before we headed to the visitors centre to collect their badges. They were both thrilled to receive them and were very excited as we drove back to camp. While Kat got the dinner ready, the kids and I played a few games of Yahtzee which they had recently discovered.

We woke to another cold morning the next day with Kat and Em both rugging up in their puffer jackets. After the kids enjoyed a treat of a variety pack each for breakfast, we tackled the journals which was always a bit of a challenge. Things went slowly but smoothly and with journals done, Stu showed Oli how to whittle a stick with a pocket knife while Kat and Em made a Shopkins cupboard out of a variety pack box before we had some lunch. That afternoon we drove about an hour out to the Oxer lookout which gave breathtaking views down to the gorges below. There were four that met at this spot, and the lookouts allowed us to look right down into them, with Kat and I getting a little freaked out as the kids felt the need to climb up on the railing (something I know I did to my dad on more than one occasion when I was their age). On the way back we stopped to get some pictures of the wildflowers in the afternoon sun. With a mountain range background, they created some beautiful scenes. The next morning we got going early as we were headed about an hours drive to Tom Price for a mine tour at 10am.

Karijini wildlife

Karijini wildflowers