BHP Iron ore plant Port Hedland

The town of Port Hedland is well known as the mining capital of Australia.
The BHP plant dominates the township as it can be seen from most of the
town. In front of the plant a clever sculptor has created some interesting
animal sculptures from various iron items - certainly interesting. Can you
see the shovel within the pig - the handle is the backbone and the tongue of
the pig is the lower jaw!

Port Hedland harbour

The harbour in Port Hedland is very busy exporting from the mines and
helping Australia to remain a wealthy country! BHP have built a very nice
recreational area, with green grass, beside the harbour and it is a very
pleasant place to visit. We have spent a bit of time in this park and it
has been interesting to see just how many people stop in, both locals and
visitors.

Wildflowers on Great Northern Highway

We were able to get another glimpse of the wildflowers during our stop at
the Munjina Gorge rest area - it must be amazing to see them in mass.

Munjina Gorge, WA

After three nights in Karijini National Park we continued our journey north
heading towards Port Hedland. The road from the National Park connects to
the Great Northern Highway (the inland road from Perth north) and this is
the route we took. Fifty kilometres from the National Park we came to the
Auski Roadhouse which is the only fuel stop between Tom Price (150 klms
behind us) to Port Hedland (300 kms ahead of us). As you can guess this is a very popular stop for travellers on this road. There were road trains creating heaps of red dust and lots of caravans and campers. Sorry I forgot to take a photo.

We had worked out how many kilometres we could travel with the fuel we had, so only bought about twenty litres as the cost of diesel in these outback parts is really expensive.

We continued our journey north and stopped off at a very large rest area that overlooked the Munjina Gorge. The area was built to commemorate the tarsealing of the Great Northern Highway and something like 124 bridges and cuts that had to be built in the process. It must have been a great achievement when this was completed.

There was a good view of the road with the gorge behind and we were heading that way.

Junction Pool, Hancock Gorge, Karijini NP

We had two last lookouts to visit which look out over the Hancock Gorge -
both these lookouts were really easy to get too but still gave a beautiful
view of the gorges below. No climbing this time!

It was time to return to the caravan but there were nearly 50 kilometres of
red iron dust roads to travel. By the time we got back the car looked more
orange than black and the dust sticks so a visit to a car wash will not be
far away. The caravan also needs a good wash as the red dust is all over
that as well. Fortunately we have kept most of the dust to outside but it
is not totally possible. Some housework to be done .....

Handrail Pool, Hancock Gorge, Karijini NP

Next stop was at Hancock Gorge. This was about fifteen kilometres further
into the National Park from Knox and on the way passed the Eco Retreat which
is apparently a luxury accommodation facility with permanent tents,
restaurant bar, and also limited caravan and tent camping area. We stopped
off on our way past to have a look and decided that the camping area was
really no better than what we had in the National Park yet was three times
the cost. We were happy that we had avoided taking the caravan on 25 kms of
red iron dust dirt road to stay at the Eco Retreat as we had bitumen all the
way to our camp.

After a lunch stop in the day area we walked to see Handrail Pool - we only
went part way down the track as it was pretty steep and the knees weren't
taking the steep steps too well. This walk has two grades - class 3 and
class 5 which is "mostly indistinct trails through undisturbed natural
environments, terrain is rough and a high level of fitness is required". I
certainly didn't meet that today.

The gorges are all quite similar but just beautiful and this one was no
exception. People were swimming in the pool but the signage said the water
was extremely cold.

Knox Gorge, Karijini NP

From Joffre Falls we made our way to Knox Gorge which was quite close by.
Again there are huge richly coloured walls with the water deep within the
gorge. The walk down into the gorge was signed as two kilometres but took
three hours return so gave an indication that it wasn't an easy wander in
the sunshine - again it was a class 4 walk. We still had both the Hancock
and Weano Gorges to visit so we continued on.

Joffre Gorge, Karijini NP

The water at the base of the falls was very clear and very green - quite
amazing. From the pool of water the gorge narrow and wandered off into the
distance. It was possible to walk down to the base of the gorge (but we
didn't do this) but this walk again was a class 4 walk and the three
kilometre distance was signed as two hours return.

So we were satisfied with our view from the top of the gorge and even going
to and from the lookout took some climbing. The lovely thing about this
area is that although there are lots of campers it is only occasionally that
you meet people - the area is just so large.

Joffre Falls

After our long walk the previous day we decided that an easier day was
necessary. So we did short walks mainly viewing the Weano and Hancock
Gorges from the lookouts and higher points rather than walking down into the
base of the gorges.

Our first stop was Joffre Gorge. This gorge was about 35 kilometres from
the camping area and is still within the national park. We still get blown
away with the beauty of the gorges and this was no exception.

Karijini NP Visitors Centre

After our gruelling day of walking we decided that a quieter day was
required - I didn't think my knees would put up with another day of
clambering up and down too many rocks for hours on end.

Instead we paid a visit to the visitors centre within the National Park.
This is run by the traditional owners and it was nice to have the
opportunity to talk to one of the ladies. There were displays of the
various wildflowers growing within the park and the various wild animals.
We had seen plenty of goannas but fortunately no snakes. We also commented
to the lady about the lack of flies, which was great from our point of view. She said that we were lucky that we hadn't visited at Easter time as they flies were really bad and no amount of spray, nets etc made it pleasant. We were certainly pleased that we hadn't visited then.

Starting the climb up to the top of the gorge, Dales

It was time to climb to the rim - this photo unfortunately does not give a
good impression of how steep the steps were up to the top. There were no
hand rails and just a series of steps cut into the rock, and then a ladder
up the rock face, and then further steps. I was really pleased we were
going up and not down as I would never have made it. My knees were getting
pretty sore as it was.

It was great to eventually get to the top and then take a rim walk of about
half a kilometre on flat ground back to our camping site. We had done it -
I was exhausted but what else could I expect after nearly five hours.

Not sure I will ever walk again!!!

From the top there was a wonderful view of Circular Pool far in below.

Blue asbestos rock, Circular Pool, Karijini NP

Missed putting up these two photos of the blue asbestos rock and the track
out from Circular Pool.

Circular Pool, Karijini NP

This is proof that I was really there!

We had read that there was evidence of blue asbestos in the gorge and the
warnings were given because of the risk of cancer. We saw quite a few
"blue" rocks and layers of the blue amongst the rocks so can only assume
that this is what they were referring too. We weren't going to start
scratching at it to see if it broke away in a fine dust or anything.

Of course once you have seen the pool, swum in it if you wanted too, rested
etc the next thing was to start the trek out. This walk is a class 4
"distinct tracks in relatively undisturbed natural environments. Trails are
often rough with very little, if any modifications. A moderate to high
level of fitness is required. Users need to be self-reliant. There may be
few encounters with others. Weather can affect safety". We met some of the
requirements - we had each other, we had the EPIRB, we had food and water,
and a first aid kit. One thing we didn't have was "moderate to high level
of fitness". Shows what you can do if you are determined!

The last photo in this group shows the rock access away from the pool area
we had to follow to get back to the cross roads to climb up the gorge to the
rim.

Circular Pool, Dales Gorge. Karijini NP

After walking about three hours we came to a cross road - either continue on
to Circular Pool or go straight up the steps cut into the side of the gorge
to the rim. . Either way we had to eventually go up the steps as that was
the only way out of the gorge at that end. We were feeling quite tired and
Peter suggested we go up and out and I agreed if we could return the next
day to complete the Circular Pool walk. He soon changed his mind - there
was no way he was coming back, it was either do it now or don't do it at
all. So we continued on!

The going was hard and required climbing up to ledges and then rock hopping
across the stream (as I couldn't climb up some of the taller ledges) but we
did it. Eventually we got to the end and saw Circular Pool. Initially
there was a young couple there (unfortunately he was smoking and spoiling
the area) but they soon left and we had the pool to ourselves. The colours
were magnificent. The height of the gorge walls was impressive and there
was the dreadful thought that somehow we had to climb that to get out!

Fern Pool, Karijini NP

From Fortescue Falls we made our way further up the gorge to Fern Pool -
this pool has significant Aboriginal significance and although swimming in
the water is allowed you are asked to be quiet as the area is sacred. The
water in the pool was really deep and cold. There were a few people
swimming and we could see some small fish. Walking within the tall gorge
and amongst the trees it was quite cool as it was among the shadows and made
walking quite pleasant. The temperature at the rim and at the camp ground
was around 33 degrees so we were pleased to have the coolness while walking.

Heading down rocks at Fortescue Falls

From Fern Pool we had to make our way back to Fortescue Falls and then
scramble around the rock edge of the pool to continue the walk down the
gorge. I am never too nimble on my feet so Peter went first to make sure
that the ledge was wide enough for me to walk along as I didn't want to
start the next stage of the walk with wet shoes. All was good so with a
little hesitation I walked the ledge and then across the base of the pool
and we started the walk down the length of the gorge. We had no real idea
how long this would take but at least 2-3 hours we had been told.

From these photos you can tell that Peter was in charge of the camera - he
always thinks it better if he carries it rather than me land on my bum and
risk damaging the camera!