13 days
3500 km
5 Klamers
1 (really small) tent trailer
2 equatorial regions
1 tent
0 roadkill
These are the vital statistics for our recently completed great northwestern Australia adventure. Many months ago we decided that we would try our hand at Australian camping. We also agreed that we wanted to visit the Karijini and Ningaloo regions. We killed two- or three- birds with one stone (despite the birds having never wronged us in any way) and went camping for two weeks primarily in Karijini and Ningaloo. We managed to cram in a lot of stuff into a relatively small period of time so this will be broken up into two posts.
Part 1- The Karijini
April 12-
We officially began our journey when we picked up our rented tent trailer on April 12. We've done a lot of camping over the years but all of it has been in a tent. Unfortunately, our vehicle towing capacity isn't particularly robust so we were confined to getting the Jayco Finch: a compact little trailer with a fridge, sink, kitchen and, in theory, enough beds to sleep five people. In order to sleep five, however, Zaren and Cyrus would have to share a small bed and Keva would be sleeping on the kitchen table so we all agreed that it would be best for the boys to sleep in a tent.
The night before we started driving we were preparing some last moment items for our trip including our Jerry Can of extra fuel. Unfortunately, one of the nozzles of the fuel can wasn't completely closed and in the short 2 minute drive from the fuel station to our home we spilled enough gasoline in our car to make it smell like an un-kept refinery. We scrambled to buy some kitty litter and other stuff to clean as much as we could and to absorb the odor.
April 13-
Planned time of departure: 8:30 am
Actual time of departure: 10:45 am
Unfortunately, our voyage was delayed as we tried to clean the gasoline out of the car. Our efforts were mostly futile and we did the best we could to contain the odor.
The first travelling portion of our journey began on the Great Northern Highway. That's a very bold name for a road but it is more or less accurate. Not because the road is in great or even good or even fair shape; it's anything but. But rather because the road leads you to the northern section of Western Australia which truly is great. The road itself is narrow, single lane, too fast (110 km limit), too busy with industrial traffic and not maintained particularly well.
***WARNING***
The next section may disturb some. It contains a mild description of some graphic images that may be disturbing to those that have never left their house. If so, please skip over the italicized portion below.
The drive along the Great Northern Highway is actually quite picturesque. There are areas of forest, desert, scrub, woodland and waterways. However, the most frequent scene along the road from Perth to the Karijini is the roadkill. At first, the dead animals on the side of the road are mostly kangaroos. As you drive on you see lizards, foxes, birds, goats, sheep, snakes, feral cats, what we think might have been a dingo at some point and...cows. Yes, cows. There were great big cows that have been plowed into and killed by the huge trucks and road trains. Apparently, the animals that are killed on the roadside are not moved or collected at any point in time, but rather are left to rot at the side of the road. We saw former animals from accidents that were as recent as the dearly day-old departed to those old enough to be nothing left but skull and bones on the highway. The freshly plowed cows were particularly revolting as they would plump up like a balloon, with their legs sticking skyward. One had the impression that if one lightly stuck one of these behemoths with a pin that they would explode like a grotesque, giant water balloon.
Besides roadkill, the most constant companion we had was that of the 'roadtrains'. These are trucks that are carrying more than one trailer, and often are carrying up to three. The Karijini is in a heavy iron ore mining district- one of the most productive on the planet- and as such there is a great deal of commercial traffic. Most of the trucks going by aren't much of a problem, despite the narrow, single lanes. However, occasionally you run into a very wide load.
There were times where we had to pull over on the shoulder because this road wasn't big enough for the two of us.
There are many rest stops along the way. Some have overnight camping, toilets and even showers. Others are simply a place to momentarily rest and to deposit your litter and these places clearly do not have toilets as the sticker above alludes to: "If you're going to take a dump take a bloody shovel". Translation: if you're going to poop here please bury it away, friend. Australians have a unique charm that is all their own.
About 700 km later we arrived in the town of Cue where we managed to find a campsite to sleep overnight.
April 14-
Even in the middle of nowhere there are roosters crowing at 5:30 am. Unfortunately, we never saw any of them on the highway but the town of Cue is tiny but still big enough that we had the opportunity to run over a pedestrian if we wanted. We didn't. The townspeople of Cue were safe, the rooster lives on and the car stinks of gasoline and kitty litter.We left Cue bright and early and started making our way north towards the mining town of Newman where we planned to spend the evening. I've actually been to Newman once before on business. I flew in in the morning and flew back in the evening and that was more than enough to see what there is to see in Newman.
It's a long, monotonous 600 km drive from Cue to Newman and really the only thing to do is get lost in the landscape and your own thoughts. As a result, driving in the Australian outback can be a somewhat strange experience. The sky is a massive pale blue dome that seems to smother the deep red of the rocks and the rich green of the shrubs. It is sometimes overwhelming to the senses and in the same moment dull. It seems like a different world but also somewhat reminiscent. It can appear desolate and rich all at once. At times I caught myself in a moment of realization, "wow, I can't believe I'm here!" It may seem odd that I should have that sort of experience since we've lived here for two and a half years and we've seen the outback on several occasions. But being out on the open road with just the road trains, exploding cows and the scenery really sunk into me. The drive was almost just as much of a memorable experience as the places we visited... or I could have just been high from the gasoline fumes.
Dotting much of the landscape are many red monoliths. In some fields there are thousands of them. In fact, these are termite mounds. The ones we saw varied in size from knee high to maybe 3 meters tall. Above, Keva is standing beside an averaged sized termite nest.
One of the issues that one faces when driving over 3500 km and towing a trailer is that there is an almost constant need for fuel. This isn't lost on the local entrepreneurs who are littered about the towns and roadhouses (a place to rest, eat, sleep, fuel) along the highway. One roadhouse in particular called Kumarina Roadhouse just happened to be situated in any area that was far away enough from the next two fueling points that they had a monopoly on the fuel for traffic travelling the Perth-Karijini route as well as the traffic coming from or going to Newman, Port Hedland, Broome and the various mine sites dotting the country side. They certainly took advantage of it.
The fuel at Kumarina Roadhouse was 202.5 cents per liter! That is about 60-70 cents more than in Perth, about 30 cents more than we paid in most other parts of our journey and easily the most we've ever paid anywhere.
As mentioned, we were going to stop in Newman for the night but the travel was so easy (despite the cost) and we were making such good time that we decided to go right through to Karijini National Park. We arrived just in time to get a spot and set up before it got dark.
April 15-
We survived our first night in Karijini despite the nighttime temperatures getting a little on the cool side. Karijini is basically a red desert that is covered with beige grass, stumpy shrubs and the occasional hardy tree. The days are hot. The nights are cool. The car stinks of petroleum waste. The campsite itself is very raw: there is no power and no water. There are pit toilets and the showers are available, for a price, at the visitor center nearby.
Our initial set-up in our spot in the Karijini in Dale's Gorge campground.
What the Karijini is really known for are it's numerous gorges and water features. Driving through the area you'd never suspect that there are a handful of deep gorges that cut through the landscape and create unique, beautiful and bountiful environments. Our campsite was located within a 10 minute walk of Dale's Gorge. So that is where we spent our first day.
After a short walk from our campground and a steep decline into the gorge, we found Fern Pool. This is a natural pool with a waterfall. It even has fish in it. This is considered a sacred site by the traditional owners of the land. You are allowed to swim here but out of respect for the area you are not to splash or dive. In the picture above Keva is in the foreground while me, Zaren and Cyrus are sitting under the waterfall.
A short walk from Fern Pool is Fortescue Falls. This is a slightly larger waterfall just downstream of Fern Pool. Above, Nadia and I are sitting at the base of the falls.
Further down the gorge is Circular Pool. It is located basically right at the end of the gorge and is surrounded by high, steep, red walls. The pool almost never gets any sun and is colder than the other pools. The waterfall at the top right of the photo comes directly out of the rock of the canyon and is quite warm.
The Karijini is located in an area where there is almost no development. There is one building within miles (the visitor center) and the only other light is from campers flashlights and lanterns. The Karijini also almost never has clouds or rain. As a result, the views of the stars are unbelievable. The first night we had a full moon early in the evening so it was difficult to see many stars but in subsequent nights the moon rose later at night. I have never seen the galaxy so clearly with my naked eye. Nadia and I even saw two shooting stars within a couple minutes of each other. Unfortunately, our camera couldn't quite capture the sky as it deserved to be.
April 16-
The next must-see stop in the Karijini was the Weano Gorge. Unfortunately, this gorge was about a 60 km drive away and only a very small portion of it was paved. Most of the 1 hour drive took place along the red, rough corduroy road of Bunjima Drive.
An iconic red Australian road. Not bad if you have a 4 wheel drive, but a little bumpy in our case. The bouncy road did nothing to diminish the smell of gasoline.
When we finally arrived at Weano Gorge we were shaken but unstirred. Our first destination was an offshoot of Weano called Hancock Gorge. It was a long, sometimes narrow, sometimes wet journey along the canyon floor.
Above, the kids are traversing the side of the gorge above the water.
Above, Keva is in the water while Zaren takes the high road.
Keva and Nadia are at the narrowest portion of the gorge called the "Spider Walk" where you have to, um, spider walk to get through.
Finally, we arrived at Kermit Pool. Nadia and Keva are swimming while Zaren and Cyrus are watching from the wall. This was probably my favorite spot in all of the gorges.
We spent a lovely morning at Kermit Pool bathing and sunning until we were covered in shadow. Then we made our way to Weano Gorge and hiked down to Handrail Pool.
Handrail pool above. In the center is a waterfall with Keva sitting at the base of it. Cyrus and Zaren are sitting center-right and Nadia is just right of that. To get to this pool you literally need to use the installed handrail to descend from the top of the waterfall.
April 17-
We were starting to run a little low on fuel and we still had two days left in the Karijini. The nearest fuel from the Karijini is 80 km away and that's back the way we came. It's over 100 km to get fuel in the direction we'll be travelling. There is no fuel in the park itself. So, planning your top-ups is essential. On this particular morning, I got up and drove the 80 km to the nearest gas station at the Munjina Roadhouse to make sure we had enough gas for the next two days. I fueled up, changed the cars kitty litter for a fresh batch, got some miscellaneous supplies and drove back to start our day at Knox Gorge.
Knox Gorge is a deep, long gorge with a gentle stream running like an artery to it's heart. There were many areas to possibly stop to swim, sunbathe, relax and take it all in but we went to the end of the gorge which turned out to be the best spot.
At the end of Knox Gorge. Under the shear red cliffs in the center of the picture you can see Cyrus, Zaren, Keva and Nadia.
18 April-
Our last day in the Karijini. We decided to go back to the Dales Gorge because it was close by and we enjoyed it so much the first time.
We spent the morning at Circular Pool along with our little friend in the bottom left corner. It's known as a guana and is the largest lizard in Australia. It is basically the same as African Monitor Lizards and is a relative of the Komodo Dragon. They are curious, harmless and actually have some personality. Their were several other visitors to the pool in the morning of the human variety and unusually almost none of them were Australian. For whatever reason most of the tourists were German.
In the afternoon we went back to Fern Pool and then Fortescue Falls. Some European backpackers apparently missed the whole "sacred" thing and were jumping and diving in the water. The whole family managed to get in a picture together at Fortescue Falls above.
After a great deal of patience we managed to spot and capture an elusive Karijini cloud on film!
We really enjoyed the Karijini. It was a totally unique and surreal experience for all of us and something that I'll personally never forget. The Karijini is a little bit like a life giving oasis in the middle of a death valley. It is a place of contrasts: hot and cold, dry and wet, hard and soft, beautiful and unforgiving, devoid of anything and teeming with life. If this were to be the end of our trip we would have been satisfied. But this was only the first half. Part 2 coming soon...
