The drive was interesting. We left the coastal flats and ranges and headed east. The next 250km were a roller coaster ride over sand dunes. These dunes ran from North to South and were pretty tall. This country changed so that the dunes became decomposed rocky ridges - they looked like rubble but are just ridges that are being eroded. Later on, as we approached the Pilbara, the ridges became solid and red. Interesting to see.
The first night we made it as far as Beasley River (close on 600 klms) before we stopped for the night at a place near the river itself. Quiet and peaceful, we were joined by a few people and had a chatty evening before dinner.
We travelled through Paraburdoo to get to the town of Tom Price where we refuelled (cheapest fuel for a long time) and hit the Coles supermarket before topping up the water tanks. Tom Price is a beautiful little town - so much nicer than a mere "mining town" and friendly as well.
Karijini Nat Park was our destination and we called into the Dales Campground and booked a site for a few nights.
Dales Gorge is right next to the campground so that was our first stop. We walked to the gorge rim and followed the steep track down. I had my knee supports on as I expected a lot of impact on my knees, and I wasn't wrong. The track down was steep, uneven and painful but we knew the rewards would be there. The first spot we stopped at was Fortescue Falls.
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As you can see, it is a very pretty place indeed, but it was only one stop along the track for us and we walked on along the gorge floor to Fern Pool, dodging the branches of fig trees and scrambling over boulders as we went.
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A beautiful and serene place, it is deserving of the attention it gets and since our last visit here some seven years ago, the Parks people have built a beautiful deck area on which to relax and take in the view.
From there we walked back, past Fortescue Falls, and travelled the gorge floor for a few klms. The gorge has some severe floods raging through it at times and the signs of them were everywhere, but there are also quiet pools of crystal clear water and stands of magnificent trees.
Did I ever mention that I loved WA? Well this place is one of the reasons - it is just gorgeous.
At the far end of the gorge we found Circular Pool. Not really circular, it is still a lovely and cool place to visit.
Karijini - one day and I am hooked again.
We climbed the unbelieveably steep track out of the gorge, climbing steel ladders in places to get past the absolutely vertical spots, and ended up wandering back into our camp where we collapsed for a while before doing some of the chores that never seem to get left behind. Washing clothes for example, and doing it all by hand.
A day later, and were were driving out to Weano and Knox gorges to do the same thing again and we found these places (which we hadn't seen before) to be just as entrancing as Dales.
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Neither was as demanding on the body as Dales however, but the fatigue was building up so we'll have a rest day tomorrow.
Before we returned to camp though we thought we'd call into the Eco Resort for a coffee. What a disappointment this was. It is supposed to be a five star resort of individual safari tents supported by the most luxurious infrastructure you could imagine.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
The reception had been poorly integrated into the bar (to save staffing numbers?) and the staff seemed to be ill trained backpackers. There was a resident there complaining bitterly that his $315 a night tent had no power so his fan, TV etc would not work. The backpacker on duty was just telling him that the power was unreliable and he just needed to put up with it.
When we eventually got served we opted for a beer and wine as trusting these people to make coffee didn't seem to be a good idea. So when my beer was served in the can and Karen's wine came in a plastic glass we were disappointed but not surprised.
Five star resort? I don't think so.
Then again, this would certainly not be the first business owned by an aboriginal corporation that had been built (by whitefellers) using government grants and opened with a great fanfare only to be then ignored and allowed to deteriorate and fall apart while the people who control the corporation rape buggery out of it and fund their own lives.
It was no surprise that even though this is an aboriginal enterprise designed to provide jobs and a sense of pride for aboriginal people, there wasn't a single aborigine working there that we saw.
We went back to camp feeling sad about it all.
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