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Karijini National Park

Karijini (formerly Hamersley Range) National Park is the second largest national park in WA. A party led by explorer F.T. Gregory explored the area in 1861. He named the Hamersley Range, on which the park is centred, after his friend Edward Hamersley.

Situated just north of the Tropic of Capricorn, the park's climate can best be described as tropical semi-desert. A highly variable, mainly summer rainfall of 250–350 mm, often associated with thunderstorms and cyclones, is accompanied by temperatures frequently topping 40 degrees Celsius. The ideal times to visit the park are late autumn, winter and early spring. Winter days are warm and clear, but nights are cold and sometimes frosty.

Karijini National Park protects many different wildlife habitats, landscapes, plants and animals of the Pilbara. Wildflowers vary with the seasons. In the cooler months the land is covered with yellow-flowering cassias and wattles, northern bluebells and purple mulla-mullas. After rain many plants bloom profusely.

It is also home to a variety of birds, red kangaroos and euros, rock-wallabies, echidnas and several bat species. Geckos, goannas, dragons, legless lizards, pythons and other snakes are abundant. Huge termite mounds are a feature of the landscape and the rock piles of the rare pebble mound mouse may be found in spinifex country.

In the north of Karijini National Park, small creeks hidden in the rolling hillsides—dry for most of the year—suddenly plunge into sheer-sided chasms up to 100 metres deep. These are the Park's famous gorges. They are spectacular but can be extremely dangerous. Further downstream, the gorges widen and their sides change from sheer cliffs to steep slopes of loose rock.

Rocks exposed at the gorges originated as finegrained sediment which accumulated on an ancient seafloor 2,500 million years ago. At this time, the atmosphere contained much less oxygen and the only forms of life were simple bacteria and algae. Many of these sediments laid down in the oceans were rich in iron and silica.

Over hundreds of millions of years, the iron-rich deposits were transformed by the pressure of further sediments laid down over them, and they gradually turned into tough well-bedded rock. The gorges were eroded when a sharp drop in sea level caused the rivers to downcut rapidly—a process enhanced by the onset of a more arid climate, which depleted the protective vegetation cover on the valley sides.

In Dales Gorge, a stream, pools, waterfalls, and ferns contrast with the red, terraced cliffs weathered by centuries of exposure. The occasional snappy gum can be seen perched on rocky ledges. But every gorge is different, and each one is worth a visit. At Oxer Lookout, the junction of Weano, Red, Hancock and Joffre Gorges, tiers of banded rock tower over a pool at the bottom of the gorge. To explore these gorges you must be fit and prepared to submerge in near-freezing water, follow narrow paths and cling to rock ledges.

The Park is the traditional home of the Banyjima, Kurrama and Innawonga Aboriginal people. The Banyjima name for the Hamersley Range is Karijini. Evidence of their early occupation dates back more than 20,000 years. During that period, Aboriginal land management practices such as 'fire stick farming', resulting in a diversity of vegetation types and stages of succession, have helped determine the nature of the plants and animals found in the park today.

Things you need to know

Where is it?
310 km from Roebourne and 1400 km from Perth.

Travelling time:
5–6 hours from Roebourne, 3–4 days from Perth.

Access:

• From the west. Leave the North West Coastal Highway near Nanutarra and head towards Tom Price. Enter the park via Marandoo Road.
• From the east. Leave the Great Northern Highway 35 kilometres south of Munjina Roadhouse and travel west along Karijini Drive to the Banjima Drive intersection. Turn right and travel 8 kilometres to the Dales Gorge turnoff or continue west along Banjima Drive to Kalamina, Joffre, Weano and Hancock Gorges and Oxers Lookout.
• From Roebourne. Head south to Millstream Chichester National Park, then continue east along the Roebourne-Wittenoom Road, finally turning south-west along the Nanutarra-Wittenoom Road through Rio Tinto Gorge past the Hamersley Gorge turnoff and south-east onto the Hammersley-Mount Bruce Road.

PLEASE NOTE: Yampire Gorge Road is closed. There is no access.

Facilities:
Camping (separate fees apply), Karijini Visitor Centre, toilets, water, information shelter, picnic tables, gas barbecues. No generators are permitted at Weano Gorge and Circular Pool campsites.
Self registration (entrance fee applies) at two entrances, near Ranger Station and Mount Bruce Road.

Best season:
Late Autumn and Winter (May–August)

What to see and do:
Karijini Visitor Centre, walking, sightseeing, photography, camping, swimming, nature observation.

If you decide to tackle any of the walks within the park, please take great care—the gorges can be extremely hazardous. Many of them are only recommended for the physically fit and you must notify a ranger before starting any of the longer ones.

• Circular Pool
  It is a loose, steep descent, then an easy ramble to the hidden gardens of Circular Pool. (800 m return.) This is an arduous walk, so you must allow at least 2 hours return.
• Dales Gorge
  A 4-kilometre return trail runs along the bottom of the gorge. Allow 3 hours for the return walk.
• Gorge Rim Walk and Circular Pool Lookout
  A 1.2-kilometre return trail runs along the rim of Dales Gorge.
• Fortescue Falls
  Walk down through the changing vegetation of the iron-rich gorge walls to the park's only permanent waterfall. (800 metres, 2-hour return walk.)
• Hancock Gorge
  Journey to the 'centre of the Earth' down this steep, narrow gorge. Feel the highly polished rock on the way down to Kermit's Pool. (1.5 kilometres, 3-hour return walk.)
• Joffre Gorge
  A short track runs from the carpark to the lookout overlooking the falls, which are usually dry, and the plunge pool at their base. (100 metres, 10 minutes return.) Follow the marked route into the bottom of the gorge to the first pool downstream of the waterfall. (3 kilometres, 3-hour return walk.)
• Kalamina Gorge
  There is a 30-minute return walk into the gorge's lush, shaded pool. Alternatively, walk within the gorge along a stream and small ponds (3 hours return).
• Mt Bruce
  Spectacular views from the top of the second tallest peak in WA, called Bunurrunha by the Aboriginal people.There are three walks of varying lengths and difficulty:
  Marandoo View is 500 metres and takes 30 minutes return.
  Honey Hakea Track is 4.6 kilometres and takes at least 3 hours return.
  The walk to Mt Bruce Summit is 9 kilometres and takes at least 6 hours for the return trip. This walk is recommended only for fit and experienced walkers.
• Red Gorge
  Access into this gorge is via Knox, Joffre or Hancock Gorges. Rangers must be notified before entering it.
• Weano Gorge
  A walktrail takes you down the steep descent into Weano Gorge and through the bottom of the gorge to Handrail Pool (300 m return). Please tell the ranger if you intend to walk past this point.