The Pilbara is a place where everything is on a giant scale but it also a place of spectacular beauty.

More than a quarter of the world’s known iron reserves are here. The mines are huge and they literally move mountains (Mount Goldsworthy has disappeared). The trains that take the valuable ore to ports are the longest in the world. The ships that transport the ore to its destination are gargantuan as are the ports that handle them. Everything about the Pilbara is big – including the world famous Karijini National Park.

Karijini National Park

Covering 600,000+ hectares, Karijini National Park in the Hamersley Range is Western Australia’s second largest park.

First stop was at the Visitor Centre.

Karijini National Park’s climate is 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 40ºC.

Its massive mountains, escarpments, gorges, and stony, tree-lined watercourses are more than 2500 million years old. This world class National Park is the most stunning in Australia.

Fortescue Falls

After we had set up camp we walked over to Dales Gorge – about 300 metres away. There was enough daylight to visit Fortescue Falls and Fern Pool. Dales Gorge was named in 1948 after a well sinker who worked on Mulga Downs Station.

Fern Pool

A Walk in Dales Gorge

We started the day with a walk along Dales Gorge. The combined gorge rim walk and walk along the bottom of the gorge takes about two hours. We walked into Circular Pool at the eastern end of Dales Gorge.

From Circular Pool we set out to walk the floor of the Gorge.

Rim Walk

The Gorge Rim Walk is about two kilometres in length. We did about half it.

 

 

© Kim Epton 2010-2024
512 words, 55 photographs.

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