Karijini National Park

We moved now further westward and came to the Pilbara region. This is known for its mineral resources, especially vast amounts of iron ore stored here. So you come across mining sites and their infrastructure repeatedly, with the particularly striking kilometer-long trains transporting the ore to the coast. However, there are also some national parks, especially Karijini NP was on our itinerary.

On the way to Karijini, we drove long distances on unsealed roads and passed a strip of jasper (a marble-like rock) called 'Marble Bar'. As we could mostly drive between 80 and 100 km/h, this route paid off fully, and we could hike a first gorge in Karijini NP - the Dales Gorge - already on the day of arrival. In addition, we treated ourselves to a special pleasure and drove up to the 'Nameless Mountain' in Tom Price - a truly adventurous off-road route that could only be tackled with the lowest gearing. Then we had 2 overnight stays, and on the one full day in between, we actually managed to see everything in the park's center: Hancock Gorge, Weano Gorge (only the Upper Gorge, the Lower Gorge is closed), Knox Gorge, Joffre Gorge, and even Kalamina Gorge. In the evenings, we sat on the terrace of our tent accommodation and watched the Milky Way, which was clearly visible here (and even photographable).

Leaving Karijini NP then took us again over hundreds of kilometers on unsealed roads (which this time were quite poor and sensibly slowed our forward motion), nevertheless we managed to hike the last outstanding gorge of Karijini NP - Hamersley Gorge - as well as a brief detour into both parts of the Millstream-Chichester National Park.

That concluded our time in the Pilbara region. The hikes in Karijini NP were quite strenuous. Usually not very long, but in the end, you always had to tackle the steep walls of the gorges back up. Particularly beautiful (adventurous) were the Grade-5 hikes in Hancock and Knox Gorge, where it really required climbing along the canyon walls or sometimes walking through water (after all - we never had to swim). The other valleys also had their charm, but to some extent, they also looked very similar ... anyway, at the next stop, there won't be as much hiking, but hopefully more swimming.

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We moved now further westward and reached the Pilbara region. Pilbara is known for its mineral resources, especially vast amounts of iron ore are here. So we see gain and again mining sites and mile-long trains transporting iron ore towards the coast. But Pilbara is not only mining, it also showcases some national parks. Especially the Karijini NP was on our list ...

To come to Karijini NP, we drove again long streaks of gravel roads and passed during that so-called 'Marble Bar', a piece of (not marble but) jasper. As we were able to pass the gravel roads with 60-70mph, we saved a lot of time (compared to a route using sealed roads only), and we could hike a first gorge - the Dales Gorge - already on the day of arrival. Also we climbed Mt.Nameless in (the town) Tom Price with our 4WD, which was really a climb stone by stone - we never drove a 'road' like this before. In Karijini NP we stayed for 2 nights, and on our full day we managed to hike all gorges in the parks centre: Hancock Gorge, Weano Gorge (only the upper gorge, the lower gorge is closed), Knox Gorge, Joffre Gorge, and Kalamina Gorge. At night we sat in front of our (accommodation) tent and looked up to the stars and the milky way which was clearly visible (and photographable).

Leaving Karijini NP is again hundreds of miles on gravel roads - this time in pretty bad condition. Nevertheless we managed to hike the last outstanding gorge in Karijini, Hamersley Gorge, and also to have stops in both sections of Millstream-Chichester National Park.

Finally, the Pilbara region was done. The hikes in Karijini were pretty strenuous. Usually they were not that long, but in the end we always had to climb back from the gorge's floor to the rim ... The highlights in this area were the grade-5-hikes in Hancock Gorge and Knox Gorge, where we had to walk through water streams and to climb along the gorge walls. The other gorges had been nice as well, but did look also a bit similar ... anyway, the next stop is not so much about hiking but more about (open sea) swimming ... stay tuned.