Gorged Out

26th May 2002: Yardie Creek – Messa Creek (Cape Range NP)

We break camp and travel 40kms north. We pass a number of coastal camps and find a few have been flooded by high tides around the new moon. We decide on Mesa Camp; certainly more people than Yardie Creek (room for 11 other campers).

Our time over the next couple of days was spent swimming, snorkelling at Turquoise Bay (great marine life but had to fight a very strong current) and Lakeside Beach (visibility not as great) and walking the Mandu-Mandu Gorge (similar to Yardie Creek but no water). Quick side trip to Exmouth for supplies and repairs to the HF arial which was beginning to fall off its mounting.

29th May 2002: Mesa Camp (Cape Range NP) – Giralia Homestead

We don’t travel far today as we take our time packing (and chatting to other campers), driving the Charles Knife Canyon Road (20 kms south of Exmouth), doing the 8.5kms Shothole Canyon walk which takes in some good scenery & views. Overnight stop (hiking tent) at Giralia Homestead, a working sheep station, that was still recovering from a massive cyclone in March 1998.

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30th May 2002: Giralia Homestead – Weano Gorge (Karijini National Park)

A long days travel via Tom Price to Karijini and set up at the Weano Campsite (550kms travel).

Such an awesome destination! We spend 4 days exploring this park…

Walk 1: Weano Gorge (we walk this twice)

We walk Weano Gorge to Handrail Pool. As the name suggests it is necessary to lower yourself to the pool via a handrail & rope. We wade through Handrail Pool (bloody cold), then through narrow rock walls and other pools to the end of the gorge. The walk required some swimming, rock hopping and climbing – all through the gorge which was flowing with water. At the end there is a 25m drop into the gorges below (Red, Joffre & Hancock all join here). We return from here as the climb down is too dangerous. As is obvious, the pool at the bottom is called Junction Pool.

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Walk 2: Hancock Gorge

Down through a narrow gorge to Kermits Pool (the easy bit), then climbing, scrambling, ledge balancing waterfalls, traversing down further to junction pool. We swim across Junction Pool and arrive at the base of Weano falls (walk 1 above got us to top of these falls).

An exhilarating walk! A few places were quite hairy and the adrenaline was pumping.

Neither of these walks are long but pound for pound they were as good as any we’ve done anywhere. Recommend these to anyone, but you require a certain amount of confidence and fitness to complete.

Other side trips:

Dales Gorge – 50kms or so east of our camp. A short circuit walk in the gorge providing excellent view of Fortescue Falls. A little up-stream is magnificent Fern Pool. Downstream, Circular Pool, a very cold pool as it is spring-fed and in the shade most of the day. Climbing out of Dales George near Circular Pool and walk back along the rim effectively completes the circuit.

Kalimina Falls and Gorge – The falls are not much but exploring the gorge and some of its offshoots was excellent with us spending a good few hours there, finishing the walk with a dip in the cold Kalimina falls pool.

Knox Gorge – both east and west directions provided great gorge scenery and walking.

Joffre Falls and Gorge – we walk the falls and some of the gorge. We tried swimming downstream for awhile but found it very cold making it too difficult to complete the 400m swim . While we ended up returning via the falls it was a great walk nonetheless.