Ohhhh the red dirt, Karajini and Millstream Chichester National Parks

Sunday we had to farewell Coral bay. In a way we were kind of thankful as it had become full of people on school holidays. We don't at all mind the kids it's that the park went from being 50% full to 100% and it was noticeable in noise and use on the facilities. We packed up, fuelled up, picked up our photos from yesterday and hit the road. Today really was just a transit day heading for Karajini National park. The most exciting parts were watching 2 Emu's cross the road in front of us and pulling into camp and getting a good spot. We are in a nice shady road side stop with at least 12 other campers. The only stop we made today was for fuel and other then the very noticeable change in dirt colour (we are now in red bull dust country) it was just an enjoyable day on the road enjoying the ever changing landscape. So today marks a year on the road. We have come a long way in every sense of the word.

Today is our 7th wedding anniversary we woke early and after breakfast in bed we were packed and on the road by 8.30am. The first thing we noticed was that we were constantly climbing, people we had just met had told us of the cold nights in camp and we now know why it so flippin high. We passed ever changing scenery and the blurry mountains had us very confused. We took the dirt road across to Tom Price and not only enjoyed it but saved ourselves over 80km. I called Karajini and the ranger told us they still had spots but get in early as it fills up every afternoon. So with that knowledge James dropped me at Coles to grab some necessities while he filled the car with fuel.  After grabbing a map from the info centre we headed out for the park. We were super happy to find it not full and after some spot mix ups we had a spot. We set camp had a late lunch. We decided to do a short walk and have a swim at Circular pool. Our first look at the Dale Gorge and WOW.

Its a long way down. We set off down the steps and up the gorge to the pool. I walked in first albeit slowly with James following. James fell into the water twice before diving in. He was in for about oh 30 seconds before he got out just as fast. It was cold no actually freezing. I got in and had a swim over to the waterfalls. The water coming down them is spring fed and much warmer. After drying off and a quick look under the waterfalls we trekked back to camp, I managed to fall up the steps 3 times but luckily only had a few grazes

 

I made a yummy Prawn and calamari sweet chilli & lime stir fry which we enjoyed with a bottle of bubbles to celebrate our special day.

After a cool night but not as cold as we'd expected we again woke early. We sat and enjoyed the morning sun till it warmed us up a bit then headed out. First stop was the info centre. We enjoyed reading the displays they had on the area. We then set off for Kalamina Gorge. We arrived there at 10.30. After a quick look at the falls from the top we headed down into the gorge. We thoroughly enjoyed the very peaceful walk along the bottom of the gorge, it was often very wide and open with nice smooth surfaces to walk along. The water flowing down the small waterfalls all the way along gave it a very peaceful sound.

 Stopping often for photos and to just soak it all in. We climbed along rock ledges and stepped over water on rocks people had set to cross the water. We crossed over the river several times before coming to the arch rock at the end. Here we sat in the sun and soaked in the beauty of the area. We traced our steps back and passed loads of people heading down. Again we were lucky to have it to ourselves even if only for a short while. Back up past the steps we climbed around another rock ledge and were presented with stunning views of the waterfall. After taking photos we trekked back up the stairs and back to camp for lunch.

 Instead of getting back in the car we thought it wise at the time to just walk to the Gorge for the afternoon. We set out and headed for the top of Fortescue falls which is the closest to camp. We had a peek over the edge at the falls but then turned left and did the gorge rim walk to the other end which is where the access is to circular pool and the other end of Dales Gorge. We again climbed down down down into the bottom of the gorge and instead of going right to circular pool we went left and walked up the gorge to Fortescue falls. We were trekking along fine till we came to a part where we couldn't find a way through and the river was to wide and deep to walk across. James clambered on a little further till he noticed the path was on the other side of the river. We must have missed the crossing. So back we went for about 200 meters and oh yeah there was the crossing and the sign post in the middle of the track that we both didn't see. I'm certain James was talking my ear off as usual which is why we missed it. Anyways we crossed the river and from here up passed many people. Up until this point we hadn't seen anyone. It's also from this point that the walk becomes more challenging offering you plenty of opportunities to fall into the water. We spent a good stretch of it walking on stepping stones which people have found and placed there so they are not fixed and do move and are often only millimetres above or under the water. We held onto the walls of the gorge where possible and thankfully with a few moments of oh crap I'm going in we did make it through without getting wet.

What we hadn't imagined was how busy Fortescue falls would be. Our first look at the falls and it was covered in people which looked like ants crawling over the rocks. We climbed up and found a nice spot to stop and enjoy the view and catch our breath before the last climb out. The last climb out though much easier then the climb at the other end was harder this time as our legs were tired. We made our way up and were thankful that it was the last of the climbing for today. We made our way back to camp stopping to pay the ranger for another night and ask about the smoke we could see. There's a fire burning 14km away and if it gets closer the rangers will be over they told us. Back at camp to rest the tired legs. We have walked 9.6km today and enjoyed almost every step. 

Brrrrr now that was a cold night. We were toasty warm in bed but we both snuggled in with the blankets covering our ears and necks. When I got up at 7am there was a layer of ice on the car windscreen. We set out for Weano gorge early. It is 45km from camp to the other gorges and we would have liked to camp at the other end of the park but they were full. First stop was to see Knox & Joffre gorge lookouts.

We then drove down to Junction & Oxer lookouts. After we parked and got our stuff ready we walked along the top of Weano gorge then down to the bottom to wonder along to the other end.

Here we took the left side to see Handrail pool. At this stage James waited behind. I took off my shoes and waded through crutch deep freezing water to then clamber along the rock ledge to get to the other end.

In warmer weather I would swim the length but I didn't feel like hyperthermia today. From here it was a couple of hundred meters more to handrail pool. At this point I had to climb down a rock ledge along the waters edge to walk around a stunning small pool then into a narrow section keeping to the sides as the flowing water is slippery as all buggery, to get to the end where you have to hold onto the hand rail to climb down to the pools edge.

There is the option then to swim across the pool and keep going but again I didn't feel like freezing just yet anyway. I retraced my steps to find James back at the start. We climbed out of the gorge and had a picnic lunch. Next challenge was Hancock pool and Kermits pool. We changed into our swimmers as we knew the only way through this gorge was wading and probably swimming. We clambered down the steps and were nearly at the bottom when James slipped. Luckily he only grazed his leg, side and elbow a little and was ok to go on. We had to climb down 2 ladders to get to the bottom of the gorge. The first hundred meters is easy enough then comes the first pool, Hancock pool. We took our shoes off and left them here. This first pool is only knee deep, it's the freezing water that hurts along with the stony bottom. We had planned to wear our old shoes but forgot to bring them along so we just had to tough it out. After the first pool and a short walk we were faced with a choice swim 15-20 meters or rock climb along the wall. We watched some people come towards us so we chose option B.

 We made it to the other end without falling in phew. We were in the amphitheater now. The next section is the spider walk where you have to do as it says spider walk along the walls to get through.

We were going along fine but James got worried and his knee was hurting so he turned back at the half way point. I kept going and at the end of this point is Kermits pool.

It's a stunning colour green and it slowly flows down further but the track is blocked and it's easy to see why it gets to dangerous to proceed. The view from the edge is brilliant though. After soaking it in and getting photos I made my way back. Just before starting the spider walk it was my turn to fall. Luckily I was already on my hands and feet when my feet slipped. I jarred my shoulder but didn't really get hurt. From here I did the spider walk back up to find James. We got back to Hancocks pool and this time I decided to swim back up. It was cold but also enjoyable.

James took the bag and made his way along the wall. We stopped after the last pool to dry off and put our shoes back on. The climb out and drive back to camp all went smoothly. We sat and enjoyed the warm afternoon sun before it set to another cold night.  

Thursday morning we woke and snuggled under the covers. It was the coldest night so far and we didn't want to get up. After boiling the kettle to heat up the trailer we ventured out. Sitting out in the sun to have breakfast was lovely. We packed and made our way into Tom Price. We had planned to stay in Tom Price for 2 nights so we could do the mine tour the following day however when we went to book in I found out there was a second tour on today so we booked in for that and only needed 1 night in town. We went to the van park and did a quick set up before going back for the tour. The mine is owned and run by Rio Tinto and was really very interesting.

After the tour we did some washing, filled the trailer with water and gas, did grocery shopping then a tidy up before Skyping home to talk to a lot of my family. Many of my siblings and most of my nieces and nephews were at mum and dads it was great to see everyone. 

The best thing about this caravan park is they have grass. The grass was a welcomed relief from the red dirt camping and sandy camping we'd had for the past weeks. We were up packed and headed for town at 8.30am. We wanted to drive the quickest route to Millstream Chichester National Park and this meant going on a mine road. We sat through a 20 minute DVD of what to do and what not to do then were given our permit. We set out firstly for Hammersly Gorge. We hit dirt road 25km from town and aired down all the tyres as we had 250km of dirt ahead of us.  After only one wrong turn we found Hammersly Gorge and dearly wished it was warmer as the pools looked so inviting but the cool wind kept us on the edge. This gorge had the most amazing colours and fracture lines in it.

From here we took a road 30km across to the mine road. We had to check the road conditions and got the all clear so we pushed on. We sat alongside a train for a while. Only encountered a couple of other vehicles and were making great time. We saw up ahead some road works so we slowed and pulled up to a very friendly lady who had the job of sending us on. We had just got the go ahead when we said um you might want to check your back tyre. I looked out and oh crap it looked much flatter on the bottom then the other tyres. We pulled off to the left in a big open area to see what had happened. Yep it was certainly flat on the bottom but not completely down. We were so lucky we had come across her and the road works. We jacked up the car and pulled off the tyre. This is where we learnt a few lessons. We could hear air slowly leaking and James noticed something he thought had punctured it. I thought the air was leaking else where but on closer inspection thought James was right. We removed said object and had out our puncture repair kit ready. This is our first and hopefully last puncture we've had to repair. So out came the tools and after some grunting and force we had the puncture repaired....or so we thought. We had out the air compressor and started airing it up when oh shit we could still hear a leak. Hmmmmmmm. James said it's ok we can just insert another plug. I stood there pondering the situation and channeled dad and thought ahhhh I know what we didn't do that he always does, we didn't put water on the tyre to make sure that's where the leak is. I grabbed the water bottle and started pouring. Hmmmmm ok so we may or may not have had 2 leaks but after finding this leak we now have 2 plugs in the tyre about an inch apart. This leak was a very fine hole in the thick part of the tread like something had gone in and then come straight back out.

We laughed and laughed at the comedy of errors cause hey there was nothing else to do and after fixing it and then inflating it we knew we had a repaired tyre and experience at using the repair kit. We certainly will now always pour water over a leak before "fixing" a tyre. After putting the car back together and cleaning up we were on our way. Only another 60km to camp. We pulled in and found a lovely spot. We had a very late lunch and then walked over to the homestead. I will write more about the area and homestead in the coming days. For now we are going to enjoy the sunset and a well earned drink. 

We are in Millstream Chichester National Park it lies between Karratha and Tom Price. The park was originally a working station. The very first person to buy and farm this land was Alec McRae. Now I realise he spelt his last name without the extra a in it that my family have it is still amazing to find information about MacRae's all around this country from many many years ago. This national park was farmed with sheep and cattle for a long time and slowly bought out by the national park body. We decided to do the walk to the Deep reach pool which as it turns out is not at all a pool but a river but hey we could swim so off we set. We'd been informed by the camp host that the round trip was 8km so 4km there swim then 4km back. We took off at 10.30am with just one drink bottle and a muesli bar each as we planned to be back for lunch. Well we walked and walked and walked. The first 2-3km was nice as it was in the shade of the Millstream palms and big trees then we were out in the open. We came to a junction and took the left up the hill as right seemed to head back to camp. We came to the lookout and from memory we were on track and the water should be only another 1km at most. So on we walked. We caught up to a group who we had seen at camp and asked them what they thought. They also seemed to think we were on track and did have the map with them that we didn't take along. So on we walked. We walked and walked and walked. We stopped in the shade of a tree and James looked at his phone we had done over 6km, hmmmmm either we were lost or the camp host was wrong. We then looked at Ozi explorer on James's phone and we were not lost the "pool" was still ahead of us so on we walked with Tam and James who had caught up to us. The rest of their group turned back. We chatted with them for the rest of the walk and finally came across the river. We had walked just over 8km and had no option but to walk it to get back. We changed into our swimmers and jumped in. The water was cool but so refreshing.

 After a nice long swim across the river and back we put our dry clothes back on, enjoyed our snack and headed back for camp. The walk back was awful. It was stinking hot as the wind had stopped and we were now walking in the middle of the day and for all but 2km in the full sun with very little water to share.

We arrived back at camp at 3pm completely shattered and dehydrated. We drank and drank and drank then had a late lunch. I laid down on the bed and had a quick power nap while James read a magazine then the day was over. I asked the camp host about the walk and they had been given the wrong information. They were so apologetic, I just more wanted to ensure they didn't send anyone else off on that length walk not prepared.