Broome, 80 Mile Beach, Karijini National Park and Emu Creek Station (June 27 – July 10)

Back to Broome to check out the local markets, they didn’t really stack up to our expectations unfortunately.  A fun visit to the Malcolm Douglas Crocodile Farm to watch these prehistoric monsters feed on fish carcasses.  A beach sunset and a restock and we were off south to 80 Mile Beach. 

 

 

 

80 Mile Beach didn’t really impress us much either.  An extraordinarily long beach lined with fishermen – not catching many fish and you are unable to swim because of the sharks and sea snakes.  And a very busy caravan park.  It did however have nice shells.

Onto Karijini National Park.  These iron and silica-rich rocks are over 2500 million years old.  We are back in red dust country and the nights are freezing, a real shock to the system.  Rolling hills dotted with spinifex grass and contrasting beautiful white gums and the most immense deep gorges and chasms and sheer cliffs you can imagine.  Some of them plunging 100m down.

We spent our days here hiking to all the different gorges, Dales, Weano, Hancock, Kalamina, Joffre and Knox.  Some you had to drive between 20 and 45km along red corrugated roads to begin the walks.  Most of the walks are no longer than 3km but take 2 to 3 hours by the time you wade through water, inch your way around rock ledges and negotiate steep and narrow chasms, (which is all fine for mountain goats or very sure footed nimble boys) and then swim in the absolutely freezing pools.  The cliffs are vibrant red layered rock towering above you with little sun reaching to the depths below.

Dales Gorge

Dales Gorge

 

Fern Pool

 

 

 

Circular Pool

 

Weano/Hancock Gorge

 

Handrail Pool

 

The handrail to climb down to the pool

 

 

Kermit's Pool

 

Amphitheatre

Rock Arch Pool

 

Knox Gorge

 

Knox Gorge

Knox Gorge

Joffre Gorge

A freezing, finger numbing early pack up from Karijini and a long day in the car finds us at Emu Creek Station.  An old sheep station.  Recommended by some guys we met in Broome.  It is beautiful, a grassy/sandy campsite on the banks of Emu Creek.  We spent our days swimming, reading and kayaking whilst listening and watching the noisy vibrant abundant birdlife.  A nice place away from the chaos of school holidays.

 

 

 

 

Wood collecting