Karajini is famous for it's gorges and I couldn't figure out why I had never heard of it before. That's because it used to be called Hamersley Nat. Park - back when I was at school. Now they are using the Indigenous name, (as they are doing with lots of other places) and I like the name Karajini much better.
Down at the campsite we registered with the volunteer rangers -- who lived in a tent and didn't have power! (What possible enjoyment do they get from doing that job?)
I think our van looked rather ridiculous parked in between the tents on sites either side of us.
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| You can just make out a tent on the left! There's one on the right and the "eco-toilet" is just another two sites along. |
And I felt rather sorry for our neighbours during the night when we both woke up with upset tummies that required one of us to visit the "eco" toilet, and the other one of us, who just couldn't bring herself to use the "eco" toilet, to make use of the one on-board and that meant that the pump (it's not a quiet pump) came on about a hundred times, and the monitor beeped a hundred times (because we can't figure out what the alarm is for so can't turn it off) along with our door sliding open and shut and us talking. I did notice next morning that one of the tents had moved back quite a few feet.
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| This is for Colleen... - we didn't see the bees so you don't need to come! |
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| A black and while tree - just like Port Adelaide (what are they called now?) |
It was hot and I couldn't wait to swim in the pools but of course the pools are at the bottom of the gorges and of course that means you have to climb DOWN to swim.
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| I have to climb down there! |
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| I have to climb right down there! |
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| If I want to swim like everybody else ... I have to climb waaay down there! |
Normally I would have been afraid (annoyingly afraid) but all shapes and sizes of people (and kiddie poohs) seemed to be skipping up and down the steep-rocky path that hugged the side of the gorge, and we were meeting Maika and Miguel down at the pools so I figured if Miguel can handle the path I guess I should just do it - so I did.
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| There's Maika and Miguel and me - perched! |
It was so lovely down there and I enjoyed the pool that wasn't too deep, once you manoeuvred over the slippery rocks, and joseph's "sleeve" kept his cast almost dry and so next day, Anzac Day, we went back down again with books to read and food to eat and we stayed about five hours perched on a little ledge.
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| Five hours later and I'm still there - I finished that book not much later! |
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| Of course one of us was impressed with... the layers! |
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| Oh the layers! |
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| Oh yes ... and the bats! These are Australian fruit bats (the black blobs on the tree) and they are the size of crows ... and they were flying around as we walked under this tree! |
I could have stayed longer in the park, except that no matter how cool it was down at the pool, back at the van it was hot - and that night there was no breeze at all and the clouds meant it didn't cool down like it did the night before. We used our shower at the back of the van and cooled off before bed but it was a long night.
Au revoir Karajini (Joseph wants to bring Jasper here one day) we're off to find power!
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