Karijini NP Hamersley Gorge WA

After a peaceful night at Mt Bruce rest area, we set off once again. The weather continues to be sunny and 25°. We began the day with a short walk to Marandoo Mine Lookout.

A bit further in we stopped at RIP lookout with lots of memorials.

We then drove 50km to the mining town, Tom Price, the highest town (747m) in Western Australia. A bit of a green oasis too.

We popped into the tourist office to confirm the road conditions. 

We did a quick shop at Coles and then went to the dump point and topped up with potable water. 

That done we took the road again driving 70km to Hamersley Gorge, the 7th and last gorge in the Karijini National Park. 

Along the way we had to stop to let one of the long mine trains go through… we were lucky it was empty and only took 3mins for a 2.8km long train with average of 250 carriages. 

Hamersley Gorge is on the far western side of the park and is a popular one to visit, evident from the full carpark as we arrived at 1pm. Once again the gorge offers a different experience. 

It was a short but steep descent to the waterholes that could be seen from the lookout. We were amazed at the rock formations and the colours. 

We scrambled over some steep and slippery rocks up to the Spa Pool. We had a swim out to the small pool with the waterfall then back again.

By the time we returned to the main waterholes there was no one swimming. 

Then it was back to Buster and to the free camp just out of the park. What an absolute gem of spot with spectacular views.

135km today.