Karijini, Western Australia

Karijini National Park

Hoping to escape the impending wet weather we turned inland and arrived in the industrial town, Tom Price (the highest town in Western Australia and home to the immense mining operation that is the Rio Tinto iron ore operation) very late after a long long drive. (Luckily scoring the last room in the entire town! And it had TV- so ABC for kids was a very welcome distraction for Amelia.) We were hoping to stay at Karijini after replenishing our supplies but it was not to be. We were advised the weather was going to get worse so we'd be pretty cold, even in one of the fancy eco-tents. http://www.karijiniecoretreat.com.au/ They looked really nice though. So we did a quick tour of the area and then moved on. Here are some images from the amazing National Park.

Karijini National Park is located in the Hammersley Range in north- western Western Australia. It's mostly tropical semi arid in climate (rainfall between 250-350 mm annually) and the gorges are spectacular, with sparkling waters, challenging walks and beautiful rock formations. There were many great walks around the gorges and into the swimming holes but we didn't want to risk the weather and our youngest team member wasn't overly co-operative. A bit disappointing- but we'd definately recommend this national park of those who enjoy bush walking. Here's a link if you're interested... http://www.karijini.com/

Knox Lookout

Always giving directions!

The rock layers evident throughout the park include shale, dolomite and obviously banded iron.

Termite Mounds

Sometimes up to 7 metres tall, some mounds are crenellated near the top to create airflow that help to keep the structure dry, while others have a north-south aspect to regulate temperature. They are built by tiny blind worker termites using a mixture of saliva, excreta and earth to form a rock hard cement. In the humid environment within the mound, the queen termite produces 2000 eggs a day during her lifespan, which can be up to 50 years! Most of the termites which live in the North live on savannah grasses and build tunnels out of the mound to collect food. They are good for the environment in that their waste enriches the soil. And they build really cool homes!

Circular Pool

 So many walks to choose from

Wild flowers

These photos were taken for a certain little someone who strongly insists that a place is NOT beautiful unless it has flowers- preferrably PINK FLOWERS. It's our mission to convince her otherwise but until then I'm instructed to photograph flowers whenever we're lucky enough to encounter them. These are rare at this time of year. I don't know their individual species names but it's amazing to see such brilliant life in amongst the dry dusty environment. Where there's life, there's hope!