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!

Canarvon, WA

Canarvon

In the 1880's when Canarvon was first established the main street was built for camel trains to turn around in- it was a massive 40 metres wide! Nowadays camels trains have been replaced and the town is a centre for sheep and cattle grazing. Water from the Gascoyne River has now enabled the area to become famous for it's delicious tropical fruit and vegetables.

Mile Long Pier

In 1897 a mile long timber jetty was built to service the live sheep and cattle export trade. The last vessel to berth here was in the early 1980's and since then the pier has been restored for recreation and tourist use. A visitor centre is currently being constructed. It was a long walk for little legs over a rickety bridge, mangroves and salty water, but so much fun, especially when we caught the "Coffee Pot" train back to shore. We didn't hang around town long enough to go fishing- but we chatted to some keen fishermen who had caught plenty of small flathead at the end of the pier. (I'm figuring from the amount of fishing gear they had with them they'd caught the train both ways)

Heading from Canarvon to Exmouth we encountered many termite mounds- commonly called anthills. They are pretty impressive structures, serving as accomodation, food storage and temperature regulating structures. The mound is built above the subterranean nest and is a complex system of ventilation shafts and tunnels. They come in a variety of colours depending where they are located given that they are created from the soil nearby. They are also found in different shapes, tall, thin, wide, sometimes smooth, or rough in surface texture. They are solid to touch and not easily destroyed, although when they are compromised the termites work quickly on repairs. I'm certain there will be more of these to be seen during our adventures.