The Best Guide to Exploring Karijini
On arrival visit the National Park Visitor Centre to get copies of the walking trail and gorge information maps. We decided to stay at Dales campground for the entire stay as we did not realise how large the park was and the distances between the gorges.
The campsites at Dales Campground are large with composting toilets. Some sites are definitely better than others and we were lucky to secure one which was private, however it did not have any shade (site 76). In our opinion sites 79 to 83 offer the most shade and are close to the toilets but also closer to one another so these sites would be perfect for people travelling together. These sites were also close to the trail that took you down towards Circular Pool lookout and Dales Gorge walking trail. Unfortunately, while we were there, Circular Pool was closed due to rock falls.
On our first day we decided to complete the Dales Gorge hike. It is a short hike, roughly 1km one way and we found it to be easy going. The scenery was beautiful, the trail takes you from above the gorge to walking down along the river among the different trees and water holes. This hike ends at Fortescue Falls and Fern Pool. It takes roughly 1 hr to complete.
The drive from Dales Campground to Weano and Hancock Gorges (both gorges are from the same carpark) is roughly 85km if you take the sealed road towards Tom Price and turn right onto Banjima Drive. The road becomes unsealed at the turn off to Joffre Gorge before the Eco Retreat. The road was average with some rough corrugation at times. We recommend a 4WD vehicle. The two gorges are well signed from the car park which we completed back-to-back, spending roughly an hour at both.
Alternatively, there is a road that joins Dale campground via the visitor centre to the Eco Retreat which was heavily corrugated and only accessible with 4WD. We took this road to access Kalamina Gorge and were glad we did not travel the full 43km to the other gorges on this road.
The road is sealed into Joffre Gorge however to access Knox Gorge the road is unsealed and again heavily corrugated at times. This is the one thing that really surprised us about the National Park, we had assumed that all the gorges were accessible via sealed roads. It is highly recommended to air down your tires, drive to the conditions and drive with headlights on in dusty conditions. It is important not to overtake unless it is completely safe and clear to do so.
Hamersley Gorge is 101km away from Dales Campground and is only a 400m walk from the car park. Hammersly Gorge is a large area and there are multiple spots to swim and enjoy the scenery. Hammersly Gorge is the perfect place to take lunch and spend the entire day.
Due to the distances between the gorges, if we were to visit Karijini again we would spend two nights at Dale Campground to complete the gorges and then camp two nights at the eco retreat to complete the gorges around that area simply to save the back and forth from Dales.
Facilities: The campgrounds have multiple clean composting toilets
Bore water can be purchased at the Visitor Centre
Showers are $4.00 from the Visitor Centre
Megan’s favourite gorges and walking trails
Knox Gorge 2km return
Dales Gorge including Fortescue Falls and Fern pool
Hancock Gorge (Kermits Pool) 1.5km return
Weano Gorge (Handrail Pool) 1.2km return
Joffre Gorge 1.3km return
Kalamina Gorge 3km return
Joss’s favourite gorges and walking trails
Knox Gorge 2km return
Hancock Gorge (Kermits Pool) 1.5km return
Dales Gorge including Fortescue Falls and Fern pool
Weano Gorge (Handrail Pool) 1.2km return
Joffre Gorge 1.3km return
Kalamina Gorge 3km return
RECOMMENDED TIME: FOUR NIGHTS
STAY: Dales Campground two nights - https://exploreparks.dbca.wa.gov.au/park/karijini-national-park
Eco Retreat campground two nights - https://www.karijiniecoretreat.com.au/
