THE BIG TRIP - 2008
AROUND AUSTRALIA 2008
Saturday 11 October – Friday 17 October
Hamersley Range to Tom Price
Blog 11
From Hamersley Gorge we drove to Newman to experience yet another mining town. It was a spectacular drive through the Hamersley Range where beautiful iron red rust contrasted with the green of the Spinifex. We were most disappointed to hear that the Newman mine tour had been cancelled but we made the best of what we could see anyway and it was VERY hot.
We saw Kalgan Pool and Ophthalmia Dam which supplies Newman with its water. Then drove over the dam wall and up one of the 4WD tracks to the top of a hill just in time to hear and see a blast in the open cut mine in the distance. What a spectacular site.
Our next stop was beautiful little Silent Gorge with lots of “iron ore trees” growing out of the rocks.
We then headed for Mt Newman with its moderate to difficult rating 4WD track. The road was certainly challenging in parts even with the detour which wasn’t quite as steep as the original path!! The view was breathtaking and we reached the end point for cars at 770m. It was 3pm in the afternoon and 36 degrees so Mike and I decided not to walk to the top.
From Newman we headed back to the other side of Karijini National Park on the bitumen road. We first stayed at the Dales Camping area for a few days while we explored the many things that Dales Gorge had to offer and then moved our camp to the west of the park to explore the other gorges.
We walked down to Fortescue Falls and Fern Pool in Dales Gorge where we swam in the cool refreshing water.
We drove to Circular Pool and Three Ways Lookouts before deciding to walk to the bottom of Dales Gorge. The view from the top was breathtaking and the walk down was steep but the Circular Pool at the bottom was well worth it. From Circular Pool walked along the bottom of Dales Gorge all the way to the bottom of Fortescue Falls.
We drove the 40km of dirt road to set up camp on the other side of Karijini National Park in order to be able to explore the rest of the gorges.
We had an easy afternoon at Kalamina Gorge with beautiful red Pilbara iron rich sedimentary layers.
The next day was very busy starting with Junction and Oxer Lookouts and Weano, Hancock, Joffre and Red Gorges from the top. We walked down to Weano Gorge and then onto Handrail Pool.
At the first water crossing we thought that it would be easier to build our own stepping stones so that we wouldn’t have to take off our shoes and walk through the water. In the process Mike slipped and of course got wet, shoes and all. He had put his camera down on a rock so that was safe.
It was a fantastic walk and challenging at times getting more difficult as we headed to the Handrail Pool where it was narrow, steep and slippery. The journey was well worth the view at the end.
After lunch we headed off to the ladder walk in Hancock Gorge.
Joffre Lookout gave us magnificent views of the whole gorge and from the lookout we could see the walk down to the bottom of the gorge. We only walked part of the way down as dark clouds were looming and we were worried about slippery rocks in the rain.
Our next stop was Knox lookout and which gave us a spectacular view of Knox Gorge which was enough for us at this stage of the day. We decided not to take the 3 hour walk into the gorge but instead headed to Mt Bruce to look at the open cut mine and then on to Tom Price.
Saturday 11 October – Friday 17 October
Hamersley Range to Tom Price
Blog 11
From Hamersley Gorge we drove to Newman to experience yet another mining town. It was a spectacular drive through the Hamersley Range where beautiful iron red rust contrasted with the green of the Spinifex. We were most disappointed to hear that the Newman mine tour had been cancelled but we made the best of what we could see anyway and it was VERY hot.
We saw Kalgan Pool and Ophthalmia Dam which supplies Newman with its water. Then drove over the dam wall and up one of the 4WD tracks to the top of a hill just in time to hear and see a blast in the open cut mine in the distance. What a spectacular site.
Our next stop was beautiful little Silent Gorge with lots of “iron ore trees” growing out of the rocks.
We then headed for Mt Newman with its moderate to difficult rating 4WD track. The road was certainly challenging in parts even with the detour which wasn’t quite as steep as the original path!! The view was breathtaking and we reached the end point for cars at 770m. It was 3pm in the afternoon and 36 degrees so Mike and I decided not to walk to the top.
From Newman we headed back to the other side of Karijini National Park on the bitumen road. We first stayed at the Dales Camping area for a few days while we explored the many things that Dales Gorge had to offer and then moved our camp to the west of the park to explore the other gorges.
We walked down to Fortescue Falls and Fern Pool in Dales Gorge where we swam in the cool refreshing water.
We drove to Circular Pool and Three Ways Lookouts before deciding to walk to the bottom of Dales Gorge. The view from the top was breathtaking and the walk down was steep but the Circular Pool at the bottom was well worth it. From Circular Pool walked along the bottom of Dales Gorge all the way to the bottom of Fortescue Falls.
We drove the 40km of dirt road to set up camp on the other side of Karijini National Park in order to be able to explore the rest of the gorges.
We had an easy afternoon at Kalamina Gorge with beautiful red Pilbara iron rich sedimentary layers.
The next day was very busy starting with Junction and Oxer Lookouts and Weano, Hancock, Joffre and Red Gorges from the top. We walked down to Weano Gorge and then onto Handrail Pool.
At the first water crossing we thought that it would be easier to build our own stepping stones so that we wouldn’t have to take off our shoes and walk through the water. In the process Mike slipped and of course got wet, shoes and all. He had put his camera down on a rock so that was safe.
It was a fantastic walk and challenging at times getting more difficult as we headed to the Handrail Pool where it was narrow, steep and slippery. The journey was well worth the view at the end.
After lunch we headed off to the ladder walk in Hancock Gorge.
Joffre Lookout gave us magnificent views of the whole gorge and from the lookout we could see the walk down to the bottom of the gorge. We only walked part of the way down as dark clouds were looming and we were worried about slippery rocks in the rain.
Our next stop was Knox lookout and which gave us a spectacular view of Knox Gorge which was enough for us at this stage of the day. We decided not to take the 3 hour walk into the gorge but instead headed to Mt Bruce to look at the open cut mine and then on to Tom Price.
posted by Mike and Carol at
12:06 PM
