waterhole hopping in karijini national park

relaxing in my own personal spa, hancock gorge
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the storm that tried to catch us in exmouth continued to loom on the horizon for the next 700ks of driving but i think it arrived in karijini before we did.  always nice when you don't have to camp in the rain.

karijini is a national park famous for its gorges and waterholes and we tried to fit as many of them as possible into the next few days.  well mainly the waterholes.  we spoilt ourselves om the first day by goint to the two most spectacular gorges              - weano gorge and the shady handrail pool and hancock gorge with the spa like kermits pool, complete with waterslide.  the water was just right, nice and refreshing.  but of course teh aussies thought it was too cold.  there were even warning signs about swimming in icy water.  next day we went to dales gorge which was not as narrow as weano and hancock, but made up for it with some excellent swimming holes including fern pool with a nice cold waterfall and warm pool.  you were supposed to be quiet top respect teh aborigines.  does messing around in a rubber innertube count as being quiet? and how about playing cards? is that respectful?

There is a town in WA called Wittenoom, but don't try to find it on your map beacause it won't be there

kermits pool. hancock gorge
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next day we tried to go to the forbidden gorge - Wiienoom.  There is a town in WA called Wittenoom, but don't try to find it on your map beacause it won't be there.  It has been erased from maps and roadsigns due to its tragic past.  There is lots of blue asbestos in the rocks in karijini park, which is completely harmless until you start to mine it.   Wittenoom gorge was the site of an asbestos mine.  Then they discovered what asbestos does to your lungs and shut down the mine and tried to shut down the town.  There are even leaflets at teh visitors centre that ask "is a visit to wittenoom worth risking your life for?".  well we risked our lives (the asbestos levels are only as bad as in a big city on a smoggy day or in many other open cut mines).  The town itslf was quite wierd with only a few of the buildings still inhabited and kangaroos hopping about the streets.  we tried to go a for a walk and a swim up Wittenoom gorge but were thwarted by the lack of a patha nd lots of scratchy bush, boggy mud pools and it being way too hot.  So a bit of a waste of time really.

knox gorge. look at those ribs!
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We drove on to a campsite just north of Port hedland.  we had our first cold drink in three days at a petrol station.  coke never tsated so good.