Karijini National Park

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A full day's journey on the bus brought us to Karijini National Park in the interior of Western Australia. The park is home to a number of stunning gorges with oasis-like water-holes ideal for a cooling swim. The park was recommended to us by a guide in Perth and it certainly did not disappoint.

We did this on a tour with Western Exposure who specialise in camping safaris in WA. After a full day of driving, we arrived in the park as the sun was setting. We collected some firewood and then settled down around the camp fire in the middle of the desert. We slept in swags underneath the stars after a game of i-pod karaoke.

Over the next three days we explored the amazing gorges that the park had to offer. On the first day we did the more challenging walks that involved shuffling across ledges and cliff faces - a bit of a nervous experience for someone who is scared of heights. One part of it was called the spider walk as we had to shuffle our way down a narrow gorge without touching the water below. Then we had to part-abseil down a short ledge to get to the waterhole -  a place called 'Handrail Pool.'

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The walks over the next couple of days were a little less full-on but you could argue that the sights were even more spectacular. Joffre Falls in particular was a beautiful spot. We sat in the waterfall and climbed up to get a spectacular view of the plunge pool.

After three exhilirating days in the park we headed up towards Broome. We stayed one night at a caravan park near Port Hedland where we were eaten alive my mosquitoes and sandflies. As we rolled into Broome, we were quite looking forward to the comfort of our hotel room!