Day 40 –Tom Price

 A big day of walking and scrambling over rocks today, so we needed a big pancake breakfast in preparation. So nice to cook and eat your breakfast outdoors in the morning sunshine.

After hanging out another load of washing on the line, we headed out to the Visitor information centre in Karajini Park, about 50km away. Not sure why we bothered actually, the staff were very disinterested, and couldn’t tell us anything we didn’t know already. Anyway, off we set again to nearby Dales Gorge to explore Circular Pool, Fortescue Falls, and Fern Pool. With our swimming togs on, and reef walkers in our backpacks (mesh shoes with grip on the bottom that you can walk through water over rocks), off we went.

Firstly we stopped at the lookout overlooking Circular Pool – wow it was a long way down!

Then it over the side of the cliff face, down the very steeply gouged out steps until we reached the bottom of the gorge. Then we clambered over iron ore rocks up along the bottom of the gorge, jumping over water pools, up to the beautiful Circular Pool.

 

When we arrived, Lily, Sam and I couldn’t wait to jump in and have a swim. Despite the hot day, the water was absolutely freezing (even for me!). Brendan decided to sit this one out. It was even too cold for the kids to get in very far, and it sure baffled some of the pommie backpackers that jumped in without thinking. I won’t repeat what they uttered at the shock of icy water!  I wasn’t going to let the cold stop me, so I swam over to the waterfall, and around to check out all the beautiful vistas.

It was a very difficult, steep climb back up the gorge walls to the carpark. The kids are doing so well with all the walking. This one is a graded ‘very difficult’, but they are fit and love climbing rocks. After a picnic lunch back up the top at our car, it was a short drive down to the Fortescue Falls Car Park. Once again the wildflowers in the park are absolutely stunning everywhere we look, and we spot little lizards everywhere on the roadside here too.

Arriving at the Fortescue Falls carpark, we headed off to the lookout to see what we were climbing down to.

Wow – indescribable the beauty of this place. Stunning red rocky gorge walls, beautiful clear blue water, tumbling waterfalls, and wildflowers dotting the landscape.

 

This one wasn’t quite as cold as the previous one (perhaps because it had more running water?), but Brendan decided to watch the three of us swim over to the waterfall, and sit there with the water cascading down our backs. Stunning.

 

After a swim we walked the short distance through a paperbark forest to Fern Pool. A beautiful forest of very old, immense trees to admire on the way. This large pool, with another waterfall flowing into it, was full of fish we could see swimming around.

 

On the way back we were once again treated to a kaleidoscope of colourful wildflowers everywhere we looked. Sometimes the beauty was so great, it was as if your eyes could not take it all in properly.

 

 

And of course, what day in the Pilbara would be complete without chasing a train or two up to the mines, to hear the huge rumble of the engines, and listen to the many, many ore cars thunder past us!