Karijini National Park

Western Australia

Karijini National ParkOne of Western Australia’s best-kept secrets, Karijini is not only WA’s second-biggest national park but home to some of the oldest and most spectacular natural wonders in Australia, ready to be discovered and explored.

Two billion years in the making, Karijini National Park is one of Western Australia's most spectacular natural attractions offering amazing hiking trails through ancient gorges. With massive gorges, crystal clear rock pools and waterfalls, Karijini National Park is a must for anyone with a thirst for adventure. Explore tunnels of marbled rock, clamber over boulders, squeeze through narrow tunnels, paddle through waterways and descend deep into ancient chasms. There's also easy access to stunning lookouts and walking trails of varying levels so everyone can experience this awesome landscape. Permanent water pools mean there's always the chance for a refreshing swim. There are excellent picnic areas as well as allocated camping sites within the park. Karijini National Park is located about two hours drive from the town of Newman. It's best accessed by joining a four-wheel drive tour. There are several tour operators taking visitors from Perth to Karijini and the surrounding region. Camping in Western Australia's natural areas is a special experience. Selected campgrounds from across the state are now bookable online for a trial period. Tourists are advised to check for alerts and road/park closures before commencing their travel on www.emergency.wa.gov.au and https://alerts.dbca.wa.gov.au

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Things to do

Swim in Weano Gorge

Enter the enchanting chasm of Weano Gorge and follow the winding corridors of striking red rock through two billion years of the Earth’s history to inviting rock pools and waterfalls. A 2-hour flight from Perth will bring you to Paraburdoo or Newman, the closest airports to Karijini National Park, or 15-hours drive from Perth, via the Great Northern Highway. The 1-kilometre gorge trail can be accessed from Weano car park, near Oxers Lookout, and leads the adventurous through Weano’s magical narrows and over boulders to reach a refreshingly cool dip at Handrail Pool. Join a guided tour to experience the thrill of jumping down waterfalls and scaling the epic rock face at "The Centre of the Earth". There are also easy walk trails around the top of Weano Gorge. These are a delight after good winter rains, when the colours of spring flowers fill the surrounding plains. Camping is available 10 kilometres south of Weano Gorge – see Rock wallabies at dawn and dusk, plus some 133 varieties of birds and 92 species of amphibians and reptiles that call Karijini home. Tourists are advised to check for alerts and road/park closures before commencing their travel on www.emergency.wa.gov.au and https://alerts.dbca.wa.gov.au

Joffre Falls Lookout

Enjoy a waterfall moment at one of Western Australia’s most photographed natural beauty spots, Joffre Falls Lookout in Karijini National Park. Take a walk to the inviting plunge pool at the bottom of Joffre Gorge and a cool, refreshing dip awaits downstream from the falls. You can choose to make your journey there an epic adventure, by taking the 15-hour outback drive from Perth, or following the legendary Warlu Way from the Coral Coast, or by joining a four-wheel drive tour. To get there fast, hop on a 1-hour-and-45-minute flight from Perth to Paraburdoo, and pick up a hire car. The lookout is a one-hour-and-20-minute drive from Karijini Visitor Centre. From the car park, head to the lookout for dramatic views over the plunge pool at the foot of the natural amphitheatre carved by the falls. Follow the marked 100-metre trail to the base and venture deeper into the gorge on the three-kilometre trail, cooling off with a dip downstream. While dry for much of the year, the falls are at their best after winter rains. Choose from the camping and glamping options available in Karijini and explore the park’s ancient landscape of gorges, rock pools and waterfalls.

Enjoy the views from Oxer Lookout

The Oxer Lookout offers breathtaking panoramic views of four amazing gorges. Check out one of the most spectacular vantage points within the Karijini National Park. The lookout stands at the junction of the Joffre Gorge, Weano Gorge, Red Gorge and Hancock Gorge. See the awesome view from the lookout above down the sheer chasms into the crystal clear water, over 100 metres below. Then get a closer view with a walk along with one of the many beautiful walk trails departing from the car park. It is a short 15-minute walk to get to the Oxer Lookout from the Weano Gorge car park, though this depends on the number of photos you stop to take, make sure you allow a bit of extra time to soak up the amazing scenery along the way. Karijini National Park has several spectacular gorges, cool rugged rock pools, waterfalls, wonderful wildlife and amazing scenery. There are several excellent picnic areas and camping grounds within the park. The Karijini National Park is a one hour drive northeast of Tom Price and a 16-hour drive from Perth.

Take a dip in Hamersley Gorge

For a revitalising spa treatment like no other, take a dip into Hamersley Gorge, a natural spa rock pool in Karijini National Park. As you lie back into the water, you’ll be amazed by the spectacular rock formations carved out by Mother Nature over millions of years. This incredible backdrop changes in colour from dawn to dusk. Watch the reflections in the water and feel the tranquillity of your awesome surroundings. Karijini National Park is one of Western Australia’s most incredible natural landscapes. There are hiking trails through ancient gorges and chasms, as well as the chance to camp out under the outback sky. Karijini National Park is about two hours drive from the town of Newman. It's best accessed by joining a four-wheel drive tour. There are several tour operators taking visitors from Perth to Karijini and the surrounding region.

Australian Adventure Travel

Australian Adventure Travel is a 100 per cent Western Australian owned and operated tour company specializing in four-wheel drive camping and accommodated tours throughout Western Australia. They have been operating tours for 20 years and are experts in the Kimberley, the Pilbara, the Coral Coast and the South West of Western Australia. Their tours range from one day tours of the Pinnacles, to as long as two to three-week adventures. They can also run accommodated tours and cater to special interest groups. Their tours can be designed around whatever your needs may be. Their four-wheel-drive vehicles range in size from 5-seat to 17-seat trucks and they also have two-wheel drive options for larger groups. They can take your group wherever they would like to go to Western Australia! They are fully-accredited and only use local professional tour guides. Please visit their website for more information.

Stay at the Karijini Eco Retreat

Karijini Eco Retreat is located in the Savannah Campground around 35 kilometres from the Karijini Visitor Centre. It is in good proximity to the spectacular Weano, Hancock, Knox and Joffre Gorges. The Karijini Eco Retreat is a unique and ecologically sound accommodation site offering comfortable, quality safari-style eco tents in a rugged outback setting. This is an authentic outback experience with facilities and activities. It is the only upmarket accommodation in the National Park. Karijini Eco Retreat offers a range of accommodation including campsites, dormitory eco tents, powered dormitory cabins and deluxe furnished eco tents with en suites. A well-stocked bar and a permanent licensed outback alfresco restaurant offer quality Australian meals with a great chef and spectacular menu. The restaurant is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Packed picnic lunches can be purchased for the day of adventure.

Climb Mount Bruce

For an exhilarating physical challenge and stunning views, climb Mount Bruce, Western Australia’s second-highest peak, located in the Karijini National Park. Mount Bruce is part of the Hamersley Range – and while it doesn’t seem that massive from the car park below, the climb is 1,235 metres to the top. The walk trail winds around smaller peaks and rocky outcrops. First stop is the Marandoo Mine site, and from there the trek becomes more difficult – but the sense of achievement and panoramic view of the surrounding plateau makes it very worthwhile. It can take anywhere between two to four hours to climb Mount Bruce depending on your level of fitness. Mount Bruce is in the southern part of Karijini National Park. The park is a two-hour drive from the town of Newman and is best accessed by joining a four-wheel drive tour.

Visit Dales Gorge and Circular Pool

Go bushwalking at Dales Gorge and Circular Pool – two of the best spots for a picnic at Karijini National Park in Western Australia’s north-west. Two-billion years in the making, Karijini National Park is one of the country’s most spectacular natural attractions offering amazing hiking trails through ancient gorges. In Dales Gorge, a four-kilometre walk trail runs along the bottom of the gorge. Here you can go swimming in the stream, permanent water-pools and beneath waterfalls. Lush green ferns and the occasional gum-tree contrast with the red-terraced cliffs weathered by time. Give yourself three hours to make the return journey. The two-hour return hike to Circular Pool involves a loose steep descent and then an easy ramble. Here, you’ll find hidden gardens and a clear rock pool. You can see Circular Pool from a lookout on the Gorge Rim Walk. This walk follows the rim of Dales Gorge between Circular Pool Lookout and the beginning of the Fortescue Falls track. Karijini National Park is a two-hour drive from the town of Newman and is best accessed by joining a four-wheel drive tour. Tourists are advised to check for alerts and road/park closures before commencing their travel on www.emergency.wa.gov.au and https://alerts.dbca.wa.gov.au.

Willis's Walkabouts

For more than 30 years, Willis's Walkabouts has been taking people on walking adventures into the Kimberley and Pilbara wilderness. Their program includes more than 50 trips, no two of which are alike. As well as going to well-known places like the Bungle Bungle, Mitchell Plateau, Karijini and the Gibb River Road, they also go to inaccessible places like the Kimberley Coast and Drysdale River National Park and little known places like the Carr Boyd, Cockburn and Osmond Ranges, the Charnley, Isdell and Durack Rivers. On every trip, the experienced guides lead you off-trail into wonderful places and superb campsites you share with no one but your walking companions. They are yours and yours alone because you walk to get there. On all their hikes you carry a pack containing your food and equipment. You need reasonable fitness but the trips are not endurance tests. Willis's Walkabouts take you to places where there are no phones, no cars, no people, no hassle - places where you can swim in clear, tropical pools, camp under the most amazing star show on earth, enjoy a three-course meal by the campfire and relax the evening away with a group of like-minded people.

Dales Gorge Camp at Karijini National Park

Situated in Karijini National Park, Dale's Campground is close to its namesake, Dales Gorge, as well as Circular Pool, Fortescue Falls and Fern Pool. Walk trails of varying lengths, gradients and surfaces are also close by, leading to lookouts in the area. Dale's Campground includes 140 sites that can accommodate large rooftop tents, campervans, caravans and camper trailers. Tents are permitted but the compacted gravel surface of the sites may make pitching a tent difficult and may also be uncomfortable without a thick sleeping mat or mattress. Shared-use gas barbecues and picnic tables are provided and showers are available at Karijini Visitor Centre (11 kilometres from the campground). Please note campfires, solid fuel stoves and other appliances are not permitted at any time. Park entry fees apply in Karijini National Park. Tourists are advised to check for alerts and road/park closures before commencing their travel on www.emergency.wa.gov.au and https://alerts.dbca.wa.gov.au.

See the region from the air

Kimberley Air Tours offer spectacular air tours by seaplane and fixed-wing aircraft to the many iconic destinations in the Kimberley, such as the World Heritage Listed Bungle Bungle Range, magnificent Lake Argyle, the iconic Mitchell Falls, the Kimberley Coast and the famous Horizontal Waterfalls. Tours depart from Kununurra, Lake Argyle and Broome.

Explore with a local guide

Kimberley Wild Expeditions operate some of the best day tours and extended Kimberley adventures out of Broome. Exploring the Kimberley with small, diverse groups in custom-built, comfortable four-wheel-drive vehicles, travellers enjoy local expertise and their real passion for this beautiful corner of Australia. Kimberley Wild guides enjoy meeting travellers from all over the world and are keen to share their experience of the Kimberley, visiting the well-known highlights and revealing some of its many secrets. Their strong relationship with Aboriginal people and communities will also provide you with unforgettable cultural experiences. Exclusive to Kimberley Wild Expeditions, their Bungle Bungles Safari Camp is the only private camp in Purnululu National Park to boast views of the Bungles Massif, allowing travellers to enjoy the idyllic outback landscape while relaxing in the comfort of their eco-safari tents. Kimberley Wild understands that quality meals are essential to a great tour so they provide delicious, healthy meals, featuring fresh ingredients, gourmet salads and local Kimberley flavours. Join Kimberley Wild Expeditions if you want a real, memorable Kimberley experience.

Travel with Sacred Earth Safaris

Relax and enjoy your holiday. Let someone else do the driving and take care of everything on a soft adventure, small group four-wheel drive (4WD) tour through North-West Australia. Western Australia tours run through the Kimberley and Pilbara between May and September and Nullarbor tours from Perth to Port Lincoln run between October and April. As a family-owned-and-operated business, they take pride in their personalized service and attention to detail and have 30 years' experience in the tourism industry. Travel in an air-conditioned six-wheel drive (6WD) coach, with an experienced driver-guide and a maximum of 23 tour guests. Choose from a range of extended scheduled tours or enjoy a personalised private tour where they design the itinerary to suit your interests, which is ideal for incentives, families, social clubs, groups of friends and special interests such as photography. Private tours can include a variety of activities and accommodation options. Sacred Earth Safaris also operate tours to Kakadu, the Red Centre and throughout South Australia and can combine private touring in these areas with Western Australia touring.

Travel with an expert

Coates Wildlife Tours is family-owned and the first company in Western Australia to offer authentic natural history tours over such a vast area. Since their foundation in 1986 by naturalist, Kevin Coate, they have delivered inspiring wildlife encounters in Western Australia and beyond. As part of their personalised approach to travel, they only take small groups (four to 12 passengers) and their itineraries are unique and flexible, allowing you to pursue your wildlife passions. They aim to have you come home, more inspired, more connected and more rejuvenated from your experience with Coates. Coates Wildlife Tours visits some of the finest nature and wildlife destinations in Australia and beyond. Their relaxed itineraries explore the must-see highlights as well as the remote areas away from the tourist crowds. Their dedicated team of well-travelled naturalists and guides will enhance your experience, share their knowledge and help you pursue your passion for the natural world. Their personalised approach and small groups ensure that you are joined by like-minded travellers whose company will add to your experience.

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