Dales Gorge.
Asbestos in its natural form.
Life hangs on.
Circular Pool.
Wildflowers in abundance.
Friday,
September 23rd.
Today
we explored the gorges of Karijini National Park. We got up a 7 had
breakfast and got organized slowly for our first hike. We also made
sandwiches for lunch for later and put them in the eskie (their word
for cooler). A couple of very cute spinifex pigeons were in camp this
morning waddling around on their short leg in penquin fashion.
We
took the truck for an hour drive to Dales Gorge. When we got there
Damien talked to us about the natural sunscreen of the Snappy Gum
tree, which gives off a white substance when you rub it and will
protect you if you rub it on yourself, and another plant that gives a
white sticky paste that the aboriginals used to seal wounds like
crazy glue.
We
walked to the lookout to see Circular Gorge. Then we hiked down and
into the gorge to get to Circular Pool where we all had a swim in the
crystal clear water., which was quite cool and much cooler than last
week. Then we continued through the gorge to Fortescue Falls at the
end of the gorge, where we had another dip before climbing the rocks
to Fern Pool, (or Jubura as it is known to the aboriginals as it is a
very sacred spot) which was another gorgeous spot to swim. We had a
snack there too. There were a couple of trees beside the pool full of
more flying fox bats. Then we hiked out of the gorge and back to the
truck where we ate our sandwiches.
We
drove back towards camp. En route Damien stopped along the road where
there were lots of different kinds of wild flowers. He said he has
never seen the area so in bloom. Even he took photos!
When
we got to camp we took a few minutes for toilets and to get organized
before beginning our second hike. This one we can do from our camp.
We walked about a kilometre to Joffre Gorge and then began the
descent. This was a pretty steep climb over red slate. It got more
steep as we went down and at the bottom we had to traverse a couple
of really narrow ledges to get around to where we wanted to go. It
made me nervous about falling the ten feet or so into the water, but
we all made it. The pool here is at the bottom of another large
circular canyon. The water was quite shallow and very cool as little
sun gets to it.
After
a short swim we started out again. I found it even more scary
climbing back up. Damien had to give me a helping hand up so that I
could get my feet up to the first ledge but, after that I was good to
go. When I got to the top I noticed another lookout on the other side
and asked Damien if I could hike over there. He was okay with that
and while he lead the group back to camp, Gudrun, Nina and Sue,
followed me. It was an easy walk around the rim and over the top of
the falls. The lookout was pretty nice and provided a view back down
the gorge to where we had just been swimming. Then we hiked back as
the sun set.
No comments:
Post a Comment