June 30th - Karijini NP Day 2.

After a very cold night, 3 degrees, we were finally up and doing and ready to leave camp at about 9am. We decided to go to the Information Centre first to see if our Optus donglel got a better reception and also to see what the Centre had to offer.
The centre had a lot of information on how the Gorges in the NP were formed as well as the Aboriginal cultural connections to the land and their interactions with white settlers. Many Aboriginal people worked on the stations and were paid in rations with few getting paid in money. The centre also had the usual array of books, souvenirs and clothing for sale. Much of the art work was designed and painted by local Aboriginal people. 
The Optus dongal also had better speed and we were able to book a site in the Tom Price Caravan Park for Tuesday night.

Information Centre entrance.

Then we set off for the Joffre Gorge look out and Tim and Dorothy left for Kalamina Gorge walk. The road turned out to be very corrugated and rough and about a Klm from the bitumen we blew a tyre. We had travelled on all those outback roads and the CSR without any trouble and then did a tyre on a National Park Road. Crazy’s!, By the time we got the wheel changed with the help from a couple passing by, who incidentally come from Port Macquarie, it was over an hour before we were mobile again.




We arrived at Joffre Gorge and sat in the shade and ate lunch. We were needing a bit of r and r after doing the wheel change. The Joffre Falls were not flowing but the Gorge was still quite spectacular.





We then drove 5 Klms further on to the Knox Gorge lookout which was just as spectacular as Joffre Gorge. We decided not to walk down into theses gorges.


Knox Gorge
Then it was off for another 13 Klm rough drive to Hancock Gorge  and the lookout where four Gorges meet. Unfortunately it was impossible to get them all in the one photo.
This is an attempt at a panorama shot that shows 3 of the Gorges.


The fourth Gorge.
We then decided to drive home the long way around via the bitumen so as to not risk any more tyre damage. On the way past the Information Centre we stopped and was able by email to order a new tyre from a tyre place in Tom Price.










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