FriendlyBrooks

Pilbara and Karijini in particular is a place that touches the soul

Lance Brooks, dreaming the Pilbara, June 2026

The Pilbara has evoked a mystical magical feeling for me forever. It’s a land of red rock mountains green hills and plains spectacular deep gorges. A place where dingoes rock wallabies, olive pythons and Pilbara pigeons reside. A land of rich first nations history and culture older than time itself. And of course there’s Red Dog and there’s Iron Ore. There are so many myths and legends here that if Uluru is the heart of the nation, surely this must be its soul.

We had a super early flight on Friday  19th June, from Sydney to Perth and then an easy connection to Learmonth. The Exmouth bus service picked us up and dropped us at the Exmouth Adventure Centre where our car and camper van were waiting. After a quick grocery shop, refuel and water topup we were on our way by 3pm. We decided to drive for about 3 or 4 hours and by the time we arrived at Nanatarra Roadhouse we were ready to stop for the night. We pulled into their campground and set up (yes in the dark again) and had our first meal back on the road (hamburgers which can be cooked inside so no need to get the BBQ out), and our first night back in our comfy cosy bed.

We set off for our 4 hour drive to Dales campground in Karijini National Park which of course took about 6 hours to complete. Once we crossed into the Pilbara country we were mesmerized by the beautiful landscape. Interestingly it seemed that along with all the red rocks there was a commensurate number of abandoned cars,  both features becoming a symbol of the Pilbara for us. Along the way we called in at one of the stations (Cheela Plains) that offer accommodation and food. We had coffee and cake. We stopped at Paraburdoo, birthplace of Red Dog and also the site of the Resilience Sculpture.

An hour later and we were in Tom Price where we refuelled and topped up groceries. Another hour and a half and we arrived at Dales Campground. The camp hosts suggested that we hurry down to Fortescue Falls before the sun set. We set up quickly and went to the falls. The view from the top was fantastic. We then descended the iron staircase of 280 steps to get to the bottom. We took the short walk around to Fern Pool which we were lucky enough to enjoy completely alone. We swam with freedom and took photos and read that the pool is a significant site for the local aboriginal people. It was then time to climb back up the 280 stairs in the fading light.

The next morning was Sunday and we decided to do a crazy thing and drive 100km back to Tom Price for 8am mass. We were rewarded with beautiful sunrise views on the drive in. Mass was interesting as there was only one other family and the woman who prepared the music and us in attendance . Nevertheless it was a pleasant experience. After mass we went to the visitors centre to get our permit to drive on the Rio Tinto railway access road in a few days time. We also found out about hiking Mt Bruce and driving to the top of Mt Nameless (Jarndunmunha). We decided to drive to Mt Nameless,  that is until we saw the road up. We sat and contemplated our options and Lance even consulted ChatGPT who suggested that it wouldn’t be a good idea for us to drive up, especially if I was at all anxious about it, which of course I was. So we missed out.

We drove back to the campground and got ready to hike Dales Gorge. While we were getting ready, the Ulti owners from 2 spots down came for a chat. They had bought theirs in the same week that we did and were every bit as enamoured with these amazing camper trailers as we are.

The Dales Gorge hike is a 5km loop which could be accessed directly from our campground. After walking along the rim past the Circular Pool there’s a very steep descent into the gorge. The walk through the gorge is beautiful with lots of variety along the path. There are pleasant shady gullies, dramatic cliff faces creek crossings and rock scrambling – oh and rock scrambling along the creek crossings to make it extra fun. We ate our picnic lunch by the creek. At the end of the gorge is Fortescue Falls and Fern Pool, where we swam again. It was nearing sunset so we climbed the iron staircase and walked along the rim in the fading light which made for some spectacular photos.

The following day we needed to pack up from Dales as we were moving to the other campground at Karijini, Eco Retreat. Once packed up we drove to the falls. This time we swam in the falls which was beautiful. Then we had a last swim at Fern Pool before we headed up the 280 steps and drove to the visitors centre. There was a very interesting and informative display about the culture in the area. We also purchased some presents for our van from the gift shop- a throw rug, a cushion and a table cloth.

The next stop was the Kalamina gorge. This is probably the easiest walk to do but is the most difficult drive in on a rough dirt road. Of course our car and van handled it with ease. We swam in the pool at the bottom and on our way back we met a couple of ladies who had lost their car keys. We promised to let the managers know at the Eco Retreat in case they didn’t find them.

We checked in at Eco Retreat and set up in our campsite which was very well placed on the edge of the enormous campground. We joined the Arrival tour which took us to the lookout at Joffre Falls with sunset and champagne. Then we had a stargazing session. By the time we were back at our van it was 7.30pm and we had sausages for dinner.

We had a bit of a slow start to the day, doing a bit of work and having a late breakfast. We then tackled Knox gorge, which is arguably the most difficult gorge to access. It has a long and very steep descent to the gorge floor. The walk along the bottom also had some tricky scrambles, including walking around a boulder using a chain. We had a “refreshing” dip in the pool before tackling the long steep climb out.

After Knox gorge we drove to Weano gorge and walked down to the Handrail Pool, (and yes you need to use a handrail to get down).  Unfortunately we couldn’t swim due to algae. We walked back through Weano gorge and then went to Oxner lookout for sunset and to see the convergence of 4 gorges- Weano, Hancock, Joffre and Red Dog. Then it was back to the campsite for tacos.

We got up before 6am to drive out to Mt Bruce. Mt Bruce is the second highest mountain in WA and also a place of cultural significance for the local Aboriginal people. Its a 10km return hike and the top part involves steep exposed rock scrambling using chains. Three different people had told me that if I was scared of heights I should not go up. I am scared of heights!!! Nevertheless we set off and vowed to go at least halfway which would also afford spectacular views. Even halfway delivered some steep scrambling bits so I was glad we didn’t go all the way. Lance was understandably disappointed, but was nice enough to stick with me. The 4 hour hike was a highlight of Karijini for us.

After a quick lunch break back at camp we headed off to hike Hancock gorge. We descended down the seven ladders and scrambled through the narrow slits and around rocks with chains to Kermit pool. Another beautiful pool that we couldn’t swim in due to algae. At the top was a dingo hanging around the picnic area so we kept a wide berth, but close enough to take photos. We also went back to the lookout for some final sunset views. That night we had dinner in the Eco Retreat restaurant. Delicious food using indigenous Australian herbs and spices.

After 5 nights it was time to leave Karijini but we had a couple more adventures on the way out. First stop was Hammersley Gorge. There are several pools, easily accessed surrounded by magical colourful rick formations. We swam in all the pools, including climbing up the slippery rocks to get to the famous spa pool. The spa pool is quite small and there was a line-up to wait to take the requisite “insta” photo. Of course we took our turn and took the photo.

After leaving Hammersley Gorge we headed up the Rio Tinto railway access road. The well graded 200km dirt road made for a very pleasant drive. We marvelled at the huge 2km iron ore carrying trains rattling through the landscape. Arriving at Millstream, we were a little disappointed in the campground after the beauty of the past few days, but we needn’t have been. We headed straight to Deep Reach for a swim and there we discovered just what a special place we had come to. The area is very significant for local Aboriginal people and also very beautiful. Deep Reach is a wide and deep part of the Fortescue River which also supplies Karratha with water. We jumped into the refreshing water and then walked along the river bank amongst literally hundreds of squawking corellas. It was indeed a magical place. We finished the day seeing the last of the sunset at the Cliff lookout.

The next day we visited the old homestead which houses a small museum with the history of life on the homestead before it became a national park. We then drove to the other campground and spoke to the camp hosts and discovered that we had missed a stargazing event with them the night before. We went back to our campsite for a late breakfast/brunch and a bit of work/ relaxing 😌. We had thought about putting the kayak in the river but decided to just go back and swim and picnic instead. We then took a drive up across a couple of creeks and along a winding dirt road to a lovely panoramic lookout. We finished the day again at Cliff lookout at sunset.

The next day it was raining so it wasn’t bad to be leaving. It was only 130kms to Karratha but we wanted to make a 100km round trip detour to Python Pool. It turned out to be more because we missed the turn off. Then we had another misshap with a flat tyre. We managed to pump it up just enough to get to a nearby

lookout where we could change it. Lance did a stellar job changing it 🏠j in what seemed like very little fuss or effort. The rain and mist added a mystical aura to the experience.

We only had to travel a few more kilometres downhill to Python Pool, which was thankfully worth the effort. Lance swum but I declined. We ate our picnic lunch before driving on to Karratha.

Our first stop in Karratha was to get fuel and dump a week’s worth of rubbish. Then we drove to Dampier, primarily to see the Red Dog memorial, but we also inadvertently drove through the biggest?? port in the world or some such claim.

We had planned to stay about 20km away from Karratha but for a number of reasons we changed our minds and booked a hotel room. The main reason for this was because it was the night before our 40 year wedding anniversary and we wanted to have a relaxing time the next morning. We booked the Karratha International which was very well reviewed, but when we drove up to it we were quite disappointed. It looked like another motel on the corner of a main road After our experience in Kalgoorlie we were wary. However looks can be deceiving and it turned out to be a lovely hotel with a beautiful pool and restaurant. The town even put on fireworks for us that evening, and after dinner we walked to the arts centre where Jon Stevens was playing. We listened for a while at the gate.

Our wedding anniversary was on a Sunday, so we went to Mass. The priest offered the mass for us, which was nice. After mass we went to the obligatory morning tea, which was provided by the mainly Filipino congregation so it was delicious. After this we went to Woolworths to stock up for the next few days and then checked out of the hotel.

We visited the Burrup Peninsula to see the largest collection of petroglyphs (Indigenous rock carvings) in the world in Murajuga National Park. It was incredible looking at the rock mounds at thousands of petroglyphs and then turning around to look at the North West Gas project. That represents WA totally. Just along from the petroglyphs is Hansen Cove, a beach made entirely of shells. It was low tide so we could walk a fair way out in the mudflats.

After this sojourn we drove up to Port Hedland. Port Hedland us an interesting town in that it exists entirely for the enormous port (claiming to be the biggest iron ore in the world). The port, as we would learn, supports 1 in 9 jobs in WA, but the majority of these are FIFOs. Therefore its quite hard to find the centre of Port Hedland. What we did find though was the Hedland Hotel where we booked in for the second night of our anniversary celebrations. We had a bottle of Veuve on the balcony outside our room watching the sunset over the bay. We then ate dinner at the very popular hotel restaurant, Rays.

On Monday morning we left early so we could visit Tyre power to get our tyre fixed. Unfortunately it was not fixable, and to make it worse, we could not buy the same tyre brand as we had on the car. We settled for a second hand tyre with the closest match. Hopefully that will do for a bit until we can buy a whole new set.

The Seafarers Mission at Port Hedland offers a great tour of the harbour. After a very informative presentation we went on a small boat travelling past all the giant ships in the port. It was fascinating watching the trainloads of iron ore (and some lithium) being loaded into the ships ready for their journey to China. Each ship on average carries about 250,000 tonnes of iron ore, worth about $35,214,000 per cargo load. There were 10 ships leaving that day, and the same number leave every day . It’s a lot of money!

Our final stop in the Pilbara was Cape Kenoudren. Its at the North Eastern end of the Pilbara. Its a very popular campsite, for good reason. There’s hundreds of spots spread out over several coves. The waterfront was rocky and the tides were low meaning that swimming was not possible (and we are also moving into croc country). It was a lovely place to stop and enjoy the scenery and soak up the last of the Pilbara dreaming.