- Karijini National Park: Hype, Heat, and Flies — Is It Worth the Drive?
- How to Get to Karijini
- What Kind of Car Do You Need?
- Where to Stay in Karijini
- What to See in Karijini
- Hamersley Gorge
- Fortescue Falls, Dales Gorge
- Circular Pool, Dales Gorge
- Weano Gorge
- The Rest of Karijini
- Karijini Map
- The Flies of Karijini
Karijini National Park: Hype, Heat, and Flies — Is It Worth the Drive?
Karijini National Park sits roughly 1,400 km north of Western Australia’s capital — Perth.
Yep, that’s 1,400 km of driving through ~nothingness~ to see some of the oldest rocks on Earth. You’ll need either serious enthusiasm or sheer stubbornness to make it. But hey — there are shortcuts.
How to Get to Karijini
Option 1: Add Karijini to your WA road trip itinerary — for example, the classic Coral Coast route from Perth to Exmouth over 10 days. Coastal beauty guaranteed.
Or go full out with a Broome to Perth overland adventure. Think red dust, glowing sunsets, and hours to contemplate your life choices.
Option 2: Fly from Perth to Paraburdoo (PBO) or Newman (ZNE).
Rent a car at the airport — ideally book in advance via cars.awd.ru — and drive a much shorter stretch.
What Kind of Car Do You Need?
A regular sedan will do just fine.
The roads inside the park are unsealed but well-maintained.
Access roads are sealed.
Where to Stay in Karijini
There are two campgrounds inside the park:
Dales Campground — for tent campers and vans.
No electricity or running water. Toilets are drop-style.
Shade? Minimal. Grass? Nope. Just red dust and heat.
We stayed one night — uncomfortable, especially compared to camping in Purnululu National Park.
The plus side: you’re right next to Fortescue Falls, Circular Pool, and the Dales Gorge trail — one of the most scenic and technical hikes.
Start at Circular Pool and finish at the falls — that way you get the river crossing out of the way last, and a swim as your reward.
Karijini Eco Retreat — bookable via Booking.com.
Big tents with showers but no private toilets. You still get to share drop loos with everyone else. Bonus: AUD $250 a night.
Best value: Tom Price Tourist Park in the town of Tom Price.
Proper showers, flush toilets, electricity, shops, bottle-o, café — and yes, it’s cheaper than glamping in the wild.
It’s a 1–1.5 hour drive from Tom Price to the main gorges. But after dust, heat, and flies — nothing beats a hot shower.
What to See in Karijini
Karijini is basically a collection of epic gorges — cracks in Earth’s crust.
The surface? Dry, flat, full of flies.
The fun? Happens *below* the surface — in the gorges.
Hikes are graded 1–5. Level 5 sounds scary, but you can pull it off in flip-flops. True story.
This shot below? The park’s Insta-fame moment. But don’t be fooled — it’s all long exposure and Photoshop.
This is Hamersley Gorge — 70 km from Tom Price and not near the other spots.
Hamersley Gorge
Fortescue Falls, Dales Gorge
Perfect spot for a proper swim — not just a splash.
And if you’ve spent a night at the campground? You’ll understand why this is pure luxury.
Circular Pool, Dales Gorge
Best hike starts here — heads toward Fortescue Falls. Jurassic Park vibes (minus the dinosaurs).
Weano Gorge
Easy but scenic trail.
You can drive on sealed road, or take a dusty shortcut.
Still marked level 5, still flip-flop approved.
Walk down from the car park to Handrail Pool — great photo ops en route.
The Rest of Karijini
Honestly? The other gorges all look kinda similar. If you’ve seen one, you’ve seen most.
Karijini Map
Locals hype the visitor center a lot. It’s a rusty iron box (fitting, as this is iron ore country).
What it doesn’t have? Decent maps.
But here’s the general one I marked myself:
The Flies of Karijini
Nowhere in Australia have I seen so. many. flies.
This is what breakfast looks like:
