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Karijini National Park Facts

Karijini National Park Facts
Karijini National Park is a 2,422.5 square mile park located in Western Australia. The park was originally named Hamersley Range National Park, by F.T. Gregory who explored the region in 1861. Edward Hamersley was a friend of F.T. Gregory. The traditional owners of the area were the Innawonga, Kurrama, and Banyjima Aboriginals. The name Karijini comes from the Banyjima Aboriginals. It is believed that these Aboriginal people lived in the area for as long as 20,000 years. Karijini National Park is the second largest park in Western Australia.
Interesting Karijini National Park Facts:
Some of the most popular features of Karijini National Park include Fortescue Falls, Hancock Gorge, Oxer Lookout, Weano Gorge, Hamersley Gorge, and Mt. Bruce.
Mt. Bruce, located in Karijini National Park, is the state's second tallest mountain.
Hamersley Gorge has a natural spa surrounded by rock formations believed to be as old as the world.
Hancock Gorge can be reached by climbing down a ladder and visitors can explore rock pools and narrow chambers.
Many of the animal and vegetation types found in Karijini National Park exist because of Aboriginal land management methods such as fire stick farming.
Pebble mound mice can be found in Karijini National Park. Evidence of their existence is obvious with the mounds of pebbles they create that can be as large as nine meters square.
Visitors to Karijini National Park may encounter geckos, goannas, legless lizards, dragons, and many different snake species such as pythons.
Wildlife that can often be found in Karijini National Park includes red kangaroos, wallaroos, bats, euros, birds, reptiles, and eagles.
Three of the highest peaks in Western Australia are found in Karijini National Park including Mt. Bruce, Mt. Meharry, and Mt. Frederick.
Dingoes can often be found in the park, especially near the Dales campground where they scavenge for food and may even become aggressive with people for it.
Safety for visitors includes avoiding gorges if rain is in the forecast due to the potential for flash flooding.
Visitors are advised to avoid the blue asbestos that is found in Wittenoom Gorge and Yampire Gorge. Asbestos is a known carcinogen if inhaled.
Wildflowers are common in Karijini National Park and vary by the seasons.
Some believe the best way to tour Karijini National Park is on a 4WD tour or by going it alone on a 4WD adventure.
Features of Karijini National Park include marble rock tunnels, rock pools, waterfalls, chasms, mountains, natural spas and swimming holes, trails, gorges, and the summit of Mt. Bruce.
Native plants include mulga, ghost gums, spinifex, rock fig, lemongrass, and silver cadjeput among many others.
Much of the rock formations in Karijini National Park were created 2 billion years ago.
Visitor activities in Karijini National Park can include camping, 4WD touring, hiking, rock climbing, swimming, bushwalking, wildlife viewing, canoeing, and wilderness walks.
The climate in Karijini National Park is tropical semi-arid for the most part with daytime temperatures reaching 40 degrees Celsius and night time temperatures in the winter bringing frost. Cyclones can occur in the summer with a lot of rain.


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