So the bucket listing keeps on happening! We were all up early this morning to head to Hamersley Gorge. The Scott’s rode/ran and we went in the car with the Allen’s. Karen got some super early morning shots while we were still packing the car….

I have been looking forward to today since before we couldn’t do it on our trip in 2023. Other photographers have talked about it but I just couldn’t get it until I did it.

For me, this morning was about learning the really tough landscape without my camera and making sure I could get into the gorge with the camera and tripod in good light this afternoon. Once again, I can’t thank Melissa enough for all the info before we headed in.

We took the up high option getting to the ‘spa pool’. The others traversed the multiple pools to get there. But once there we were all so impressed. The water was so so cold, but we all got in and soaked it up. Such a great experience!

It was so good having this place to ourselves for an hour before the hordes of sightseers turned up for the day (clearly I don’t class us as those…). After having our fill of this special location we slowly swam back through the lower pools and enjoyed the experience. The water here is so so cold, but I was just so pumped to be here the wetsuit didn’t even come out!

We then explored the lower areas of the gorge and generally enjoyed the experience for a few hours.

It is so obvious how the rock here is laden with iron. It sort of feels like walking on steel in some spots.

This gorge was just so amazing! After spending 4 hours here, we headed back to the vans for lunch – except Karen and Kieran, who swam further downstream and enjoyed the changing landscape from the icy waters.

Once back at base, Jase and Sue decided to head on to Mount Bruce for tonight and plan to hike to the top tomorrow. The rest of us spent a couple of hours regrouping and then headed back to the gorge again later this afternoon for the afternoon light. We drove, the Scott’s rode (of course) and I carried the camera gear in to see what I could capture in good light. We enjoyed wine, nibbles and the Scott’s even managed to play a dice game before I announced I planned to swim at ‘The Spa’ again. All bar Bob were keen to join in so he became photographer and we went hypothermic to enjoy one last dip. Unfortunately the photos weren’t focussed on the camera (not Bob’s fault – the settings I put in were wrong), so we’ll just have to remember this one.

Then it was a climb back to the car, a ride back to camp for the Scott’s and some prep for departure tomorrow. Tonight we have watched ‘Red Dog’ on our makeshift outdoor cinema, which is a true story about a dog that lived in this region in the 70’s. A lovely way to finish an awesome day.

For the second night since we’ve left home, I’ve been able to do all the blogging next to the fire for the night. So lovely! It’s nearly midnight here so the Mitcho’s won’t be departing super early tomorrow. We plan to explore Mt Bruce for the day tomorrow and will meet up with the others at Dales Camp for some more Karijini exploring over the next few days.