Atlas › Karijini NP - Pilbara WA
Hamersley Gorge
verified
ACA 1A
Moderate flood risk
Tom Price, WA
The remote north corner of Karijini, where folded bands of red, purple, and grey ancient rock layer beneath stepped waterfalls. The Spa Pool, a jade gem sculpted into the rock, is the headline feature.
Not technical canyoneering, but included because the morphology (water-cut narrow passage through banded iron) matches the slot definition and it is the most photographed gorge in the park after Hancock. The drive from Tom Price is roughly 130 km on sealed and good gravel road.
Logistics
| Manager | DBCA Parks and Wildlife Service, Karijini NP |
|---|---|
| Permit | Park entry fee $17 per vehicle (DBCA). No permit beyond park entry. Public walks open year round. |
| Distance | 0.6 mi (1 km gorge walk) or 0.25 mi (waterfall walk) |
| Elevation | ~150 ft loss to creek |
| Time | 0.5 to 1 hr |
| Technical | Non-technical walk in the most remote corner of Karijini. Sealed road to the upper car park, then a steep descent (steps for the waterfall walk, rougher scrambling for the gorge walk) to a tiered waterfall and the Spa Pool, a small jade pool sculpted into folded banded iron. No ropes, no swims required, but pools are deep enough to swim if you want. |
| Season | Year round. Cold pools April to September. |
| Flood risk | Moderate. Open gorge, but flash flooding can happen during summer storms; do not enter during rain. |
| Vehicle access | Sealed road access to the lower car park, including the lookout. The approach to Karijini from Tom Price is paved. |
| Crowd | Light to moderate. The most remote of the Karijini gorges (130 km from Tom Price), so it draws fewer day visitors than Weano or Joffre. |
| Coordinates | -22.2577, 117.986 |