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The ATDW website has had a makeover.
But our commitment to Australian tourism is as strong as ever.
The ATDW website has had a makeover.
But our commitment to Australian tourism is as strong as ever.
To get to your starting point in the Pilbara, take a two-hour flight from Perth to Karratha, or make the 16-hour journey by road via the North West Coast Highway. From Karratha airport, you’re just a 10-minute drive from Dampier or Karratha. Right now you want to head for Dampier. Just before Dampier, take the turn to the Burrup Peninsula. From here it will be an 18-minute drive to Murujuga National Park. Take the Hearson Cove Road to arrive at Njarli. Be awed by the ancient outdoor gallery view from the boardwalk. There are more than a million petroglyphs; and Aboriginal rock art. These works may be hundreds or up to 50,000 years old. Murujuga is on the tentative list for World Heritage and has National Heritage protection. When you have finished at Njarli, continue your drive to Hearson Cove and enjoy the beach. On leaving Hearson Cove, you may wish to include a visit to the Woodside Visitor Centre to learn something about the extractive industry which powers home heating and cooking and some vehicles. This is a fascinating insight into remarkable ingenuity and technological development. Drive to Dampier and take the time to stop and visit Red Dog’s memorial site and walk the Red Dog trail, enjoying Hampton Harbour beach, lawns and playground on the way. Take a breath and enjoy the ocean looking across to both the iron ore trains and the salt mountains. *If you’re visiting between May and October, don’t miss this opportunity to witness the extraordinary optical illusion of the Staircase to the Moon, perhaps with a picnic dinner.* Accommodation and dining options are available in Karratha, Dampier and Point Samson.
Stock up on fuel, water, food and a picnic lunch before departing town and heading south to Karijini. After an hour, take the turn to Millstream and drive to the Park entrance, which takes a further 15 minutes. The desert landscape is interrupted by the lush oasis of Millstream-Chichester National Park. Near the old pastoral station homestead is Chinderwarriner Pool. This is a sacred site, a hot aboveground outlet for the aquifer of the Fortescue River. It offers the perfect setting for a picnic and nature walk among the tree-lined pools and lily-filled wetlands. To take advantage of this water for a swim, you will need to continue to Deep Reach, a large waterbody with picnic tables, barbecues and conveniences. Linger at Millstream until late afternoon and you may spot kangaroos and flying foxes. Campsites are available near the Millstream Homestead or Stargazer campground on the hill above the site during peak camping season. Or you can make the two-and-a-half-hour journey to Tom Price.
If you camped at Millstream, rise early and you will be rewarded with amazing wildlife. The journey from Millstream to Karijini National Park is just three and a half hours by unsealed road to Hamersley Gorge and Spa Pool. A two-hour drive using a sealed road and the RTIO Access Road for which you will need a permit, you will arrive in Tom Price. Note: most roads within the Karijini National Park are unsealed and care is needed. Check your hire vehicle's conditions of use. If you’re starting in Tom Price today, stock up on fuel, food, water and a picnic lunch before driving out to Karijini, passing Mount Bruce – Western Australia’s second-highest peak. Did you know the tallest 12 peaks in Western Australia are all in the Pilbara? Make your first stop at the Karijini Visitor Centre on Banjima Drive (a two-hour drive from Tom Price). The centre is fascinating, both in its design and interpretive displays that share the region’s natural history and cultural evolution. Continue on to Dales Gorge for a picnic lunch overlooking Fortescue Falls. Explore picturesque Dales Gorge at your leisure. Take a dip in Fern Pool or follow the four-kilometre trail (two hours return) from Fortescue Falls to Circular Pool for a refreshing swim. Accommodation is available at Dales Campground if you have your own caravan or camper or book into the Karijini Eco Retreat which is on Weano Gorge Road (a one-hour drive from Dales.) Note: advance booking is advised.
Along the drive to Oxer Lookout, you’ll pass a number of Karijini’s top bushwalking trails. Weano Gorge invites the fit and adventurous into its labyrinth of narrow gorges. Or take an easy walk among the mulga, spinifex, eucalyptus, melaleuca and spring wildflowers of the surrounding plains. If you’re out in the early morning, you may spot rock wallabies and dingoes. There are 133 varieties of birds and 92 species of amphibians and reptiles that call Karijini home. Oxer Lookout stands at the junction of Joffre Gorge, Weano Gorge, Red Gorge and Hancock Gorge. The view into the 100-metre-deep chasm below is magnificent, particularly in the late afternoon, as the light plays on the rugged red gorge walls. Dales Campground, Karijini Eco Retreat or Tom Price are your accommodation options.
If you need to pick up supplies for your journey back to Dampier, be sure to stock up in Tom Price before you retrace your tracks back to Millstream Chichester National Park. This time, turn off for Mount Herbert and Python Pool on the opposite of the national park homestead precinct to enjoy the serenity of Python Pool. Alternatively, you can travel back via the Great Northern Highway to Port Hedland and supplies can be sourced from Auski Village when you leave the park. In Port Hedland, make time to view the massive iron ore ships which you can almost touch as they come in and out of Australia’s largest tonnage bulk export port on the high tide. Stay a night in Port Hedland or continue south. As you do you will pass Whim Creek, once a thriving town, now with just a hotel. The hotel is a ‘sister’ to the Sydney Harbour Bridge, both designed with steel from the same English company. Travelling this way you might choose to continue into Point Samson with accommodation available in this lovely little seaside village. Another option is to travel from Karijini through Tom Price to Nanutarra. Make a stop at Cheela Plains Station Stay for morning tea before joining the Northwest Coastal Highway. Alternatively, turn off to visit Onslow, a delightful coastal town with a beautiful boardwalk and War Memorial which the sun shines through on ANZAC Day. Accommodation options are available here. If you have more time, continue to a mini holiday on Thevenard Island. Alternatively, continue to return to Karratha.
Hop on a boat trip from Dampier and spend your morning snorkelling, diving, fishing or cruising the 42 islands of Western Australia’s most biodiverse marine habitat – the Dampier Archipelago. Turtles, birds, dolphins and dugongs are often spotted, and between June and September, you may also see whale sharks and humpbacks making their annual migration. If you’ve ever fancied a taste of a true ‘desert island’ camping experience, this is your perfect opportunity – many of the islands permit camping. Select your island paradise and enjoy the ultimate in privacy and solitude. More adrenaline? Book a heli-flight across Dampier and nearby islands to check out the industry and environment. Try heli-fishing or do the island landing and picnic tour. Whichever one you choose, you will be thrilled with the experience.
It’s a 45-minute drive from Dampier, 35 minutes from Karratha or 20 minutes from Point Samson to reach the town of Roebourne. Once the capital of the North West, it’s the oldest surviving town between Geraldton and Darwin. Get a feel for convict and colonial life in late 18th and 19th century Roebourne as you wander through the museum pieces housed in the Old Roebourne Gaol. Visit the art workshops of Yinjaa Barni at the old Dalgety House, Wangaba Roebourne at the Ngurin Centre, or the Juluwarlu group work on display at Ganalilli. While there, stop at the Visitor Centre with its great modern digital interpretation desks. At Roebourne, you can take the Bush Tucker walking trail; a short walk along the banks of the Harding River, to discover more about the food and medicine of Aboriginal people. From Roebourne, follow in the tracks of the first white settlers in the area, taking the Emma Withnell Heritage Trail through Cossack to Point Samson. Throughout the ghost town of Cossack, explore Early European history. The Café at the Bond store provides a welcome respite. As for accommodation, The Old Police Barracks have limited space, and at Settlers Beach, self-contained vans may be available to stay in. On the way to Settlers, you will find historic European and Asian cemeteries. Further north (5 minutes from Cossack) is Readerhead Lookout. From here, you will see one of the oldest surviving lighthouses on Jarman Island. Continue on to Point Samson. At John’s Creek or Honeymoon Cove, you can swim, snorkel or fish at a town beach below the Tavern. Here, you may spot whales passing by from the jetty lookout. Try local fish and chips, have a drink or ice cream and take in an Indian Ocean sunset at Point Samson. Return to Karratha and make sure you have booked a rock art tour for the morning before you take the last plane back to Perth.
Rock Art tours are conducted in a number of locations, including Njarli and on the Yaburara Heritage Trail. The Yaburara Heritage Trail showcases the region’s Aboriginal history through the eyes of one of the oldest surviving cultures on Earth. Taking this walk with a traditional owner allows you to gain a depth of understanding that is not available to you should you take the self-guided walk. This is also true of the Njarli site. Take some time to enjoy the City of Karratha with its fresh feel, a vibrant town servicing the busy and dynamic Pilbara region. There is much to enjoy; great accommodation, restaurants, modern Arts with movies, an art gallery and events. Allow 30 minutes of drive time between Karratha and the airport.