Day 78: 15 August – Grand country

Author: Mr A

Location: Kennedy Range National Park

Distance hiked: 12 km

Floors climbed: 22

This is big, magnificent country with the sandstone escarpment of the Kennedy Range towering over our van. We had planned to go walking today if the weather fined up, and it had. So a foundational breakfast was called for. Using the fresh tomatoes, garlic, red onion and basil from the market gardens of Carnarvon we mixed up in the hand blender some bruschetta. I had spotted some packaged bread especially for bruschetta when we were in Woolworths. On inspection of the packaging it had actually been made in Italy, shipped to Brookvale (a kilometre away from our house in Sydney!) then onward to Caranarvon. Well travelled bread indeed. Tasted great though!


Fortified,we were on our way. The first walk took us up a steep path to the top of the escarpment, 800 metres above our van with views out over the plains. It was just a majestic place. 


After a clamber back down we marched off to the next walk around the side of the range. The rock formations were amazing. The colours of the rock are so different to anything we have seen before. Rich purples, glowing organge, huge blocks of rock strewn everywhere, it was quite an overwhelming landscape. We came to a huge natural amphitheatre and just sat there. I just listened to the sound of blood rushing through my ears, because the silence was so loud. It reached out and enveloped us in this beautiful stillness, That’s the magic of country.


Back at the camp, we wandered over to the communal fire. A dozen other campers were there, pretty much everyone on the site, and we just drank some wine and chewed the fat. A lovely bunch of people…again. From all walks of life…some Australians, a German paramedic travelling round on his own, it was another great opportunity to understand others’ perspectives on the life decisions that brought them to this place and time. 

Day 77: 14 August – Stranded in the Kennedy Range

Author: Mrs A

Distance driven: 230 km

We awoke to drizzle and low cloud, and set about packing and hitching up to the car ready to move on. After a quick visit to the Asian grocer for a few ingredients and the camping store for a replacement gas bottle, we headed inland, first to Gascoyne Junction and then across to the Kennedy Range National Park.


The Kennedy Range is about 160km from the coast, and rises up out of the flat desert region. Like many of the other gorges we have visited, these hills are formed with layers of sandstone and shale, formed from an uplifted ancient sea bed. Apparently there are marine fossils to be found in the sandstone.

The rain followed us the whole way inland, the landscape looking quite surreal with pools appearing beside the road and flocks of birds going crazy for the water. The area we are in is considered arid and very rarely experiences rain outside of the November-March period. Lucky us! As we drove along the red roads into the campground the cloud lifted and the sun shone on the ranges – they looked spectacular with dramatic skies all around.


We found ourselves a good spot right near where the walks start and settled in to make lunch. Before we knew it the clouds had closed in and we were in for a very wet afternoon. We didn’t emerge from the mobile apartment for more than five minutes, enjoying an afternoon of reading and basically relaxing with the sound of the rain on the roof.

At around 5.30pm we had a knock at the door. One of the volunteer campground hosts came round to let us know that she’d just got off the radio with the National Parks office, and they had advised her that all roads in and out of the ranges have been closed due to the rain. We are stranded – couldn’t leave if we wanted to! Apparently the roads are shut after as little as 4mm of rain, and we have had much more than that. We are not planning to leave until Wednesday, so hopefully they dry out tomorrow. The forecast is for increasing sunshine, which is just as well as we now have one day to do all the walks and make up for today’s laziness!