This Adventurous Age

Adventures travelling and working around Australia.


Leave a comment

2004 Travels June 30

WEDNESDAY 30 JUNE     KENNEDY RANGE NATIONAL PARK

Today was a lovely, blue sky day. Not too hot for activity.

Resize of 06-30-2004 kr np

Current CALM map

We drove to the southern walk.

Our information and the (little) map we were using was contained in a book on National Parks, and on the touring map of the region we’d bought. We had not found any of the usual information about this place. Too new and too far out of the way, perhaps.

This walk was into another creek gully.

Resize of 06-30-2004 southern walk

Valley of the southern walk

We climbed around a deep hole that had water in it, and reached a dry waterfall. The track went up and around it.

Resize of 06-30-2004 10 Kennedy Ra NP old seabed signs.jpg

I baulked at a narrow ledge under an overhang – too high up for me. John went on and up to the end of the track. He said it was lovely. I was quite happy sitting on my rock just gazing at the bush while I waited.

Resize of 06-30-2004 as far as wendy goes

Track kept going beyond the waterfall – I didn’t!

Resize of 06-30-2004 john climbing up

John going up the wall…….

Resize of 06-30-2004 climb

Canyon wall

We then drove along a faint track to the south, around the bluff, which turned out to be knife thin. At the seeming end of the track, we stopped and collected some firewood. It was probably an old track from mining exploring days – there was no sign of it having been used for a long time.

Resize of 06-30-2004 view sth along kennedy ranges.jpg

Kennedy Range stretching to the south

Resize of 07-01-2004 distant hill.jpg

Country east of the Kennedy Range

In the later afternoon, after a late lunch, we walked from the camp area, around to the next valley to the north, where the ground was covered with shattered extruded lava, and was black. There was another pretty little creek there.

Resize of 07-01-2004 01 Kennedy Ranges spectacular.jpg

Resize of 07-01-2004 cave maybe.jpg

A cave in there?

While we were out, another Trakmaster van came in. It parked quite close, next to us, of course.  Why is it, with a whole empty campground, people feel the need to snuggle up? It was a dual axle model, from WA. We did not warm to our new neighbours.

After tea, we sat round our little campfire, talking to each other and looking at the bright stars. We saw a satellite crossing the sky.


Leave a comment

2004 Travels June 29

TUESDAY 29 JUNE   MOUNT AUGUSTUS TO KENNEDY RANGE NP   272kms

John coughed very badly through the night, but said he was feeling a bit better this morning. I just felt tired, from lack of sleep!

We left about 9.30am.

On the way out of the property, we diverted to look at Cattle Pool on the Lyons River. There was more water in it, this time, and it looked a lot more attractive.

Resize of 06-29-2004 02  Lyons R waterhole.jpg

Lyons River pool

We drove west to “Cobra”. There was no fuel available there, despite it supposedly having same. It was a good thing we had filled up at Mount Augustus.

From there, continued sort of NW, then turned south on the Gascoyne Junction road.

From “Cobra”, this had been new ground for us, just as had been the drive from Mullewa to Landor.

The unsealed road was generally fairly good, though in places where it ran close to the Lyons River, there were lots of dips and floodways, and the going was slower.

Resize of 06-29-2004 03 Lyons R dry area.jpg

This dry country can have violent floods

It was quite scenic – just enough isolated hills and outcrops to maintain interest.

Resize of 06-29-2004 rough road.jpg

The road is across the centre of this photo!

We stopped for morning tea at a crossing/ford of the Lyons River. There was a rather pretty, large water hole there.

Resize of 06-29-2004 01 Lyons R ford

Lyons River ford

After some time on the Gascoyne Junction road, we turned west again for the run of a few kms to the campground in the Kennedy Ranges. Here, these had the appearance of a flat topped higher area from the distance, but became more rugged in appearance as we got close to the campground.

Resize of 06-29-2004 distant kennedy ra.jpg

Distant Kennedy Range

The Kennedy Ranges, which stretch for a long way north-south, are very spectacular. They are an eroded former land level, so are mesa like. They are of sedimentary rock, with some lava intrusions, which make different features.

Resize of 06-29-2004 04 Kennedy Ranges approach

Approaching the Kennedy Range National Park

The little campground was basic, but alright. There was a pit toilet. With only one other couple there, in a slide-on camper, there was no problem finding a good place to park the rig.

The campground faced the Range and a big gully cut into it. The sunlight on the Range was dramatic.

Resize of 06-29-2004 07 camp Kennedy Range Nat Park.JPG

After setting up, we went for a walk up the big creek gully. It was dry, of course.

Resize of 06-29-2004 05 near Kennedy Ranges camp

The gully/gorge was very interesting because of the rock patterns, the shapes, the erosion forms. We walked quite a way up the rocky creek bed, including around one rock fall. It was good exercise.

Resize of 06-30-2004 02 The Temple Kennedy Ra NP.jpg

We enjoyed the evening. No “people” sounds at all, just the wind through the mulga. And crickets, or something similar. The stars were so bright.

About 3am, the other couple – Swiss – woke us up. It gave us quite a fright, to have someone knocking loudly on the van door at that hour. They had locked themselves out of their camper! Toilet call, it was implied. They wanted to borrow scissors to cut their way back in through the flyscreen of the popup roof flap. John,  having hastily put on some clothes, went off with them to help. They managed it – he was not young, but still rather agile. Oh, the merits of a bucket, inside, at night!

Resize of 06-29-2004 to KR.JPG