Gregory NP

Campground: Bullita Campground, Gregory NP
Facilities: Toilet, Non-potable water, Fire pits, Picnic benches.
Good stuff: Wonderful setting, lots of well sized fire pits, excellent facilities and awesome price.
Not so good stuff: Limited spacing that can fill up quickly.
Price: $3.30 per person per night.

Our trip so far hasn’t been what we expected. There have been places on our bucket list for a long time prior to us even planning this trip. You can turn up to these places that you have wanted to visit for so long and think “wow that is amazing”. Unfortunately on the other hand there is also the background thought that it looked exactly like the many photos we had already seen of the place, as well as the subsequent photos we take from a similar angle albeit with less finesse.  For us what has made our trip really enjoyable so far are the times when there was unexpected beauty - Gregory NP was one of those.

We saw our first dingo in NT before heading across a creek crossing in Gregory NP!

Our taster of Gregory NP was the drive around the Bullita Stock Route. This track starts off close to the Bullita Campground that is a good spot to camp if you are inclined on having a pit toilet; otherwise there is some bush camping along the 4WD track. We didn’t really know much about the drive, just that we may need low range according to our trusted 4WD book aka bible. However we were then told that the first 10km was terrible with steep rock ledges that needed a spotter to negotiate and winding river crossings just before we set off- we were a bit alarmed but thought we would give it a bash any way. Margaret is normally up to most challenges once her tyres are lowered.

The Drive

The first river crossing curved around to the right, clearly marked and had a hard base. Driving along the riverbed was fine as long as you take it slow. 10 or so metres before the end the algae coated rocks turned ice rink made Margaret’s rear go for a slide...but she made it! Kyle was grinning like a Cheshire cat at the end. For the rest of the 10km we were met by beautiful contrasting scenery from the green grass surrounded by dolomite outcrops and boab trees to the same areas been hit by bush fires and then the lush almost tropical looking vegetation along the creek crossings. There was short rocky section when Kyle had to check where to put his tyres but apart from that it was just slow and steady.

The most fun part of the drive- the first slippy slidey river crossing that you followed around the left side of the grassy vegetation. 

After the first 10km, there was a sigh of relief- the track wasn’t that bad! For the remainder of the route Margaret steadily drove through the occasional rocky section, creek crossing and generally smooth single lane dusty track. What made this track stand out was the subtlety of changing scenery along the way rather than anything specific. We also started a new game along the drive- termite gazing (the alternative to cloud gazing) and saw many odd shapes in their spectacular homes.

The mix of boab trees, termite mounds, rocky outcrops and scrub made it a lovely scenic drive...

...the other river crossing was again an easy drive with a hard rocky base...

...and then we encountered numerous big bulls that appeared out of nowhere...

...with the end of the drive to finish with the classic rusty abandoned Volkswagen.

After the Bullita Stock Route it was time to get our legs moving again. We took the detour towards the Calcite Flow Walk. As you are heading towards the calcite flow, you can see fossilised stromatolites in the dolomite similar to those we saw at Shark Bay. Due to weathering and erosion you can see a cross section of each of the layers as they had formed with some of them getting up to 20m in diameter (although we only saw the smaller ones). The calcite flow is present due to calcium carbonate rich water flowing along a stream and getting churned up during the wet season. The aggressive flow causes carbon dioxide to escape from the water resulting in the precipitation of calcite that collects on rock surfaces and tree roots giving the impression of a frozen river in the dry season. 

The walk to the lookout was really easy and flat...

...with lots of  fossilized stromatolites in dolomite when you got your eye in... 

...and the white stuff of the left hand side is the calcite precipitate. 

Keep River NP

It was time to say goodbye to WA and make our way over to NT for the first time EVER (properly...)! Saying that, the excitement of going into a new state has become more subdued over time to a more mini yay than a full-blown WOHOOO. The quarantine check was non-existent on the inbound to NT so everything was smooth going.

And the first thing we noticed in NT was that the tarmac changed colour...

We weren’t planning on heading in to Keep River NP but it was close by so why not! It turns out the people who write the NP placards as well as park notes have a bit of comic timing (or that is how we read it). To be met with a sign describing “a small circular stone hut with stick roof, 1m high and 1.5 metres round, too small for humans to live in, confused early Europeans” followed by can you guess what it was for? Turns out it is a hawk hunting trap used by aboriginals – sure we would have guessed that in a 100 years!

Here is how people used to catch birds of prey!

The Hawker’s Trap was the mini walk, our next stop was only a 3km return but it was relatively uneven ground and HOT for 10am! Although we had hats and water it was an unpleasant experience heading to a wet season shelter used by aboriginals.

Wandering around the shelter we saw some aboriginal artwork on the ceiling...

...the close up!

With the thought of another long walk and us getting ever more moist due to the heat it was time to move on to Gregory NP. If we were in the area we would definitely come back to explore more of the art work in Keep River NP.  

The Best Of WA

Here is our list of our favourite things in WA out of the bits we have seen:

Favourite NP: Purnululu and Karijini (not very original)

We couldn’t decide… Purnululu was amazing just for the sheer beauty of the place and great walks. It was one of those step back and wow moments. A lot of people say that you can in a day- we disagree!  You don’t get a true perspective of the place unless you take your time to do most of the gorge walks. Karijini is another one of those breathtaking places (it seems such a blasé statement). Obviously the gorges were amazing but what made it more special was the geological history of this place with the vast scale of untouched horizontal Banded Iron Formations going for many kilometres on end to then find large scale intricate folding at Hammersley Gorge. It was a spectacular place.

Favourite Free Camp: Spring Creek Rest Area

This rest area is situated next to the turn off for Purnululu NP. If you head down to the bottom camp area near the creek there is lots of shade, toilets and the pegs went in the ground with no issues- the extra plus!

Favourite NP Campground: Drafty’s Camp, Warren NP

Great facilities with toilet, firepits, non-potable water and camp kitchen including gas hobs! It had individual bays too but what made it stand out as well was the price. $7.50 per adult for the facilities was great value in comparison to other NP in WA.

Best Campground/ Caravan Park: Hamelin Station Stay

This was one of our favourite paid stop offs overall so far. The facilities are brilliant, the camp kitchen well equipped, the owners are lovely with a subsequent homely vibe about the place. What impressed us most was how they turned this homestead into a lovely place for people of all ages and stages of their life to enjoy. It is just a great place to stay!

Our best tip for WA: Buy a WA Annual Parks Pass/ Holiday Parks Pass if you are planning on visiting many national parks. Most of the NP incurs a vehicle fees that you won’t need to pay. Also, there are a fair few NP that you have to book your camping spot online… You have been warned!