Walk Western Australia's Karijini & Ningaloo Reef - 10 Days

Welcome to Paraburdoo! Your Australian adventure will start right away with a pickup from the airport. Your group will then drive into Karijini National Park – home of the Banjima, Innawongka and Eastern Guruma peoples. This is Western Australia’s second-largest national park, with a landscape more than 2.5 billion years old and home to some of the best hiking trails in the state. When you arrive, get to know your group over sunset drinks and dinner before settling into your comfortable tent for the night.

Today you’ll walk to Kalamina Gorge for your first walk of the trip. Don’t forget your swimmers today, as you’ll have the chance to cool off in one of park’s swimming holes at the bottom of the gorge. After your swim, drop into the Visitor’s Centre to learn more about the park and perhaps grab an ice cream or cool down. From here, it’s off to Dale’s Gorge for a swim in Circular Pool and Fern Pool – two of the park’s most beautiful waterholes. With deep red rocks, lush ferns and waterfalls, you’ll feel like you’ve discovered your own private paradise.

After breakfast, lace up your hiking boots for the hike to Mt Bruce – Western Australia’s second highest peak. This full day ridge walk has it all, from paths that feel like you’re taking a gentle stroll to rock scrambles and climbs so steep there’s a chain for support. When you reach the top of the mountain, the 360-degree views of the Karijini Range and its red landscape make the challenge worthwhile.

Today’s occasionally challenging walk has four major highlights including two of Karijini National Park’s most famous gorges, Hancock and Weano. The trail to Junction Pool Lookout is relatively flat and has terrific views of Hancock and Joffre Gorges. Cool down as you wade through pools and streams to reach your destination and soak up the scenery. Go for swims in Kermit’s Pool and Handrail Pool then make the return trip to camp for a shower and dinner under the stars.

We are venturing further a field today to the very western side of the national park - Hamersley Gorge. It will take us an hour and a half to drive there this morning, but you will be enraptured by the ever changing scenery on the drive. The organic shapes of geology of Hamersley Gorge is interesting in itself as the bedding planes cascade into the water. It almost looks as if the land has tipped sideways! There is a shaded lookout at the top and we will embark o the short walk along the rock staircase down into the gorge to be rewarded with a dip in the gorge pool. In the afternoon we depart for Cheela Plains, a true outback station stay where you will enjoy a delicious meal under the spectacular desert sky!

Grab your favourite tunes or a good book and settle back and rest your legs on the drive from Cheela Plains to Exmouth. There will be time to stop and stretch your legs along the way and have lunch together before you arrive at your campsite at Yardie Creek, near Exmouth in time to watch the sun set into the Indian Ocean.

Less than 1 in 3 million people have swum with whale sharks and today, you could be one of them! Book early for the opportunity to go on an (optional) experience of a lifetime and swim with whale sharks – the world’s biggest fish – off Western Australia’s Coral Coast. It’s not unusual for these gentle creatures to grow up to 10 m in length, which makes swimming alongside them an incredible experience. You might instead like to take a half-day snorkelling glass bottom boat tour or just chill out at the accommodation.

Get set for a day of adventure in Cape Range National Park, with a series of short walks, snorkels and swims along the coast. First, you’ll explore Mandu Mandu Gorge on a walk that follows the route of an ancient riverbed. Then, spot rock wallabies in Yardi Creek Gorge. From here, you’ll head to Turquoise Bay on Ningaloo Reef – part of the traditional lands of the Baiyungu, Thalanyji and Yinigurdira peoples – for swimming and snorkelling among the corals. Tonight, you’ll sit down for a group dinner back at Yardi Creek.

Today you’ll head out on the Badjirrajirra Trail, with gorges cut into the limestone karst and views that seem to stretch on forever. Compared to some of your walks in Karijini National Park, this trail is relatively easy, but it can be extremely hot, so your leader may have to alter today’s itinerary. Once you’ve explored Charles Knife Canyon, cool off in Ningaloo’s sparkling waters and go in search of turtles around the small islands known as the Oyster Stacks. After another full day of exploring, it’s back to camp at Yardie Creek for the last night of the trip.

After breakfast today, you’ll be transferred to Exmouth Airport for your flight back to Perth. If you’d like to extend your stay, just get in touch with your booking agent ahead of time.