The way water has carved through the rocks in the Hamersley Range has created an interesting variety of gorges. Some, such as Wittenoom Gorge and Yampire Gorge, are wide and have broken out of the side of the great land mass, making them accessible by road. Most, however, have carved down through the rock in such a way that you can only reach them by driving on top of the range and climbing down into the gorge from the top—though of course you can simply admire them from the ledge, if you don’t fancy climbing. This was true of Dales Gorge, which we’d seen previously, and of Weano Gorge, which we reached next.
Weano Gorge is a relatively easy gorge to climb into. There are places where the walls are steep and slick, but there are also wider areas where the walls are rough, with good hand-holds, and a narrow sort of path that the many visitors have worn in one rock wall at one point. It was at this point that we scrambled down into the gorge.
While the wider section of the gorge look more impressive from above, the narrower parts of the gorge are far more wonderful when you’re at the bottom. The narrowest part seemed magically secretive, like a hidden entrance to a lost kingdom. And it does lead to something that might be considered a treasure in this arid land—water.
The first photo was taken within the narrowest part; the second picture shows where the gorge widens again and the path drops off into a pool. There are people sitting on the large rock at the far side of the pool, to give you something by which to gauge size.