Karlamilyi National Park
- Introduction
- Fact file
- A look at the past
- Aboriginal culture
- Natural features
- Native plants
- Wildlife
- SWIM at picturesque Desert Queen Baths
- CAMP by one of the scenic waterholes
Introduction
Rudall River National Park lies in remote desert country in the eastern Pilbara region, a landscape of red sand dunes, stony hills, salt lakes and vast spinifex plains. Hidden away in an ancient gorge in the centre of the park is a chain of scenic rock holes, where rugged red cliffs cast perfect reflections in the still waters. Encompassing over 1.2 million hectares, Rudall River National Park is the largest national park in Western Australia and also one of the most remote. This is a great bush adventure for the most experienced of travellers as it is accessible by rough 4WD tracks only and you need to bring all supplies with you – there is no fuel, food or water available between Newman and Marble Bar. Some tracks may be closed during and after rain so check road conditions before travelling by contacting CALM Karratha (08) 9143 1488. It is essential to carry some means of communication such as a satellite phone or HF radio.
Fact file
Access
From Marble Bar via Ripon Hills Rd then Telfer Mine Rd – permission required to use this track, contact (08) 9158 6200; from Newman via Talawana Track; 4WD only, tracks are extremely rough
Best Season
June to August
Location
420 km from Marble Bar; 260 km from Newman
Park Information
CALM Karratha (08) 9143 1488
Permits
Western Desert Puntukunupanu Aboriginal Corporation must be advised before travelling through the park; call (08) 9172 3299
Size
1 283 706 ha
Where to Stay
Marble Bar (08) 9176 1166
Newman (08) 9175 2888
A look at the past
This remote region remained largely unexplored until the late 1800s. Charles Wells and George Jones, two members of the ill-fated Calvert Scientific Exploring Expedition in 1896, are thought to have ventured into the eastern side of the park, but perished while trying to rejoin their main party. Surveyor William Frederick Rudall made three trips to the area while searching for the two missing men, and in 1897 he met prospector, surveyor and renowned explorer Frank H. Hann – the spot where they met is named Meeting Gorge (near Currun Currun Rockhole). Hann later named the Rudall River and several other features in the park. Following the surveys undertaken to establish the Canning Stock Route, pastoralists moved into the area in the early 1900s. The national park was gazetted in 1977.
Aboriginal culture
When Europeans first arrived, the Aboriginal people who lived in this desert region belonged to the Warnman, Gardutjarra, Mandjildjarra and Ngulibardu language groups. They called Rudall River Karlamilyi. As the pastoralists advanced the traditional owners left the western deserts, some to work on outback stations and others to live on the missions established to the west. The Rudall River, the only source of permanent water in the area, remained one last refuge for the dispossessed tribes. During the 1980s, some Aboriginal groups returned to the area. Today there are two Aboriginal communities living within the park, the Punmu community at Lake Dora and the Parnngurr community at Cotton Creek. Visitors are asked to leave these communities undisturbed, as they live a traditional life and do not encourage outsiders.
Natural features
The park is located on an area of sandy dunes, ridges and rocky hills between the Great Sandy and the Little Sandy deserts, and encompasses the Rudall River, with its many tributary creeks and streams. Near the eastern perimeter of the park is a chain of normally dry salt lakes, which extends in a crescent shape out of the park to the south.
Native plants
Bloodwoods, spinifex and shrubby acacias grow on the red-sand plains and dunes. Elsewhere there are clumps of mallee and groves of desert oak. The graceful white-trunked, western coolibah (Eucalyptus victrix, so named for its ‘victory over the desert’), also known as smooth-barked coolibah, grows along the watercourses and fl ood plains, with other coolibah species and tea-tree, and shrubs such as paperbark (Melaleuca lasiandra) and quandong, found on the flats nearby. Desert wildflowers include fern-leaved silky oak (Grevillea sp.), callistris, hakea and Sturt’s desert pea.
Wildlife
The park’s animals include the tiny, lesser hairyfooted dunnart, the hairy soles and fringes on its hind feet increasing traction as it scurries across the fine sands. Other small mammals are the spinifex hopping-mouse and the western pebble-mound mouse (see Wildlife, page 243). Dingoes and wild camels are prominent. Reptiles include geckos, lizards, skinks, goannas and snakes. The river and waterholes provide a haven for frogs, and birds – more than 90 species recorded – of which honeyeaters, zebra fi nches, spinifex pigeons and flocks of budgerigars are often seen
Featured Activities in the National Park
Introduction
In addition to photography, bush camping, bushwalking and 4WD touring, visitors can swim in the creeks and waterholes. Desert Queen Baths, an 18-kilometre detour off the main track, is a series of rock pools within a gorge. This is a particularly scenic spot but you need to allow an hour’s drive each way over a rough bush track then a 40-minute scramble over rocks to reach the main pool.
Campsites
Desert Queen Baths camping area (bush camping)
Tjingkulatjatjarra Pool camping area (bush camping)
White Gum Bore camping area (bush camping)
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