Kennedy Range and Mount Augustus are a long way inland from Carnarvon and a huge detour from where we were heading, but absolutely worth it! The recent flooding was evident even inland and some of the roads only just re-opened.
The Kennedy Range is an eroded plateau, which is a remnant of the land surface that has been worn away. The southern side has spectacular 100 m cliffs and a maze of steep-sided canyons. We got up early to see the sunrise on the walls. It was gorgeous!
The sandstone cliffs contain many marine fossils and interesting formations. Honeycomb Gorge below.
Another beautiful camping spot! This one was managed by volunteer rangers and it was well looked after. Usually we take other people's rubbish away with our own, but not here. NSW should start a volunteer ranger program!
The climb up to the top....
... and Kirsten on top of the escarpment on a bench with a view.
Mount Augustus is apparently the biggest rock in the world and twice the size of Uluru. On our approach, we found a shady lunch spot - fancy building a gazebo in the middle of nowhere and then not putting a picnic table underneath!
The 6 km walk to the top is very exposed and can be very hot, so we started the 650 m climb early in the morning.
Blooming wattle .....
.... and Eremophila.
The drive north to Tom Price was a zigzag on dirt roads. Depending on the shire you're in, the road is either in very good or in terrible condition. The old gum trees along the creeks have plenty of tree hollows for birds to nest in.
The station manager did warn us that his bulls are very tough and large!
I am glad to see that there are still plenty of dingoes roaming the country, hopefully keeping the rabbit numbers down.
The Pilbara Minni Ritchi (Acacia trachycarpa) has a reddish brown bark that continuously peels in small curly flakes, leaving the tree looking like it has a coat of red curly hair.
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