Sunrise View
Kennedy Range National Park
Directions - Kennedy Range National Park is located just under three hours east of Carnarvon, and 50 minutes north of Gascoyne Junction. From the Temple Gorge Campground, head back out of the park, taking a left tun before the park exit and following the signs for Honeycomb Gorge and Sunrise View. There is a small car park for Sunrise View and the trail head is next to the wooden sign.
The Walk - Having spent a week in Kalbarri taking in the stunning trails located near the idyllic holiday town, the next leg of my adventure was taking me many hours north to a place I'd be wanting to visit because of the raw beauty and excellent hiking. Kennedy Range National Park is an isolated park located a few hours inland from the coastal town of Carnarvon, with a basic campground where you can setup and explore the gorges and open space at the base of the range.
Having spent almost a full day driving north from Kalbarri, I arrived at the Temple Gorge Campground with enough time to setup my tent, have a bit of a wander around, and then have dinner before settling in for the night. The plan was to spend the following day hiking all the trails found here (six in total), starting with taking in the Sunrise View Trail at the crack of dawn. With a trail named Sunrise View, it would be rude not to experience it at first light. Setting multiple alarms, I was up and about super early and had packed everything into the back of my car before driving the short distance to the northern most trail in the park. On the drive out I noticed the moon right on the edge of the range, so stopped and took some photos with a tree silhouetted again the setting moon. Reaching the car park, I wasn't the only one that had the same idea, with a couple of families already at the top of the small climb that provides the advertised view of the sunrise.
It was a chilly morning, with the Kennedy Range located inland, this mean cooler overnight temperatures than the coast. I ended up leaving my ugg boots on instead of changing into my trail runners, as I figured I wouldn't overheat on such a short trail in these temps. With the sky getting brighter, I made my way up the trail that leads to a flat platform at the base of the weathered range. The families had setup on a lower part of the trail, so I made my way to the upper platform and stood there watching the sun peak over the eastern horizon. While watching the sunrise is always a magical sight, the real treat of doing it from here is the view looking up and down the range, with some stunning and ancient landscapes lighting up in muted purples, pinks and orange. The trail kept going from the main platform and being the curious cat that I am, I followed it off to the north as it follows the contours of the imposing hill. After taking many photos I returned to the main platform to watch the changing colours as the sun started to climb higher in the sky. As far as starts to the day, this was a fantastic one, and the perfect way to begin my Kennedy Range trail adventures.
Final Thoughts - While not the longest trail in the world, the Sunrise View serves a very worthy purpose.
With not much to do besides enjoy the beautiful scenery that the Kennedy Range has in abundance, you really should be up and about early for this one.
If you want the dramatic colours lighting up the range, then this is the best time to see it.
Get out there and experience it!
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