Temple Gorge
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. The trail starts from near the Temple Gorge Campground, from the campground entrance follow the road leading west until you reach the trail head.
The Hike - Completing half of my planned trails in Kennedy Range for the day after hiking to Honeycomb Gorge and back, it was approaching the hottest part of the day. Deciding to take a rest for a little bit, I parked up at the campsite I chose last night and set about munching into a nutritious lunch, a box of BBQ Shapes and a Coke Zero. Lying down in the back of my car, wedged in with all of the gear I had packed for a week and a half away from home, I could escape the sun but not the flies.
With three trails left to do today, and the sun not staying up for too long in mid-July, it ended up being a short break. Filling up my water bottles, I expected it to be a lot hotter in the gorges than the 25C it was currently. With all my gear ready to go, and a fresh battery in the camera, I locked up the car and set off on the short walk from the campground to the start of the trail. This is an area I had wandered around a few times in the short time I had been here, firstly in the afternoon when I arrived, and again at night to photograph the stars. Walking down the road, there was a sense of anticipation about one of the better regarded trails within Kennedy Range, and I was excited about what I might find. Arriving at the trail head, the faded sign told me there was two trails I could do, an easier left fork, and a longer right fork. Deciding to explore both, I made a note of which one was which, and set off down the rocky path. I was quite surprised at how much vegetation was lining the trail to start with but it soon clicked that there was a dry creek bed to my right.
Having explored it previous day, it soon made sense that this was the reason why the thick vegetation could survive this harsh environment. This served to quickly transport you away from the feeling of being near the campground, as you descended (or more accurately ascended) deeper into the gorge system. The path was a little vague at times as you near the meeting with the dry creek bed, and I followed what I thought was the correct way, but ended up taking me further north than where I was supposed to be. Eventually I found the creek again, and this leads to the wide channel that you walk along to reach the fork in the road. Along here I found a good number of wildflowers with Silver Cassia being the dominant species, along with Acacia ramulosa and Trachymene pilbarensis. As I walked along I passed several shallow pools that had not yet evaporated in the warm sunshine, and eventually got my first sight of the reason why this place is called Temple Gorge, the large rock formation at the fork in the road.
To me it looks more like a pyramid than a temple but that's just my opinion. Either way, it's an impressive sight in the distance, and one that only gets better the closer you get to it. Walking along the wide creek bed, I soon came to the fork in the gorge and decided to take the left fork first. Being the shorter route, it would be a nice warm up to the main event, and it just made sense to me to do it this way. The shorter walk follows the yellow boot trail markers, and begins by stepping up onto a rocky ledge that leads into this part of the gorge. Spotting many wildflowers at the entry to the walk, the path is bit uncertain to begin with, but as you skip between small boulders, it becomes more defined. There are plenty of trail markers to guide your way, and soon enough you reach another smooth platform that has been worn down over time by the forces of seasonal rains. As you head deeper into this particular gorge, it starts to narrow significantly.
While planning the trip to the Kennedy Range, I was expecting the gorge walking to be similar to what I'd experienced in Karijini National Park, but from what I'd seen so far, it was a much wider gorge system. This section through was just as I imagined it to be, with high walls and a narrow slow to walk along. In the heat of the day it was nice to be in some shade for a while, and the lack of direct light through here made for better photos, as there wasn't such a large contrast between light and dark. Coming across more shallow pools, I really enjoyed seeing the different layers that had been weathered away over the years, as the flowing water slowly eroded the rock. The weathering and erosion was also visible on the cliff walks through here, with similar patterns and formations to that found in Honeycomb Gorge. One really cool rock that is found here has a large hole carved out of it, and as you approach it for the first time, it looks like a giant harp. Noticing activity above me, I glanced skywards and was rewarded with another Nankeen Kestrel flying around as it looked for prey.
Reaching the end of this gorge section, it abruptly ends when you reach an impassable wall of rock that I assume is a waterfall just after it has rained. Turning around, I got to enjoy this stunning section all over again. Taking photos from a different angle, it was a pleasure to look up at the bare rock and be amazed at how long it would have taken to carve these deep channels into the ancient rock. Reaching the end of the out and back section into the gorge, I took more time here to photograph the wildflowers, and that paid off as I ended up spotting a few more varieties that I missed earlier. As I was focusing in on capturing an Eremophila, a Lesser Wanderer landed right on the flower I was photographing, an enjoyable little photobomb. Staring up at the main geological feature, I was now ready to tackle the second fork leading to the right.
Back in the familiar openness of the wider gorge, you end up crossing over the creek and walking along the northern edge of it as you head into the gorge. Following the blue boot markers that mark this part of the trail, you follow the edge of the creek, with long overhangs to your right providing a smidge of shade every now and then. The trail heads into a jumble of rocks, with large boulders strewn everywhere, among the smaller rocks that you have to pick your way through. After a short distance you reach a larger rock wall on your right and start what feels like a very different section. A distinct change in the levels of greenery around makes for a nice change, and even though this was the dead of winter, on the whole Kennedy Range looks and feels like the arid landscape that it is. This is where the trickiest part of the trail is located, with some light scrambling required to get yourself up some rocks, and then under a fallen tree.
I always enjoy a bit of scrambling on a rocky trail, as it's much more fun, but in terms of difficulty, this is on the easier side. Not far ahead was a marker that was becoming familiar today, the "End of Trail" sign. Located right in front of one of the larger pools of water I found today, the seasonal waterfall that feeds it was an obvious feature carved into the rock. Dropping my pack, I grabbed a drink bottle and set about exploring this lovely looking area. Looking and feeling like someone had laser cut the rock into little slivers and then stacked them on top of each other, it was fascinating to see the different layers that had been exposed as the surrounding rock has been weathered away over the millennia. The pool had a decent amount of water in it but looked anything but inviting for a swim given the green hue and lack of visibility. Happy to wander around the ledge that formed a bowl around the edge of the pool, you can get right up to where the waterfall would flow, and here I found some small ferns that looked to have carved out a niche in this dark and relatively wet part of the gorge.
Another cool find was a Varied Eggfly hanging upside-down to the overhanging rock, and this reminded me of my time visiting the Shady Creek Walk in Litchfield National Park, where I saw plenty of butterfly doing this exact thing. Taking a seat on one of the lower ledges down by the pool, this was a tranquil spot to cool myself down and rehydrate. I had plenty of time left in the day to complete the rest of the hikes, so allowed myself some chill time here to fully appreciate this spot. Photographing the pool and the changing colours of the rocks, I eventually decided to pack up and start the journey back to the campground. Now walking downhill, the technical sections of the trail were a little easier, given I could lower myself down using my hands. Savouring the walk back, I was on the lookout for anything I may have missed previously, along with any chance encounters with snakes or lizards (of which I had not seen a trace of all day). I did find a Meadow Argus sitting on some Cotton Bush, the first time seeing this species. Hike over, I walked the short road back to where my car was, ready for the next adventure.
Final Thoughts - Temple Gorge is a trail that I had heard was a great one before arriving to the Kennedy Range, so was looking forward to experiencing it for myself.
Thankfully it lived up to the hyper, with two great fingers to explore within the gorge, and a surprising amount of variety for what looks like a fairly standard gorge from the start.
I'd love to see the area after a recent rain event but given how tricky the roads can be after that, I'm happy to have arrived when it was open.
Given the close proximity to the campground, this is the hike that most people will attempt if they've traveled all this way, and what a hike it is.
Get out there and experience it!
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