Karijini 2^ndmonth July 2022

We were walking early one morning when a wasp landed in front of us grabbed a spider and paralysed it and dragged it off. We checked and it drags it to a hole and then lays its eggs in it and when the eggs hatch they have food to eat . The spider is still alive just paralysed and gets eaten from the inside.

That day one of the campers showed us a photo they had taken of a spider with a red head . It was at their camp site and the lady got her husband to move it to the bush. He got it on to a piece of cardboard to carry it and it fell off and as it hit the ground it turned around and raised its fangs towards him before running into the bush. So as soon as we could get online we checked and it was a Red Headed mouse spider and its venomous. There has not been any deaths reported from its bite but it can make you very sick. It is related to the trap door spider.

We found a Rothschild's rock wallaby in the early morning at one of our Dales gorge walks . They hide and sleep during the day . They are endemic to the Hamersley Range and very rare. Larry has seen a couple of times they are brownish colour that appears purplish around the shoulders and have a bushy tail.

On our last few days I finally got to get a photo and I think this one is carrying pouch young . The back photo shows a good bulge area from the pouch area.. It was only there a few minutes as the sun came up then it was gone.

At the end of June there was a change over of the other couple volunteers, Keith and Freda left and Don and Karen came in and of course we stayed another month. We worked 3 days during the change over so it gave them time to set up . It worked in our favour so we had the last 2 days off so we could leave and go to Tom Price to do some shopping before we headed into Millstream Chichester Np for the month of August.

Another new system for the on-line booking is started which makes for a lot of confusion.

It has been on-line booking since 2019. I sold the last site then on our last day here back in 2019 and because of the system and confusion at the moment if campers decide to leave early and let us know we can resell their site for cash in the check in hut. Guess who wrote the first receipt ,yes me. So the rangers thought it was funny, I wrote the last receipt in 2019 and I wrote the first receipt in 2022., No written receipts between.

We are having heaps of trouble with the optus phone we bought to come in here and, the money I put on keeps disappearing even when we do not use it .

Telstra has just put in a repeater but it does not reach the campground because of the hills. So we still have to drive to get reception but only 10 km now.

Everything seems to be going wrong the dentist can not get my new teeth while we are here like he said he could. I will have to wait until we get to Exmouth to get them fixed.

When we first got here we sprung a leak in the roof . Woke up one night to see water dripping into a cupboard , so we have to put a tarp on the roof if it looks like rain. Then the spring winder thing in the awning gave way so we have to wind up by hand , sometimes in a hurry to get the tarp over the roof.

So Exmouth caravan repairer is going to be busy with us. We were to get just the new fridge freezer fitted and now we have lots for him to do.

We did find some springs for the awning in NSW but they can not come by post as they are to long and the only freight company that will bring them over wants $150 each for them . They did not cost that much so what ever our caravan man can get us will do.

Now Covid is passing around the rangers with first of the volunteers from the visitor centre getting it then the head ranger and then 2 more and so on.

So we are back to wearing masks inside our work hut and only having one other person in the room with us at a time.

Its more tiring than before as you have to repeat things more times. Before if 2 groups of campers arrived together we could check them in then tell them about Dales gorge the roads and other gorges and rules of the campground together , now we have to do it separately.

So the gorges are Dales is a class 4 loop walk with in the gorge and around the rim. To get into the gorge at the Fortescue falls end there are 287 steel man made steps with rest stops, the other end is like a goat track up the gorge wall uneven embedded rocks and loose stones. You can swim at Fortescue falls pool and at Fern pool.

Joffre falls has a rim walk and ladders down into the base of the falls its class 5

Knox gorge is class 5 and steep with loose stuff and boulders to climb over.

Hancock Gorge has Kermit s Pool to swim in but is class 5 and not recommended for old or people carrying children.

Weano gorge rim walk is class4 with the bottom of the gorge to hand rail pool is class 5 and lots of water cold to go through.

Hamersley class 4 into the first pool and class 5 up to Spa pool where all the young ones go and take selfies.

So on our last day off we went back to Hancock and Weano gorges . I did the walks up to the point where you are in very cold water . Larry did all of it .

We saw a Euro – type of kangaroo, we have not seen many this time in then we saw an Emu.

We went across the internal road which is very rough even after they gave it a light grade., and came back on the bitumen along the road that runs through the middle of the park linking Tom Price with the Great Northern Hwy,

We saw lots of smoke then we found out why. The parks and Wildlife guys were doing a burn off .

We have got interested in the plants in the area because they are just starting to flower, so each walk we find different ones.

We have Dingos in the park and people are asked not to leave rubbish or food outside and not to feed them. This seems to land on deaf ears as people have been feeding them and other campers tell us so we can send the rangers around to speak to them. If it keeps happening it will end with the Dingos being trapped and shot as they can not be relocated. They come back to where they were born no matter how far you take them away. People are being stupid , the more they feed our leave rubbish or food out the more the Dingos will expect it and thats when they will get aggressive . If left to fend for themselves they will sort themselves out and the population will not grow more than the natural food found. Where there are dingos there is not a fox or ferrel cat problem and they clean up the sick and old and keep other things in check.

I found an old one in one of the car parks and day use areas , waiting for people to leave food or rubbish. He would not survive if no one was here so because he hanging around he will probably the first to be caught. Its not good . People come to see things in their natural state and then do the wrong thing so it will not be the same for generations to come and see it.

Well its time to leave and head into Tom Price for a couple of days for shopping and cleaning , before heading into our next volunteer place of Millstream / Chichester NP for August.