Entry 10 – 2026 – May – Doolena Gorge, (take two) Western Australia
For us, heading north along the vast coastal regions of Western Australia, it appeared Port Hedland was the last town able to provide those services we have come to expect at populated locations.
We stocked up with all those necessities we do like to have.
There were the purchase of a new phone and a plan with a different provider after incurring communication problems.
We did enjoy another look at all the ships at anchor waiting their turn to enter the harbour, with a visual count of 21 ships.
It was about six weeks till our next booked stopover up the road a bit.
Our research of locations available along the near 800-kilometre route showed options were meagre. Predominately most stop overs were targeting fishing enthusiasts. Not one of our past times.
If we visited every available location, it seemed at best, we might be occupied for one to one and a half weeks. Of note all the camping options were at a cost ranging from $45 to $85 per night. The only low-cost options were at “boring” road side rest stops.
We had been busily occupied whilst in Port Hedland. When we commenced our drive north from Port Hedland, we started up a conversation about our options for filling in our time over the next six weeks.
By the time we had driven around 40 kilometres, which coincided with a side road intersection to travel east, an unplanned return to Doolena Gorge got the √. It was a location we both liked. We turned right and headed east. It would incur an added $400 in fuel costs. If we stayed for a week or two it would help with the spread of the incurred fuel expense.
We arrived at Doolena Gorge to find we were the only one’s present. Just the way we like it. Perfect.
The following day, we found ourselves surrounded by new arrivals who all seemed to want to hear our private conversations. Our stay at the exact same spot the previous month, no one had wanted to park up next to us. Then, the water front area had been the prime location. Our nice quiet private outlook was no more. Grrr.
The above picture, Steve had scaled the nearby cliff face early morning, with his rock wallaby ability, when all was quiet. It is a great time to be out, watching the vibrant changing colours of the landscape as the sun rises. He wasn’t the only one up.
There would be a different wave of attendees during a weekend. People arriving Friday evening or Saturday morning seemed to be quite loud and rowdy. There were a number of day visitors most opting to park up close to us, at the end of the track.
Just prior to sunset, our picturesque cliff face and nearby landscape would present like a studio setting with picture perfect lighting effects. With the sun in the “just right,” position, it seemed to beam thousands of high-lumen intensity lighting, onto the water front landscape. It was a time of day the vista seemed to stop you in your tracks, at times you needed to tell yourself, “Remember to breathe.” One’s eyes would be fixated on the setting, beaming full of vibrant colourful scenery. All of our happy neurotransmitters would be buzzing with delight. With the setting sun you could see the dark shadows fast approaching the caravan, gobbling us up.
All too soon the sun disappeared below the horizon and the intense lighting of the cliff face would diminish. Though it still provided satisfying viewing.
Every now and then you would spot some different bird life. It was a delight to see a Jabiru. It had been a number of years since our last sighting. One morning we were woken by the loud screaming of Curlew’s. On initially being woken we both thought, “what the heck.” In a way it was delightful to know Curlew birds were in the vicinity. Though we were unable to spot their hiding location during the day.
It had been about a fortnight. Since we had last been at Doolena Gorge. Then the day time temperatures, hovered around 38 – 40 degrees. We could feel the intense heat draining our bodies of energy. The heat was compounded with minimal wind about to assist with cooling. The pleasant temperature water at the time, provided satisfying relief from the heat.
On our return visit it felt quite different. Day time temperatures were around 28 – 34 degrees. The wind seemed to blow constantly. The water temperature felt quite cold. With the wind factor, we weren’t inclined to stay long in the water. It seemed the changing of the season weather conditions had arrived.
Though we still freshened up in the lagoon water each day with a dip.
Occasionally the wind would recede and we would swim to the other side of the gorge for our daily exercise. It was quite a large expanse of water. Some pictures showing it’s spread with Mary acting as our model.
Our water activity exercise was replaced by a walk along the gorge entrance track most days. Some days the local cows would jog along the track in front of us. We were in need to be observant for any fresh cow bombs in our path.
One day a shower of rain came tumbling down. We couldn’t remember when we had last experienced rain fall. It had been such a long time ago. It was a bit of a novelty.
Both the caravan and tow tug were covered in a build-up of dust and dirt. The cleansing rain was most welcome. The ambient air temperature was still quite warm. Steve got the vehicle washing brush out to assist the rain with the removal of the in-ground dirt.
Several days later we experienced another day of steady light rain. The water stored in our caravan tanks was getting low. We emptied a couple of our storage containers, utilizing them to capture the nice fresh rain water running off the caravan roof.
It took the best part of the day to harvest enough water to fill our water tanks. This area of Western Australia, most of the accessible water is bore water. To be able to fill our tanks with rain water was a luxury.
There were a few other camping locations of interest in the nearby vicinity of the Marble Bar region. Most, at the time had an element of difficulty with access. Close to Doolena Gorge was the Coongan Long Pool. The edge of the pool was lined with shady trees. Access to the reed covered water was inhibited. It was a nice setting but it wasn’t a Doolena Gorge. Doolena Gorge on the day provided a big √ with our wish list. Pictures below of Coongan Long Pool.
Doolena Gorge was a delightful location. When Steve would attempt to obtain a picture of our grand setting from an elevated position, he learnt to wear jeans and good boots when scaling the spinifex covered hills. The sharp spinifex still provided a spikey jab at times.
Travelling along the main road from Port Hedland to Marble Bar there is a large floodway at the Coongan River crossing. You can see Doolena Gorge in the distance across the expansive flood plain.
When seated in or outside of our caravan we would admire our much-appreciated views of the surrounding landscape. When we were floating about in the lagoon water, the impressive landscape mesmerised all of our feel-good senses. It was one of those special “Australian” landscapes. Occasionally the wind would subside, enhancing the setting. If the timing coincided with the setting sun, it produced an enchanting, hypnotising canvas masterpiece.
Though the above fantastic picture-perfect settings were a rarity. They will be memorable.
We got to 28 days camped continuously at Doolena Gorge. The pantry and fridge were looking spacious and bare at the same time.
There was a feeling of sadness, as it was time to leave the fabulous scenery of the Marble Bar region. The scenery had been exceptionally good for our souls. We had devoted four blog submissions to this region of our ten to date for 2026. We had travelled around 7,000 kilometres since commencing our travels in January 2026. Exploration of the Marble Bar region had clocked up about 1,400 of those kilometres.
Doolena Gorge was a setting that will stay in our feel-good memories for a long time.
