Kennedy Ranges – camping in remote outback

For the lovers of Australian outback Kennedy Range National Park is a special place.

Kennedy Ranges is an elevated sandstone plateau in Upper Gascoyne region, rising about 80 meters above the valley, 75km long and 25 km wide. The nearest town to Kennedy Ranges is Gascoyne Junction, 62km away with only basic necessities, including fuel, so you need to be quite prepared when going to this remote area, carrying enough fuel, water and other provisions. 

Getting to Kennedy Ranges

Driving from Carnavon to Gascoyne Junction (for 172km), we enjoyed this sealed picturesque Carnavon-Mullewa Road with lots of claypans and stock on the road.  

The unsealed Ullawarra  road from Gascoyne Junction was in a great condition, allowing us to drive around 80km/h, towing a caravan. There were a few river crossings but all were quite shallow.

Camping at Kennedy Ranges

We camped at Temple Gorge – the only official place to camp in Kennedy Ranges. It is a bush camp nestled among rugged cliffs with magnificent views all around. The only facility it offers is a single long drop toilet, which gives you an a real feeling of camping in nature. 

This place is so remote, yet we were surprised to see the campground full (with around 25 camper families there) in July. But lovely hosts managed to accommodate every arriving vehicle.

A communal fire every day from 5pm is an opportunity to get warm during chilly nights and meet new people, many of whom we met again and again during our stay at Kennedy Ranges. 

Sunrise is very beautiful at Temple Gorge. The sun was casting its rays onto the cliffs, making everything look softly orange.

The nights in Kennedy Ranges are majestic. You can see an endless beautiful sky full of stars. 

Camping in the bush often means that we go without showers for days, ocassionally using only a small amount of water for washing. Here is Brian washing hair with his portion of 250ml of water. Water is very precious and every drop counts.

Hiking at Kennedy Range National Park

There are 6 hiking trails to suit every level of fitness and experience, each offering a unique opportunity of enjoying nature in its pristine form.

The Escarpment Trail in Kennedy Ranges is one of the longest. It is a 3.4km return hike, Class 4, which means it is rough and steep in some places. We started at Temple Gorge campground in the morning and hiked for nearly 3 hours. It was a great exercise and an enjoyment along the way.

The view from the top of of the range was definitely worth the hike.

Honeycomb Gorge is the most picturesque in Kennedy Range National Park. A mass of holes created by wind and water spray from seasonal waterfall above the cliff face makes this unique and beautiful pattern, resembling a honeycomb, which gives this gorge its name. It is easily accessible (apparently, our camp host even cycles daily from Temple Gorge to Honeycomb Gorge) and you can spend some time there marvelling at mother nature’s creation. 

One of the shortest hikes (from the car park) is Sunrise View platform, from which you can view the sunrise (as the name suggests). We got up early and drove (then hiked) there to take these pictures.

More tracks and other experiences at Kennedy Ranges

There are a couple of rough tracks in the Kennedy Ranges (we’ve only been to the eastern side of the escarpment) but there is nothing a good 4WD can’t manage.

A couple of more pictures from Kennedy Ranges, taken by our young photographer, 9 year old Ariel.

Red sand dunes, rocky cliffs, spinifex, wattle trees, lots of pink, violet and blue mulla mulla is what truly Aussie outback is all about. Bushwalking provides an excellent opportunity to fully soak the experience. This is what we thoroughly enjoy.

We loved Kennedy Ranges! 2 days we spent there wasn’t enough. Surely, we’ll be back!

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