Karijini Eco Retreat, Karijini National Park, Western Australia
Karijini National Park is one of the wonders of Western Australia, an ancient wilderness of gorges, chasms and waterholes in the heart of the remote Pilbara. It is a place of spectacular hiking, geological wonders, serene rockpools, epic panoramas and mesmerising stargazing. To immerse yourself in this surreal landscape and explore all it has to offer, a multi-night stay within the park is essential. And the best choice within the park is Karijini Eco Retreat.
Karijini Eco Retreat is ideally located almost in the centre of Karijini National Park, adjacent to Joffre Gorge, a short distance from Weano and Hancock Gorges, and manageable drives from the Visitor Centre, the Dales Area, Mount Bruce and Hamersley Gorge. From the southwestern entrance of the park, the Retreat is 31 kilometres, 28 kilometres of which is on a good sealed road, with the final 3 kilometres on a road that is gravel but well-graded.
The first impressions of the Eco Retreat are nothing to write home about – an entrance marked by a weatherbeaten and faded welcome sign, then views of the staff quarters and maintenance services. But after a short drive, guests arrive at Reception, the hub of the Retreat, a multifaceted pavilion housing the front desk, bar and restaurant. Friendly and welcoming staff are in attendance to provide check-in, advise on the layout of the resort, explain mealtimes and restaurant reservations and provide brochures and information about the National Park and its hikes.
The Retreat has numerous accommodation options, appealing to a range of budgets. There are powered and unpowered camping and caravan sites, a small number of very simple cabins with shared ablutions, the standard eco tents, again utilising several sets of communal ablution facilities, and the deluxe eco tents with individual ensuites. We are (obviously 😀) in the deluxe eco tents (although we had hoped that the newly announced luxury tents would be available by the time of our stay – more on these later).
The sites and accommodations are arranged in a series of loops that fan out from the central reception area. Wattle, Grevillea and Mulga View Loops contain campsites, Bloodwood Loop has the group campsites and basic cabins, Spinifex Loop has a mixture of standard tents and deluxe tents, while the easternmost Snappy Gum Loop is a figure-of-eight arrangement with deluxe tents along its northern arc and standard tents along its southern arc.
Having requested a villa that was distant to reception and as private as possible, we have been allocated tent 30, at the far northeastern corner of the resort. It is indeed one of the most ideal locations within Karijini Eco Retreat – on the outer aspect of the loop road rather than the inner, reasonably well spaced from its neighbours, and with an orientation that means the view from the bed is perfectly aligned with the sunrise. We would definitely recommend villas on Snappy Gum Loop rather than the more crowded Spinifex Loop, with other well placed villas being 29 (a bit more distant from its neighbours, but looking south rather than outwards), 36 (with a similar outlook to ours), 38 and 39 (well spaced from their neighbours with nice outlooks) and 40 (with a great position and a lovely sunrise view).
The Deluxe Tents at Karijini Eco Retreat
The deluxe tents are simple yet stylish. The external design is functional and semi-permanent – a raised metal platform with steel struts, upon which sits an unassuming square canvas tent, shaded by a wide sail-cloth brim. There is a wooden deck at the front and a semi-open fibreglass bathroom tacked on the rear. A large solar hot water system completes the look – unglamorous but a highly appreciated feature.
While not especially beautiful on the outside, within they are comfortable, modern and tasteful. An indulgent king bed occupies prime position, with super-soft cotton sheets and brushed cotton blankets in beige, while the quilt and pillows feature leaf-motifs in black and orange. There are bedside tables in dark metal and wood, while at the foot of the bed, a matching storage chest contains plenty of extra blankets for when the weather turns crisp. There is a small desk, home to necessities such as a thermos, a battery-powered lantern, a torch and water glasses, as well as brochures and a photo-book of Karijini. The floor is timber decking, which over the years has become impregnated with the ever-present red dust of Karijini and which imparts a soft ochre stain on the soles of our feet.
One of the loveliest features of the room are the windows. The canvas walls have expansive openings – a full width door at the front of the tent where it opens on to the deck, and wide windows on both sides, one on the wall behind the bed, and one on the wall opposite. All can be zippered up to close the canvas entirely, or left open (with flyscreens in place) to enhance the feeling of being immersed in the surrounding nature. We certainly left ours fully open for our stay, with incredible views of breath-taking scarlet sunrises from our bed.
There is no air-conditioning and no fan, but at the time of our visit in April, the tents felt well ventilated and comfortable, although admittedly we were never at home in the heat of the day. There are solar powered lights in the main room and the bathroom and a single power-point – we knew this in advance and brought a power-board, and had no issues charging phones, laptops and camera batteries simultaneously. There is Optus mobile phone coverage (but no Telstra coverage at all) so we also brought a small modem to connect our multiple devices, which worked well.
The ensuite bathroom is compact and functional. Entered through a zippered opening in the main tent, it has walls but no ceiling, for open-air bathing under the stars. There is a shower, a modern flush toilet and a sink, and toiletries that are eco-friendly. Showering, with pipingly hot water from the solar hot water system, is often shared with tiny bright green frogs – startling when they first emerge, but harmless, and information in the bathroom highlights that the frogs are a sign of a healthy wastewater system. Soft towels are replenished second-daily.
At the front of the tent is the small wooden deck, furnished with a petite outdoor table and two chairs. It is the perfect place to sit as the sun goes down, with its last golden light shining through the spinifex. As the stars come out in all their glory and the Milky Way brandishes the sky, it is time to head to the eco-retreat’s restaurant for dinner.
The Restaurant at Karijini Eco Retreat
Karijini Eco Retreat has an alfresco restaurant at the heart of the resort, as part of the Reception area hub. It is open for breakfast from 0700 to 0900, lunch from 1200 to 1400 and dinner from 1730 to 2000.
A continental breakfast is included in the room rate for the deluxe eco tents. This includes a simple buffet of cereal, yoghurt, fruit salad, breads and spreads, cheese, ham, salami and urn-based tea and coffee. Barista coffee are available for purchase, and for $14 it is possible to upgrade to the a la carte breakfast menu, which includes old favourites such as eggs benedict, smashed avocado, a “Karijini grill” full breakfast and a breakfast burger.
Lunch can be ordered as a picnic to take-away or as dine-in. Picnic lunches are $35 for two, with each consisting of a wrap (no choice, but chicken on one day that we ordered and ham on another), a muesli bar, a piece of fruit and a bottled water. It is also possible to buy a reusable esky bag in which to pack your lunch for an additional $25.
The lunch time dine-in menu is limited, consisting of burgers (beef or vegetarian), hot dogs, a green salad or Exmouth prawns. But the lack of choice of the menu is irrelevant, as the Exmouth prawns were unexpectedly outstanding – perfectly grilled in their shell and served with a divine native lime aioli.
Dinner at the restaurant is popular, and reservations are encouraged. A range of outback specialties are on offer, expertly prepared by a team of chefs at the open grill – kangaroo loin, barramundi fillet, a curry of prawns and crocodile, chicken and couscous with native spices, pasta with bush tomato and local herbs. Desserts are decadent and a welcome treat after a day of hiking.
Drinks are available with the meals or at the bar, and although there are no mixed drinks or cocktails, there are bottles of red, white, rose and sparkling wine available, as well as a range of beers and premixed drinks.
The Luxury Eco Tents at Karijini Eco Retreat
Hot off the press are the soon to be opened Luxury Eco Tents. Always keen to avail ourselves of the most luxurious options at any destination, we had hoped these would be ready in time for our stay, but unfortunately COVID-related delays meant they weren’t opening for another month. However, we did have the opportunity to check them out in their mostly-completed state.
The three new luxury eco-tents are unashamedly pitched at the high-end travel market, retailing at more than twice the price of a deluxe tent (at the time of their opening in May 2022, $850 per night compared with $380). Included in the package are cooked breakfast for two each morning, a picnic lunch hamper each day, complimentary mini-bar, daily housekeeping and turndown service and a “bush butler” service. To compare this with the deluxe tent, the included continental breakfast can be converted to a cooked breakfast for $14 per person, while the lunch hamper (a wrap, a muesli bar, a piece of fruit and a water) is $60 for 2 in a small re-usable esky bag, with refills costing $35 for 2. Obviously, we cannot comment on the value of the mini-bar, housekeeping service or butler service.
The location of the new luxury tents is somewhat surprising. Knowing that most of the existing deluxe tents are quite close together, we had expected that the luxury tents would capitalise on providing exclusivity, and be in a prime private location. To the contrary, they are actually situated right in the middle of all the other tents, on the central bar of the figure-8 that is Snappy Gum Loop. This means their outlook is actually less desirable than those tents located on the outer aspects of the loop, with views facing south towards other tents. They remain quite close together, and the first of the three is in fact disconcertingly close to the ablution block for the non-ensuite tents. While there must be reasons for this choice of location, rather than perhaps the more obviously salubrious setting of the northern aspect of Snappy Gum Loop, this lack of privacy and space may be a source of disappointment for guests who were expecting a more exclusive experience from their luxury tent.
The tents themselves are a significant step up from the deluxe tents, but remain typical Australian glamping tents (these are not African safari extravaganzas!). In pale khaki canvas on a raised platform, the tents are larger than the deluxe tents, with the main living area measuring approximately 7 metres by 4 metres. At the rear of the tent is a stylish, fully enclosed bathroom, with a frosted glass and dark grey tile shower (non-rainfall – appropriate given the environment), soft-close toilet, wide mirror, a vanity, sink and shelving in pale stone finishes with wood accents, and amenities by Aesop. Adjacent is a small walk-in wardrobe / luggage area. The combined bedroom and living area, at the time unfurnished, has a parquetry floor, an overhead fan, and, notably, an airconditioner. There are wide zippered windows in the canvas on both the left and the right of the main room. The whole tent is fronted by full-width glass sliding doors, which open onto a timber deck, shaded by the overhanging awning
It will be great to see these luxury tents in their finished states, complete with furniture and decorative touches, to see how they compare with the existing deluxe tents. The bathrooms will definitely appeal to many guests – fully enclosed and well appointed, they are much more luxurious than the deluxe tents, and are sure to feature less insects and frogs (an aspect some guests will definitely appreciate)! And while the bedroom and living areas of the deluxe tents are already very nice, we are sure that the new luxury tents will include special touches (such as the aforementioned mini-bar) that sets them at the next level of comfort and indulgence. It is just interesting that their location in the centre of all the other tents reduces their privacy and exclusivity, and means their views of sunrise and sunset will never be quite the same as some of their “lesser” deluxe tent counterparts.
Overall Impressions of Karijini Eco Retreat
Karijini Eco Retreat is by far and away the best accommodation option in the must-visit Karijini National Park. Although not luxurious (even the new “luxury” eco tents), the Eco Retreat is well run and perfectly located within the park, and the deluxe eco tents are comfortable, stylish and functional. It is a very pleasant and relaxing home base from which to explore this amazing corner of Western Australia.
