Pilbara

The Pilbara contains some of the oldest exposed rock on Earth — banded iron formations that were laid down 2.5 billion years ago, before complex life existed, now standing as ridgelines of burnt orange and purple that glow at sunrise like something from another planet. Karijini National Park is built in these ranges, and it is among the most dramatic and least visited natural parks in Australia.

The gorges at Karijini are the point. Water has been cutting through the Hamersley Range for hundreds of millions of years, and the result is a series of slots and chasms that descend through layers of time — orange, purple, grey, gold — to narrow passages where you must swim through cold still water to reach the pools at the bottom. Handrail Pool requires lowering yourself down the rock face on a fixed chain. The effort is quickly forgotten.

The landscape beyond the gorges is equally extraordinary — vast red plains punctuated by termite mounds two metres tall, spinifex grass burning golden in afternoon light, and an emptiness of scale that recalibrates everything. The iron ore mines visible on the horizon are the largest in the world. Karijini Eco Retreat, inside the national park, offers the rare combination of excellent camping and comfortable glamping within walking distance of the gorges.