Take a boardwalk back in time

Half an hour’s drive from Karratha and covering nearly 5000 hectares of the Burrup Peninsula is Murujuga National Park, where ancient rock engravings that help make up the largest concentration of petroglyphs in the world are etched onto a landscape of steep rocky outcrops, narrow valleys, sea cliffs, sandy shores and mangroves. And thanks to the opening of the $1.3 million Ngajarli Trail in August last year, viewing this astonishing open-air art gallery is now easier than ever for travellers. Developed with guidance and advice from the Murujuga Park Council and Circle of Elders (the park is owned by the Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation, which represents the five Traditional Custodian groups of the area – Ngarluma,Yindjibarndi,Yaburara, Mardudhunera and Woon-goott-oo – collectively known as Ngarda-Ngarli), the new trail will help the rock ar t and its stories become more accessible to the community, while also protecting ancient sites.

The first infrastructure of its type to be built in the national park – which became Australia’s 100th when it was gazetted in 2013 – the 700-metre universal boardwalk running from Ngajarli (Deep Gorge) replaces a rough walking route, following the edge of natural rock piles and providing visitors with ample viewing platforms and interpretative signage that details the cultural importance of the site along the way. Not only will you spy petroglyphs that depict humans and animals including extinct megafauna and even the thylacine (Tasmanian tiger), but also grinding stones and shell middens – which provide tangible links and deep connection for the Ngarda-Ngarli between the events and people of the past and their beliefs today. parks.dpaw.wa.gov.au