Punurrunha Summit (Mt Bruce), Karijini National Park

Karijini National Park features over 500 native flora species, transitioning from spinifex grasslands on the plains to lush ferns, paperbarks, and ghost gums in the deep gorges. The area is home to diverse fauna, including red kangaroos, euros, Rothschild's rock-wallabies, echidnas, over 100 bird species, and numerous reptiles.

The vegetation of the park is heavily adapted to the arid climate, where the dry plateaus and hill slopes are dominated by spinifex grasses, mulga (Acacia aneura) stands, and snapping gums. The deep, shaded gorges support radically different, moisture-loving plants, with dense, tropical vegetation such as ferns and towering paperbark trees. Following rains, the landscape blooms with purple mulla-mullas, Karijini wattle, yellow flowering cassias, and northern bluebells. 

The rugged landscape of the Pilbara provides a critical habitat for a variety of mammals, birds, and reptiles. You will frequently spot red kangaroos and euros out in the open, while Rothschild's rock-wallabies inhabit the rocky gorges. The park also hosts shyer, nocturnal species like the Pilbara ningaui, northern quolls, and echidnas, plus the rare Western pebble-mound mouse that constructs intricate rock piles on stony slopes, unique to the Pilbara region. Over 100 species of birds thrive here. Iconic sightings include the tall, crested spinifex pigeon, wedge-tailed eagles soaring high above the chasms, and vibrant rainbow bee-eaters. A wide variety of lizards and snakes live in the park, including the large sand goanna (bungarra) which can grow up to 1.6 meters, various dragons, and pythons.

A striking highlight of the park are the termite mounds, large dirt structures that are scattered throughout the spinifex grasslands.