Heavy industry is one of the reasons Karratha, a small coastal city in the Pilbara, isn’t established on the tourism map—even though the region has incredible cultural significance and natural beauty. The Pilbara includes the Dampier Archipelago, a group of 42 islands and islets, whose glittering waters are visited by pods of dolphins and breaching whales. Recent seabed investigations have revealed underwater archaeological sites, including stone artefacts and rock art submerged off the Pilbara’s coastline.
An hour from Murujuga, we visit Millstream Chichester National Park, where Walker shows us deep gorges and cavernous swimming holes. He points out the feathery Australian native lilac flower, called Mulla Mulla, and the red desert pea, bush tomato and samphire, an edible saltwater plant.
Without Walker, we would never know the many ways Indigenous Australians connect with and honour this land, from braiding grass shoots to digging into the earth with his hands, to create a soak that filters and purifies water.