Hiking Burringurrah, Mt Augustus National Park, WA

We were incredibly excited to attempt and complete the pre-sunrise hike to the summit of the massive inselberg that is Burringurrah (Mt Augustus) and to explore the surrounding area. Our trip to Mt Augustus from Kennedy Ranges required a long 400km detour due to flooding of the Gascoyne and Lyons rivers. The traditional owners of Burringurrah (Mount Augustus) are the Wajarri people. The big trail: Mt Augustus Summit: Class 5, 12.5 km return trail to the 717m summit, requires 5-8 hrs return to complete. Forecast temperatures were in the high 30's (deg C) so an early 4:30am start was required to drive to the start trail by 5:45am, and required hiking by head-torch until the sun rose. The trail cannot be commenced after 7am, and is closed completely in the hotter summer months (Nov-Feb). Short trails around the Mt Augustus National Park: Flintstone Rock Trail: Class 3, 650m return, 30 minutes Cattle Pool waterhole (drive) Mundee Trail: Class 3, 200m return, 15-30 minutes Ooramboo Trail: Class 3, 500m return, 60 minutes 0:00 Sign "The largest rock in the world" (more than 2x size of the better known Uluru) 0:15 Location and summit trail details 0:28 Walking by head-light 0:39 The rocky path later after sun up 0:53 Distant hills to the southwest of Mt Augustus 1:16 Many "false" summits that are actually only saddles 1:42 Long low-level ridgeline to the north of Mt Augustus 1:50 Friends at the top before us, rock cairn at the summit 2:12 The return, now walking in bright sunlight 3:29 Rocky path 3:47 Flannel bush (native, Solanum) 4:11 Enjoying a rest in the shade of an overhang 5:36 Flintstone Rock Trail, petroglyphs 6:12 Cattle Pool waterhole, Bee fly (Bombyliidae) on Mount Augustus wattle (Acacia petricola) 6:32 Mundee and Ooramboo Trails, Slater's (?) Ring-tailed Dragon (or bicycle dragon) 6:44 Mundee petroglyphs, site significant to the Wajarri people 7:44 Ooramboo, Wajarri stockman's camp, petroglyphs 8:39 Pilbara rock monitor (Varanus) or goanna 8:53 Ooramboo waterhole, white-barked river red gums (Eucalyptus) 9:48 Young calf in the Mt Augustus camp ground Share the experience as we capture the essence of hiking trails and travel as we camp around Australia, non-narrated. Recorded April 2023.