11TH JUNE 2013 – BUNGLE BUNGLES, KIMBERLEY, WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Up early to leave at 7.30am as we have a big day driving into the amazing area of the Bungle Bungles in the Purnululu National Park, leaving the van behind at Spring Creek with other vanners. I’m sure most of you will have seen photos of them in all the Aussie tourism brochures? (Large sandstone domes of orange & grey horizontal bands). It has been a tourist destination since 1983 & gained World Heritage status in 2003. It is estimated to be approximately 360 million years old, rises over 200 metres & was formed during the Devonian age, which means it was originally under the ocean. It has taken about 20million years of erosion to carve the domes out as they are today. The grey banding is formed by cyanobacteria & the orange is the result of oxidised iron compounds within the layers. All this makes for an amazing formation which is only open from April to early December dependent on weather conditions. Access is only granted to 4WD vehicles. It is possible to camp with a tent or camper trailer in basic campsites with water & toilets, but impossible to take a caravan. Naturally there are several tours available, either by fixed wing plane, helicopter, or big offroad bus. Our ex pat kiwi friends did the fixed wing & loved it – $175 each for 30 minutes.. Would be fantastic to see but we like to get in amongst things ourselves. With the usual cloudless blue sky we travel 100kms of extremely rocky, corrugated, dusty road & the first really bendy road we have been on as well. I think Stu is going to join the next rally at Paparoa as he did really well with six creek crossings to boot. We have learnt by now that it’s not always a good idea to go too slow on these sort of roads, so Stu had let our tyres down to about 24psi instead of 40 which apparently helps not to get a blowout & is also a bit more comfortable, & travelled at a reasonable speed for the conditions. All quite adventurous for a couple of seniors! The scenery was quite nice & by the time we arrived at the National Park the temperature was about 27deg. Another couple we have become friendly with followed in their own 4WD – far enough back not to eat too much of our dust.

Entering Echidna Chasm

Echidna Chasm

Echidna Chasm

 The first attraction was Echidna Chasm which is another 20kms from the Visitor Centre. There is a two km walk trail through a spectacular long chasm with livistonia palms, & striking colour variations dependent on the angle of the sun beaming into the chasm from the 200mtr high ridges above. Great for photography! Nearby we did the short walk to Osmond Lookout, which takes in the grandeur of the Osmand Range & Red Rock Creek. No time to waste though, so it was off to the other end of the park, another 50km drive. By this stage we hadn’t actually seen any domes & were becoming worried that they were not going to come up to expectations.

Wattles and Ranges

Bungle Bungle Domes



Carpark in Bungle Bungles

  Thankfully we were wrong & they really are a great sight & we were able to wander on a trail among them. My photos don’t do them justice but they really do look like the advertised photos. After lunch with our friends in the shade of the supplied gazebos it was off to Cathedral Gorge, a very lovely cavern with pools & like a large ampitheatre with honeycomb weathering on the walls. Now in the 30’s so we were glad to sit & relax in the lovely cool atmosphere provided in there, with the looming cliffs & evidence of waterfalls which must cascade down the walls during the wet season. It had been a great day but we had to make sure we got back over the road & creek crossings before dark, & it proved be a slow journey due to a very slow vehicle in front & there is no place to pass. Of course we had to stay well back to avoid his dust & our friends well back behind us to avoid ours. To make matters worse there was a grader working on a very bad corner & what a mess it was, so that held us up as well. However all was well & it was back to a lovely cold drink & a nice cool shower & early to bed.

On our way out of Bungle Bungles