Bungle Bungles (By Simon)

Leaving the Gibb River Road we drove into civilization (Kununurra) with both man and machine looking very well travelled. However, there was no time to clean up as we only planned to stock up on supplies and then head right back out of town and travel to the Bungle Bungles.

After stocking up and having a quick lunch on the shores of lake Kununurra we headed south to Purnululu National Park, the home of the Bungle Bungles. The drive along the Great Northern Highway was very scenic, weaving it's way though the rocky ranges and across dry river beds. Along the way we saw a lot of cattle and much to the delight of Liz and the girls, a lot of brumbies.

Based on reports that the 57km unsealed road leading from the highway into the Bungle Bungles was very rough we decided to stay at a free camp just off the highway and take only the car into the park the next day (we figured the camper had seen enough corrugations). Seems a lot of people do this as the free camp was packed when we arrived.

The next day we set off at 6:30am. True to reports the road was very rough with many twists and turns and water crossings. It took us about 90 minutes to complete the 57km (we were glad to have left the camper back at the highway camp).

After having breakfast we explored the south loop first and hiked into the iconic Bungle Bungle Domes,  Piccaninny Creek Lookout and Cathedral Gorge.

As we walked up the narrow gorge to the Cathedral we could hear the haunting echo of someone singing. We hurried along and when we arrived a lady was in full voice singing opera which sounded fantastic.

We then headed to the north loop where we hiked into Echidna Chasm. This hike follows a dry creek bed and soon enters a canyon which narrows to shoulder width.

We hadn't originally planned to visit the Bungle Bungles but we are glad we did. Having come so far, it would not have been right to skip this amazing place.


Travel Log:
Kununurra to Bungles: ~250 km
Total Trip: 11,337  km