Thomas Family Road Trip: Bungle Bungles (18/5/12

Up bright and early (surprise, surprise!) and on the road by 6.45am. A 230 kilometre drive south west on the highway takes us to the Bungle Bungle Caravan Park, located on Mabel Downs Station, which borders the Purnululu National Park, home of the the Bungle Bungles. We unhook the van, plug into power and leave it behind. Then our adventure begins!

The national park covers an area of 239,723 hectares. The Bungle Bungle Range covers 45,000 hectares of the park. The national park was originally part of Mabel Downs Station. In the early 1980's some land was taken off the lease to create the national park and opened as a national park in 1983. The national park was world heritage listed in 2003 for two main reasons - the area's natural beauty and it's outstanding geological value.

After 1 hour and 20 minutes, 50 kilometres of gravel, dust, hills, rock, corrugation, sand and seventeen creek/river crossings we arrived at the Purnululu National Park Visitor Centre. The drive in was so much better than we expected. A further 7 kilometres and we arrived at our campground for the night, Kurrajong campground. Again we were surprised at how nice it was - heaps of freshly mowed grass sites and the nicest "drop" toilets we have seen (there has been a few!). We set up our mozzie tent, which was our accommodation for the night. The kids were SO SO excited to be sleeping in a tent with only fly screen between us and outside and to try out their new sleeping bags! They had been looking forward to this all holiday.

Once set up we set off toward the first of our walks, Echidna Chasm, in the northern end of the park, 13 kilometres and two river crossings away. Echidna Chasm is a narrow passage where millions of years of erosion have washed a valley in the sandstone formations which gets narrower and narrower the further you walk in. The sandstone walls contained lots of rounded stones. It was a very unique formation and just beautiful with the sun shining on the red rock. A one kilometre walk took us through the chasm to the end. Whilst the walk was relatively flat, the track was loose smooth rocks, making it quite a difficult walk. On the walk back we detoured to a lookout with a view of the Osmand Range.

We watched the sunset from Kungkalanay Lookout, 4 kilometres from the campground. The colours were just divine, even though we got there a little bit late.

Given it was dark before six and quite chilly (we were not used to the cold!), we all had an early night, with the kids asleep just after six!! What a view from bed - a beautiful clear sky with thousands of stars. Just divine! The next best thing was the kids slept in, despite it being light not long after five.

After brekky and pack up we drove 34 kilometres and crossed three creek crossings to Piccaninny Creek carpark, in the southern end of the park. From here we did The Dome walk, an easy one kilometre loop walk, taking us past banded domes towering above us. The domes being what you would imagine the Bungle Bungles to look like. The kids were fascinated by some termite mounds built on top of the mounds - a very long way up. The sun on the rock provided a stunning sight. At the end there was a small stagnant waterhole that the kids enjoyed throwing rocks into with some other kids.

A further one and a half kilometre walk took us to Cathederal Gorge. WOW! We thought the Dome walk was good, well it had nothing on this! The walk took us past hundreds of striped domes, through dry river beds, past some small waterholes and into a spectacular amphitheater with a small waterhole. The rock formations, sunlight and reflection off the water was incredible. Such a peaceful spot.

Heading back toward the carpark, we took a detour along the start of the Piccaninny Gorge walk to a lookout. We are so glad we did - what a view. More beautiful beehive banded domes. The extra 1.6 kilometre walk was well worth it. The walk along the gorge was gorgeous - we were walking on solid, smooth rock. Plus it had lots of holes along it which the kids enjoyed hiding in. We decided not to do the entire Piccaninny Gorge walk as it was a difficult 10 kilometres. Chloe and Ben's legs had already had enough!

Once back to the car we started our drive back to the caravan park. For some reason the 50 kilometre track seemed rougher on the way back. We stopped on the bank of the last and widest river crossing not far from the caravan park. The kids had a play in the water, we ate lunch and soaked up the view. Two brolgas even decided to make an appearance!

We ended the afternoon with a helicopter flight from the caravan park, over Mabel Downs Station and over the Bungle Bungles. The Bungle Bungles looked just as magnificent from the air as they did from the ground and what a view. The flight itself was an experience, especially as the doors were off. It was a new experience for Donna, Chloe and Ben, having never been in a helicopter before. We all loved it and Simon finally got his 40th birthday present from Donna and the kids (& they got to tag along!). A free home cooked outback dinner at the caravan park ended the day very nicely.

A perfect end to two amazing days. What an experience we have had - a truly magical part of Australia. A definite highlight.

The Bungle Bungles are a photographer's paradise. Simon was in heaven. In fact it was the first time the memory card was filled up in one day!