WORDS & PICS CHRIS WHITELAW
Purnululu NP, WA
The remote and iconic Bungle Bungle Range is a wonder to behold.
L
ying deep in the East Kimberley
region, Purnululu National Park
protects one of the world’s most
remarkable natural wonders – the
tiger-striped, beehive-shaped rock domes
of the Bungle Bungle Range. Though just
300km south of Kununurra and barely
50km from the Great Northern Highway,
this dramatic geological formation
remained virtually unknown to all but the
local Aboriginal people and a handful of
pastoralists until it was revealed in a 1983
television documentary, filmed mainly
from the air. Since then it has become
an icon of the Australian outback, hailed
internationally for its unrivalled splendour,
attracting nearly 50,000 visitors annually.
For sightseeing purposes, Purnululu
NP can be divided into a northern and a
southern section, each featuring several
walks and a lookout that are quite
different in character.
In the north, start with Mini Palms
Gorge, a moderately challenging 5km
walk, which sets out along a stony creek
bed before entering a narrow defile
bounded by sheer cliffs. Echidna Chasm
lies 10km further north and is one of
the real highlights of the park. This 2km
walk traces a sinuous path through a
narrow cleft bounded by 200m-high cliffs
that block out the sun, except for a brief
window in the middle of the day.
On the other side of the valley, an easy
10-minute walk leads to the Walanginjdji
Sunset Lookout with a 360-degree view
of the western escarpment of the Bungle
Bungle Massif.
The Piccaninny Creek carpark is the
starting point for a number of walks into
the southern section of the park. The first
of these is the Domes Walk, an easy 1km
circuit among the famous tiger-striped
‘beehive’ domes.
At the end of the loop, the Piccaninny
Creek Walk branches northward on one
of the most beautiful and rewarding
excursions in the park, along a dry
sandstone watercourse that has been
scoured bare and deeply rutted by
millennia of wet season torrents.
Next to the domes, The Cathedral
is arguably the most impressive of all
the park’s natural marvels, and one of
the easiest to reach. About 3km from
the carpark, follow the sandy creek
bed into Cathedral Gorge, a sinuous
canyon between shadowy cliffs that loom
higher and steeper to a terminus in a
spectacular 100m-high cavern.
FASTFACTS
GETTING THERE
Purnululu NP is about 200km south
of Kununurra. The access road turns
off the Great Northern Highway 55km
south of Warmun.
ACTIVITIES
Camping in the East Kimberley
savannah, sightseeing around spectacular
geological formations, remote bushwalking.
STAY
Camping is available within the
park at public and commercial
campgrounds and outside the park at
the Bungle Bungle Caravan Park
(www.bunglebunglecaravanpark.com.au).
MORE INFORMATION
www.parks.dpaw.wa.gov.au/park/
purnululu
ADVENTURES
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