Welcome to the final episode of our little Winter jaunt through the north-western corner of the Northern Territory north eastern Kimberley region of Western Australia. This time, Purnululu National Park.
Links to the previous episodes are stuck below if you’ve missed anything.
We returned to Kununurra for a couple of nights while we refreshed, restocked and re-booted as a result of our week or so in the Northern Territory. Both the rental Land Cruiser and the Team Uncle Navara needed new boots plus Team Uncle wanted an auto electrical check due to some second battery charging issues. The Cruiser also scored a replacement aerial for the UHF radio because the original had been reduced to a stump at some point by corrugations.
We spent both nights eating at The Pumphouse restaurant which is set on the shores of Lake Kununurra. It is surrounded by lights which shine on the water and attract numerous fish, especially a catfish known locally as Cobbler plus a few Archer Fish (the ones that shoot insects out of the air with a jet of water). The fish and the prospect of scraps ‘falling’ out of the restaurant also attracts the odd freshwater crocodile. The Lad was only too happy to assist with ‘falling’ scraps of the cooked barramundi carcass that he’d just flensed…on both nights!
New boots, new tyres, more booze, more food, more fuel…more more really…and we were on our way west out of Kununurra towards Purnululu. It would take us about three hours to get to the head of the entry trail 253 kilometres away and about the same again to do the 53 kilometre trail itself. On the way we stopped at Doon Doon Roadhouse for an ice cream (and to check our wheel nuts, good thing too) and Warmun for lunch. Warmun Roadhouse was (as the closest fuel to Purnululu) quite busy.
Then it was another 50 kilometres down to the entry trackhead. The other teams aired down whilst we were quite comfortable with our 40 psi and we were on our way with the Cruiser leading and spotting.
The entry track into Purnululu is the stuff of many many stories. It’s not difficult or technical but it is rough, windy, narrow and very busy. It also requires a number of water crossings, many of them with steep entry and exits. It is very doable in a conventional vehicle…if the conditions are right. And the crux move on the track happens very early when it crosses the Ord River. This crossing claims many victims each year as punters try to get their conventional vehicles and soft roaders across this deepish and rocky double crossing. Numerous spectators and the odd plastic bumper lying about stood testament to this. We also knew a Subaru had been drowned here the week before.
As we rocked up there was someone in the crossing so we got to see where the path was. We’d already been told to keep right on the first section anyway so we plunged right in and trudged across. A couple of mid stream bumps was it and the water was barely sill deep. We pulled up to call the others through, took a very quick photo and kept on going.
The track lived up to memory – rough, windy, steep, narrow, spectacular and populated by the occasional idiot. The oncoming tourist trucks always proved a challenge to accommodate when they wanted to pass but their experience showed. Other drivers…not so much. We spent our time staring at the road, the scenery, the bumps, complaining about the corrugations, warning the rest of our team of upcoming and oncoming hazards (“watch out for the lunatic in the grey Discovery!”) until we finally arrived at the entry station where we could collect our pre-booked camping permits and whatever info we could find. Then we headed north up to Kurrajong Camp to find a spot and recover from the drive.
The plan was to spend the morning of next day round the other side of the massif at the beehive domes and then book some helicopter flights before coming back to camp for the hotter part of the day. That’s what we did. The Lad and the Lady got their first on-ground looks at the much vaunted beehive domes on the eastern side of the massif and we did the first short walk that introduces everyone to the area and its spectacular geology. This little wander takes punters around one of the domes and an offshoot takes one up one of the smaller side gorges that cut deep into the sandstone. As a result of a slow start and stopping off to book helicopter flights for the coming days, we were a bit late getting in and the heat of the day was catching up with us. So this was a far as we got…this time.
A little note to readers at this point – most of the photos here were taken on a couple of mobile phones and a broken DSLR. So they aren’t the best. Even so…the scale of this place is massive. And desperately hard to capture well unless you possess both photographic skills and the singlemindedness to use them. If you’d like a better look then my suggestion is to go there yourself!!
The later part of the afternoon was spent at a lookout on the western side of the massif chasing, largely unsuccessfully, sunset colours.
The following morning we were back round at the beehives and gunning for Cathedral Gorge. This is the walk that everyone who is physically capable in any tour group is dragged along into by their guide, sometimes accompanied by a didgeridoo. It’s a straightforward plod along the dry creek bed before a left turn into an increasingly narrow gap in the domes creates a narrow rocky gorge. A short scramble and you enter…a space. A massive sandy floor dominated by a broad shallow pool of water over which looms three domes that have been massively undercut to form this incredible curved partial roof.
Fortunately, we were there early enough to have the space almost to ourselves.
As before, we returned to camp for the warmest part of the day before heading out again. This time, the three of us set out alone northwards on the western side for Echidna Chasm. The western side of the Bungle Bungle Massif is very different from the eastern side. It’s still sandstone but it is harder and chock full of conglomerate. It doesn’t form domes…it makes cliffs. And the water off the massif cuts deep slots in the rock like Echidna Chasm. We explored the full length of this lovely spot before the setting sun stole our light. On the run back from the Chasm we noted a spot called Stonehenge that seemed to hold good potential as a spot to watch sunset on rocks…
The next day it was back to the eastern side and those beehives, this time just we three and Grammie. We were walking out past Cathedral Gorge along Piccaninny Creek to another gorge called Whipsnake Gorge. This would give us the best look at the geology yet.
The entire place is made of very soft and very white sandstone. The sandstone’s high iron content means that, where erosion is slow, the rock ‘rusts’ to a rich red colour. The banding on the rock is created by cyanobacteria that colonise the rock in seemingly random profiles. There are numerous theories as to why the cyanobacteria prefer a banding arrangement but no-one seems to know exactly why. The Wet Season rains do the rest, sculpting the rock and carrying the sand off onto the plain.
Whip Snake Gorge is smaller and plainer than Cathedral Gorge but no less spectacular given it affords a really close look at the domes. We were also lucky to spot an actual Common Whip Snake on our way into the gorge. Unfortunately, it had been attacked and damaged by something. It was out in the open and on hot rock and was clearly in trouble. We found it again after we left the canyon, dead and already set upon by scavenging ants.
The late afternoon was spent with beer, chips and other delicacies watching the effect of sunset on red rock round at Stonehenge. Very fine.
Next morning…helicopters!! We three scored a 42 minute long doors off helicopter ride in a four seater Robinson chopper. Honestly, words can’t describe the experience. However, if you ever get the opportunity then do it. The Lad thought it great fun! Word of warning though…don’t leave your camera in your pocket when you take off. I nearly lost my phone over the desert trying to get it out of my pocket without sticking my arm into the air roaring past the open cockpit.
We were back at Echidna Chasm in the evening, this time with Team Uncle and Grammie. We were showing the joint off whilst Uncle, The Lad and I had hatched a plan to wait in the Chasm until after dark and then come out under torchlight to see what we could spot (we were hoping for snakes and small mammals). No snakes unfortunately but numerous green tree frogs, the odd feral cane toad (which were carefully and humanely destroyed) and, wonderfully, quite a few colonies of northern freetail bats. We also spotted a dingo in the headlights on the drive back to camp!
And that was it. That was Purnululu. The next day saw us trundle back out of the stone along the entry trail and back into civilisation. The day after that we were back on the plane and sent thousands of kilometres southwards back into the proper winter of temperate Australia, all frosts and fog and snot. And planning our next wandering about…
Thanks for reading!!