After leaving Home Valley it wasn’t long before our wheels hit the bitumen. I’m sure all four of them were very relieved but for the us on board it signalled a hiatus in the adventure. Straight ahead would have taken us to Kununurra but that held no attraction for us. We turned right onto the Great Northern Highway. The scenery is impressive but the country is drier than along the Gibb River Road. A couple of hours later we turned left to head for the Bungle Bungles in Purnululu National Park.
The park is open between April and December 15 provided the weather permits. The road in is moderately rugged. There are a few river crossings along its 50 km. It is not suitable for two wheel drive vehicles or caravans.The longtitudinal chassis members on this camper had fractured …
Had they made it in they would have had two camping areas to choose from, the one to the south (Walardi) is closer to the more spectacular beehive formations, the larger northern site (Kurrajong) is handy for the Echidna Chasm. The distance between the camps is not great. Either could serve as a base for both areas.
The Bungles are not only hard on camper vans, this is a place where you could easily wear out your camera …
The distinctive beehive-shaped towers of the Bungle Bungles are made up of sandstones and conglomerates that were deposited into the Ord Basin 375 to 350 million years ago. Uplift and erosion in more recent times (the last 20 million years) have produced what we see today. The horizontal bands are alternating layers that are more and less porous. Where the water penetrates algae can grow and produce a dark colour, the red bands are due to a covering of iron and manganese oxides.
There are short walks but for the more active let me recommend Whipsnake Gorge in the south and Echidna Chasm in the north. The light is best early and late, go extra early and beat the crowds. Carry water.
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bobmcgee 