Bungle Bungles
Exploring these majestic sandstone domes, banded in striking orange and grey was a major highlight on my bucket list......
TICK! - conquered it!
TICK! - conquered it!
The Bungle Bungles domes are massive rock formations known as conglomerates.
They are over 360million years old, they rise over 200m high, and have been carved into these dome shapes over 20million years - through erosional forces. You must be very careful not to touch the domes as the outer casing of limestone is very fragile, and binds the sandstone within. If the sandstone were to be exposed - erosion will destoy them, especially during wet season .... so no touchy! |
The base of the domes can be explored by walking around a 400m (half hour) loop from the Piccaninny Creek car park. While on the 'domes' loop, you may as well explore the beautiful Cathedral Gorge - as this walk begins halfway along the domes loop.
Cathedral Gorge
A 2km return walk alongside striped sandstone beehives will take you to Cathedral Gorge. You will come across dry creek beds, huge potholes and evidence that waterfalls cascade over the rock faces during wet season. White sandy paths lead you to a massive amphitheatre with weathered honeycombing on the walls. We all enjoyed the age old call "echo - echo - echo" within the gorge. When Cahil dropped a tiny pebble onto the sand within the gorge, it made a tremendous thud! |
Echidna Chasm
A very educational place to take your children... the boys are now experts on Chasms and Gorges. This is one very spectacular place to see - natures forces at work over years of erosion, wind and weather working together to create this massive chasm from a joint/fault in the rock.
It's a very easy walk, although there is a little bit of climbing towards the end of the chasm.
It's a very easy walk, although there is a little bit of climbing towards the end of the chasm.
Camping . . .
There are two campsites you can set up a tent for the night... Kurrajong and Walardi. Kurrajong is located on the north side of Purnululu National Park; and from this camp you can easily drive to Echidna Chasm. We stayed at Walardi camp - located on the south side of the park; and from here you can visit Piccaninny in all its wonder, plus the Bungle Bungle domes and Cathedral Gorge. You must obtain a permit from the visitor information centre... ours set us back approx. $100 for the whole year. You will need this permit at quite a lot of National parks in WA, so if you plan to be in this state for a while... grab the yearly pass - it will save you $.
The road in . . .
To reach the Bungle Bungles you will need to travel along a twisty, windy, heavily corrugated 4WD dirt track for 53kms. Too easy! - NOT!!!
It took us 2.5hrs to travel this short distance and certainly put our Mickey Thompson tyres to the test, as well as our new shockies! I recommend that you tie everything down inside your vehicle as it will all eventually shift during the ongoing vibrations.... also a spew bag might come in handy!
It took us 2.5hrs to travel this short distance and certainly put our Mickey Thompson tyres to the test, as well as our new shockies! I recommend that you tie everything down inside your vehicle as it will all eventually shift during the ongoing vibrations.... also a spew bag might come in handy!
Spring Creek
Only single axle vans and camper trailers are allowed to be towed into the Bungle Bungles. So we left our van along the Great Northern Highway; at a cute little creek side camp - approx. 500m south from the road into the National Park. Absolutely Free!