Purnululu National Park

Purnululu NP is a couple of hundred km South of Kununurra, and the home of the Bungle Bungle Ranges. Apparently the latest Qantas ad was shot in the Bungle Bungles, we haven't seen it yet as we still don't have a TV. It's on the must see list (the range, not the ad) for all visitors to this area, but is quite hard to get to as the 52 km access road is apparently very rough and doesn't cope with caravans. After much discussion we decided to fly down for an overnight stay. This gave us the spectacular scenic flight down and back, 2 days of guided walking, plus a night at a private 'eco-lodge', in this case run by APT tours. The downside was the cost, nearly half our usual monthly budget, but every now and then you just have to throw caution to the winds.


We were picked up outside our caravan park at 8:30am on Saturday and taken to the Kununurra airport. There were plenty of people also taking flights, around half a dozen planes worth, ranging from 10 seaters down to our 7 seater (including the pilot). We had to tell them how much we weighed when we checked in, and John being the heaviest was pointed to the seat next to the pilot. The 2 other couples took the 2 rows behind and Wendy was left with the dicky seat at the back, with her knees up under her chin. The flight down was terrific, over Lake Argyle (created by the Ord River Scheme), across a huge cattle station and over the spectacular Bungle Bungle Ranges. Unfortunately it was rather windy, so by the time we arrived an hour later we were both feeling happy to get our feet back on terra firma.


We were met by the tour guide and loaded into our 15 seat 4-wd bus. We were the last to board, and Wendy found there was only 1 seat left, so John sat up front next to the driver - once again getting the best seat in the house. The rest of Saturday was spent walking up several gorges and through the famous spectacular domed geological wonders. The walk wasn't particularly difficult, although the people who had only recently arrived in the Top End struggled a bit with the 32 degree sunshine. If you haven't seen photos of the Bungle Bungles before, the first one above shows a classic vista of the domes. We had been provided with boxed lunches which we ate during the walk, in a spectacular natural amphitheatre.


After the walk we were taken to the eco-lodge, where we were surprised to discover that almost all the people who had flown up that morning were returning back to Kununurra. Most of the people who stay at the lodge are customers on longer tours the company does of the Kimberley or of Northern Australia, this being just one of the stops made by their tour group. When we had booked the trip we had been told they only had twin rooms left, but there must have been a miscommunication because we were actually given a king size bed in a superior class room, despite having paid for a standard twin room. We didn't complain, for a tent it was very luxurious! The real treat for us caravanners was the ensuite bathroom, so we luxuriated in hot showers before heading back to the communal area for a very nice 3 course dinner. Everyone was tired after the day's walking and lights were out all over camp by 8:30!


Next morning we were up fairly early for a sumptuous cooked breakfast, as we had been told it would be an 8:00 start to get to the Northern end of the park for that day's walking. We had the same guide as the previous day, but surprise, surprise we were the only customers on that walk. So we had a private tour of some of the most spectacular walking we have ever done. This part of the NP doesn't have the same dome formations of the more famous Southern end, but we walked up several stunning canyons, with incredible red walls glowing in the sunlight. At times they were so narrow that there were fallen rocks wedged just above the trail (see photo below) - you didn't want to spend too long underneath them looking up as they could have continued their journey at any time! This day's walking was a lot tougher than the first, which is probably why fewer people do it, but it was just an incredible experience. The guide was obviously used to people who walk a lot slower than us, he had indicated that of the 2 possible lookouts we may get to one of them, but we did both lookouts and were still back at the lodge for afternoon tea an hour before we had to get back to the airport for the return flight to Kununurra.


Once we did get to the airport, we found that we were on the same plane as the flight up the previous day, with the same pilot. There were only 4 of us on the flight this time, and the pilot said that the weight distribution wasn't as important, so asked who wanted to sit next to him. Before the other couple had a chance to open their mouths Wendy leapt forward waving her hand and shouting 'pick me, pick me!'. It was an absolutely spectacular experience (I know we seem to be overusing this word, but it is just so appropriate to the whole trip). The wind had died away and instead of heading straight over the mountains as apparently the flight usually goes, the pilot dropped down to barely more than 1,000 feet and flew next to the mountains along the Western shore of Lake Argyle. The other 2 planes that took off at the same time took the same route, and it was just magic to see them seemingly hanging in the air against the mountains. If you expand the last photo below and look very, very hard at the top left corner you'll see one of the other planes against the watery backdrop.


All in all it was a wonderful weekend, and we are very glad we made the decision to go.