We made our way back to Kununurra and replenished the food and fuel supplies (having filled up with as much water as we could at Lake Argyle). We caught up with some friends at the wonderful library, before dragging the kids back into the car and rolling out of town. It was well after lunch by the time we got away, and we camped near the Bow River, far enough off the road to feel like we were alone in the world. I feared being on the main highway we would be kept up all night with road trains rolling on through, but only one truck was to disturb our peace.
Bow River campsite
Having made such a great run down the road the previous day, we took a while to get going in the morning. Making the most of unexpected phone signal, we even managed to connect via Skype to North America. The joys of modern technology - you have to try really hard now to get away from it all!
We let some air out of the tyres at the turn off to our campsite. It was some 50km off the main road along a corrugated and rough track to the entrance of the Purnululu National Park. The drive in was incredibly picturesque as we approached the Osmand Ranges, but the real highlight was coming through a small pass and seeing the Bungle Bungle Range open up before us.
An ancient riverbed, the Bungle Bungle Range is some 360 million years old. The river system that deposited the huge conglomerates and sandstone beds up to a kilometre thick in places eroded an absolutely massive mountain range. The bones of the Osmand Ranges is all that is left of the older mountains, but in the last 20 million years or so, erosion has finally exposed the old river bed that is the Bungle Bungles and carved it into its captivating shapes.
We set up camp and enjoyed a leisurely afternoon, before getting up early the following morning and heading to the northern section of the park. Our first walk was Homestead Valley, named for a former homestead that was reputed to be in the valley. It was a 4.4km walk, and we appreciated doing it in the cool of the morning. The blue of the sky contrasted vividly with the red of the sandstone / conglomerate and the green of the spinifex in a way that our cameras cannot hope to replicate. It was beautiful.
Our next walk was the nearby Echidna Chasm. This narrow canyon formed on a fault line is around 180 metres deep. We timed our walk just before midday, when the light briefly enters the chasm. Somehow we managed to time our walk in between two bus loads of tourists, so almost had the place to ourselves.
Heading into Echidna Chasm
Whilst Jo was snapping away with the SLR camera, I tried to capture a few moments on the iPhone. As with most poor light conditions it really didn't do a great job, but the panorama shots should give you some idea of the incredible nature of the space. It is one of those places you really have to see to get a sense of what it is all about.
Purnululu National Park was established in 1987, and is managed in a partnership with the local indigenous people. One gets the impression that this is a tenuous relationship, and that tourists are only begrudgingly accepted here. All over the park you are warned to stay on formed trails and to not interfere with sacred sites. I get the feeling that this park has so much more to offer as a place of reconciliation and understanding, but it seems that the current thinking is to keep the tourists to defined trails only and not share anything about the heritage of this area.
Thankfully my impression was partly reversed with a 500 metre walk that revealed traditional uses for native plants. Many species were shown and their uses either as a food or traditional medicine explained. It was well put together but I fear not as well frequented as the main tourist hot spots.
The next morning of our adventure dawned and we made our way to the southern part of the park. This area is where the iconic banded 'bee hive' domes can be found, and we were not disappointed.
We first walked the 700 metre Domes Walk, before continuing to Piccaninny Creek Lookout. We were rewarded with fantastic views of the dome shaped mounds, in the beautiful morning light. This part of the park was the ancient downstream section - evidenced by the finer sandstone and conglomerate. The red colour is the iron oxide in the sand rusting, whilst the darker bands are cyanobacteria
Boys check out the view from Piccaninny Creek Lookout
We finally made our way to Cathedral Gorge. We walked into a beautiful massive gorge that literally took our breath away. It is an incredibly spiritual place, and as we arrived, a lady was singing with remarkable talent. All of us simply walked in and silently sat in that magnificent place.
The boys silently sat - for the first time - ever
We sat in this amphitheatre for a long while. The singing lady left not long after we arrived. We were extremely lucky to have Cathedral Gorge all to ourselves for about 15 minutes before another group of people arrived. No photos will ever do this place justice, you simply have to come here and not just see it but relax and become immersed in its magnificence.
After our high expectations hadn't been met in the Kimberley, we weren't sure Purnululu would live up to the hype. It did, and blew us away.
We packed up and rattled back to the highway, and started making tracks south. Our next leg is one of the longest shortcuts in the world - but also one of the toughest. As it turned out, we were lucky to make it! You can read about how we nearly failed to cross the Tanami here: http://project2014australia.blogspot.com.au/2014/07/tanami-or-when-we-nearly-lost-it-all.html
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