Bungles Part 1

We left at the Bungle Bungles Caravan Park 7am and it took roughly 1 1/2 hours to reach the information/ranger station within Purnululu National Park. We had already decided to do the northern end first and to then head to our cabin at East Kimberley Tours Bellburn campsite. The walks were not too strenuous and we found them easier than Bell and Manning Gorge walks. The scenery is simply superb including the walks and not just the destination.

We did the Mini Palm Gorge walk first.  The walking guides said to allow 2 to 3 hours for this walk so we figured we would do it while it was still cool and be finished in time for lunch.  Heading off about 9am we walked up the rocky creek bed before gratefully slipping into the shade of the gorge (the sun already had a bite to it) and admiring the palms and sheer cliffs.  The walk ended in a lookout from where you could peer into an out of bounds cave.  We retraced our steps back to the carpark and were surprised (and a little chuffed) to realise we'd done the walk in about an hour and a half and hence it was too early to reward ourselves with lunch and time for another walk.

Mini Palm Gorge

Onto Echidna Gorge walk. Didn't see any spiky critters. Apparently most of the gorges are named from what they look like from the air. That was from the chopper pilot as we wouldn't have a clue.  Both walks entail walking up dry creek beds and over lots of pebbles/rocks.  Fairly hard work on the ankles and too much for Jenny's hiking boots which finally gave up the ghost.  They've covered a fair few kilometres over the years through dirt, sand, ice and snow but the riverbeds were just too much for them.  Luckily Larry had packed a spare pair of runners in the car so Jenny took over Larry's pre-warmed hiking boots and Larry tackled the walks in his runners (as did many others it must be said).  No further calamities for the hiking party and Larry has scored maximum brownie points!

After lunch we headed to the airstrip at Bellburn and enquired about a chopper ride. They were quiet this afternoon so we waited for about 10 minutes and the chopper returned and we got on for a 30 minute flight for just the two of us (oh, and Adrian the pilot of course!). The Bungles are a sight to see from the air and as it gives a different perspective from the ground it made us appreciate more what we were looking at when on the ground. Definitely recommend it to any who travels here.  Just make sure your seat belt is well and truly fastened as there are no doors on the side and when Adrian went round a bend it was all Jenny could do not to grab the side of the helicopter and look like a softy.  Instead, she handled the corners like a pro AND managed not to drop her phone out the side at the same time!

We spent a comfortable night in a cabin at East Kimberley Tours Bush Camp.  Larry had convinced Jenny to stay here instead of a $15 KMart tent in the campground and it must be said that it was a wise move.  We arrived there mid afternoon and had a dip in the swimming pool (not a fully submerged kind of dip, but a dunk your foot in and go "Bloody hell, that's cold" kind of dip) and then lazed by the edge of the pool for a while before returning to our verandah for drinkies and cheese and bikkies.  The EKT bus turned up with a mob of sheep, sorry passengers, and they all disappeared off to their cabins to get changed and then headed up to the dining area for their allocated meal which left the cabins and BBQ area clear for us to cook our sausages and buns under the stars and then ate them watching the enormous red moon rise.

Back to the cabin where we managed to stay awake til 8pm before succumbing to sleep.  Whilst the cabin had been a ferocious 30 something degrees when we had first entered it this afternoon, once the sun dropped so did the temperature and we made full use of all the doonas and blankets provided.