Purnululu NP (Bungle Bungles) in Eastern Kimberley is one of 4 in Western Australia World Heritage sites. It is listed for its incredible natural beauty and outstanding geological value. Purnululu means “sandstone” in Aboriginal language. It is an amazing place, which was on our bucket list for a long time. Finally, in 2022 we had a chance to visit it. We incorporated the visit there to our Gibb River Road trip.
Driving in Purnululu NP (Bungle Bungles) is an adventure in itself.
Southern walks
We spent 2 full days exploring the park. On the first day we explored the Southern part of the park, which is home to Bungle Bungle Range. This is where you can see amazing orange and black banded beehive-shaped domes. Some of which are as high as 250 meters and are believed to be 360 million years old. You can marvel at the beauty and amazing colours of the domes right from the Piccaninny Car Park.
You can also go for a short walk around the domes to appreciate their incredible size, unique patterns and texture.
The mystery behind the colours of the banding in the domes
The domes’ striking orange and black bands are caused by the presence or absence of the cyanobacteria. Dark bands indicate the presence of the cyanobacteria that form on the outer surface of the rock. This helps to slow down the erosion. The orange bands are oxidized iron compounds that have dried out too quickly for the cyanobacteria to grow.
Helicopter flight over the Bungle Bungle domes
To appreciate the size and beauty of the Bungle Bungle domes we took an afternoon helicopter flight over the range with HeliSpirit. It was a truly unforgettable and rewarding experience to see the whole range from the bird’s eye view and have a closer look at the surface of the range and domes.
Cathedral Gorge
Part of the Bungle Bungle Range in Purnululu National Park is an incredible Cathedral Gorge. A moderate difficulty 2km return walk takes you through the domes, potholes, cliffs and honeycomb rocks to a natural amphitheatre which amplifies every sound and is such a delightful place to be, especially during warm sunny day, as it is very cooling inside.
Northern walks
Kungkalanayi Lookout
Kungkalanayi Lookout is an impressive lookout with 360-degree views of the surrounding land, including parts of the Bungle Bungle range. It is only a short (500 meters) walk from the carpark and a great stop on the way to see the gorges in the northern part of Purnululu National Park.
Echidna Chasm
While the domes are the highlight and one reason for Purnululu’s World Heritage Site listing, Echidna Chasm gorge is the highlight of the northern part of Purnululu park and the second reason for its World Heritage listing. Starting as an easy walk through the gorge, lined with lush green Livistona palms against the striking orange colours of the sandstone, this beautiful trail takes you into 180-meter-deep chasm, cut knife-like into the sandstone.
The best time to be inside Echidna Chasm is between 11 and 12 o’clock when the sun is directly overhead and casts a ray of light deep inside the chasm. The sunlight reflected from the sandstone glows in the striking orange colour in a narrow chasm creating incredible visual effect of lava like pouring through the sky.
Staying at Purnululu National Park
There are many accomodation options at Purnululu NP, ranging from caravan park at the entrance for those who are not able or willing to take a challenging 53km long 4WD road to the park, to tour operated luxury tents, to DPAW managed bush camps within the park.
We stayed at Walardi campground, which is 12km drive from the visitor centre in the southern park of the park (The northern park has its own similar campground). Both campgrounds need to be booked online. There are toilets and non-drinking water at the campground.
The nights in July there were very cold.
Breakfast in Walardi campground, Purnululu National Park.
