Tag: Gujida

Along Carnavon Mullewa Road in Gascoyne Murchison

We used Carnavon Mullewa Road driving from Mount Augustus back home to Perth and we enjoyed exploring so many hidden gems along the way. The section of the road (from Glenburgh) down to Mullewa is nealy 400km. It is mostly unsealed, quite well maintained, with some occasional traffic. The best thing about this road is that it provides a true outback experience with some interesting things and places to explore, picturesque landscapes, beautiful wildflowers to admire and free camps along the way to stay for the night.

Occasionally, there are river crossings. We stopped in front of it, trying to decide how deep the water was.

There was no way to go around the water hole and we were not turning back, so the only way was to drive through! Driving in the outback on unsealed roads is a real adventure!

One of the crossings on Carnavon Mullewa Road

Bilung pool

The first place where we stopped was Bilung Pool. Located 150km north of Murchison on Carnavon Mullewa unsealed road, this place is not to be missed. We stopped by to admire the beauty of this natural water hole carved by the Wooramel River. A place of respite for drovers and their cattle in the old days, it is now a nice picnic or a free overnight camping spot. It is also rich in Aboriginal history. The Wajarri name for Bilung Pool is Birlungardi. The Warjarri people believe that Rainbow Snake (Gujida) rests here, so they throw sand into the water to show their respect. The visitors are advised to do the same. It is something kids would be happy to do! 😀

Bilung Pool

Wooramel River Gorges

We decided to drive further down for another 5km where we found another free camping spot. This was our stop for the night. This place (about 2km off the road) is very spacious and quite open, offering beautiful views and many wildflowers to admire.

Flannel Bush
Wooramel River Gorges

Old stock well – an insight into past

Life in the old days was very different. Water was precious and required quite a bit of an effort to get. This old stock well on Wool Wagon Pathway (55 km south of Murchison on Carnavon-Mullewa Road) gives us an insight into life some 100 years ago. Built in 1895, the well was used by drovers moving their stock. Now, it is a tourist attraction. Our kids had a lot of fun exercising their arms while figuring out how the well used to work in the old days.Water is still very scarce and precious when you travel in the outback – all the more a reason to appreciate it and use wisely.

Old stock well

Wildflowers and weeds

As we travelled further down Carnavon Mullewa road, we stopped a few times to admire carpets of wildflowers.

Peplidium Aithocheilum
Carpets of peplidium aithocheilum

Alongside with the wildflowers, there were a lot of pretty but nasty weeds Ruby Dock.

Ruby Dock weed
Ruby Dock – pretty but nasty weed

...and some other types of wildflowers.

Mulla mulla
Swainsona pterostylis
Wildflowers along Carnavon Mullewa road

Greenough River

Greenough River roadside stop (this is how it is called in wikicamp) was our last overnight stop for this trip. It is a nice and quiet free camping spot, just off Carnavon Mullewa Road in Nunierra, WA. We were the only ones camping there, enjoying the solitude, the tranquillity and natural beauty of the nature.

Greenough River stop

If the sunset was beautiful, the night was absolutely stunning! I stayed up late in the freezing cold (while everyone else has gone to sleep) to take the pictures of the milky way until my camera lens became too foggy from the cold and mist to continue taking pictures.

Starry starry nights in the outback

Early hours in the morning, before the sunrise, in the outback are quite magic. It was worth getting up early with only 4 degrees inside our caravan (and apparently, about the same outside too) to take these pictures of the Greenough river.

Blue hours in the outback are majestic!

The mist just above the water was very mysterious. As I walked further along the banks of the river, I saw these huge footprints (they were at least, 30-40 cm long), and they looked even more mysterious as I didn’t know at the time whom they belonged. The nature is very creative in what it can produce 🙂.

Kangaroo footprints

It is amazing how quick cool blue colours changed to warm glow as the sun started to rise.

Sunrise at Greenough River

Under the warm golden colours of the sun even the grass looked amazingly pretty.

Morning at Greenough River

And this is us, happy and refreshed after a wonderful 9 day return journey to the biggest rock in the world!

the adventure is not over yet!

Mount Augustus – the world’s biggest rock

Getting closer to Mount Augustus

Did you know that Mount Augustus is claimed to be the largest rock in the world? It is almost twice the size and considerably older than the more famous Uluru (Ayers Rock) in the Northern Territory of Australia. Mount Augustus in the Upper Gascoyne (roughly 1200km north east of Perth) rises 715m above the surrounding plain and covers the area of 4795 hectares. It has a central ridge, almost 8 km long, which is estimated to be more than 1600 million years long.

Mount Augustus

The road to the rock

The road to Mt Augustus (from Kennedy Ranges) is a good unsealed road, a bit dusty (especially when another vehicle passes by) and with lots of wandering stock. It took us 6 hours to reach Mt Augustus from Kennedy Ranges. We stopped a lot because we believe that travelling is not about reaching your destination but it is the process of travelling that is meaningful and enjoyable.

The road to Mount Augustus

Camping around Mount Augustus

We stayed at Mount Augustus Tourist Park (pretty much the only place you can stay there). It is a large (actually huge) and nice caravan park with powered sites and cabins for those seeking a bit more comfort on one side and a huge bush campground on the other side. We stayed on the other (bush) side of the park. It is a drive in and choose your own spot place, with a number of bushes which provide some privacy.

Mount Augustus Tourist Park

Nights being cold in July, it was wonderful to have a camp fire to keep us warm. The kids were happy to roast marshmallows every night, receiving a considerably larger portions of them than they would have at home 🙂. Oh, well, camping means doing something different and unusual, after all 🙂.

Mount Augustus Tourist Park

Aboriginal history

Mount Augustus is rich in Aboriginal history and Dreamtime tales. It is considered to be traditional land of the Wajarri people. Wajarri name for Mount Augustus is Burringurrah. In Aboriginal Dreamtime story, Burringurrah was a boy who escaped the rigours of his tribal initiation, only to be found and speared to death. The Wajarri people say the shape of Mount Augustus is the boy lying as he died on his belly with his left leg bent up, beside his body.

View of Mount Augustus from Tourist Park

Hikes around Mount Augustus

There is a 49km loop drive around Mount Augustus which provides views of the changing faces of the rock and access to feature sites. A number of trails lead to the different parts of the rock, from easy and short hikes to long and difficult trails leading to the summit (12km return trails). 

We only had one full day to explore the Mount Augustus, so opted to do a few short walks. 

Three of the featured sites have Aboriginal engravings on the rocks, the most impressive being Flinstone rock along Flinstone-Beedoboondu trail. To view Aboriginal engravings we crawled under Flinstone Rock which was great fun for kids. 

Aboriginal engravings at Flinstone Rock

Petroglyph Trail is the shortest hiking trail (only 300m return) which leads to an engraved wall of Aboriginal art.

Aboriginal engraving along Petroglyph trail

Ooramboo trail is another place to view Aboriginal engravings. It is an easy picturesque half an hour hiking trail, leading to a spring, which at that time was dry.

Aboriginal engraving
Cotton bush
Ooramboo trail
Interesting rock formations along Ooramboo trail

Saddle Trail is a longer trail (1km return) that leads to the views of the Pound (the place used for holding cattle before moving it to Meekatharra in the old days) and over the Lyons River valley. It was the longest trail for us, because there were so many wildflowers to admire.

Eremophila
Gomphrena
Halgania
Tribulus
Wildflowers along Saddle trail

Cattle Pool

Cattle Pool (known as Goolinee among the Wajarri people) is another attraction in Mount Augustus National Park. It is a permanent pool on the Lyons River, which in the old days was a place where cattle quenched their thirst. There is a short (1.2km return) hiking trail along the banks of this picturesque pool. Lined with white river gum trees, this tranquil and beautiful place attracts a lot of waterbirds.

Cattle Pool

It was nice to have a picnic and relax there and to learn more about this place. According to Wajarri Dreamtime story, the snake Gujida inhibits waters at the eastern end of Cattle Pool, so Aboriginal people avoid swimming there. They do, however, swim at the north east end of the pool, so long as they sprinkle sand into the waters first to show their respect to the Gujida. An important lesson we can learn from Aboriginal Dreamtime stories – treat nature with respect.

Picnic by Cattle Pool

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