Up early…no really - 6am. Great to be on our way into the Bungle Bungles. Early indications were that the road was fine, not near as bad as many had said….city folk! We came to our first creek crossing – the kids were very excited.
The water only came about a third up the doors – no worries and we were out the other side. Two more to go. The 54km drive took about 1 hr 40 mins as it is very windy but the gravel road was better than many we had been on in other parts of the country.
We checked in at the visitor centre and paid our camping fees for the night then headed south towards Cathedral Gorge and Piccaninny Creek. It was pretty exciting as the iconic beehive shaped and coloured domes got closer.
First up was the walk to Cathedral Gorge –only a couple of kms through some spectacular scenery.
The orange and grey/black striped domes are huge. We learned that the black stripes are created by cynabacteria – the same clever little buggers that made the stromatolites at Hamelin Bay and pumped all the oxygen into the earth’s atmosphere many millions of years ago.
Cathedral Gorge is awesome!
This photo doesn’t show it but the cliff walls go up very high on all sides, leaving a reasonably small opening at the top.
Next we walked on to Piccaninny Creek – a dry creek bed at this time of year but flowing strong in the wet season. This walk was only about 1.5kms but didn’t have the shade of the Cathedral Gorge walk…and it was very hot (about 33 degrees).
It is an awesome sight to see how the landscape has been shaped.
After taking in this fantastic scenery we were all fairly glad to get back into the air conditioning in the car at about 3.30pm. We headed to our campground in the northern end of the NP and set up camp. We were all tired so it was good to be doing this early.
Well we thought the Bungle Bungles were a highlight…but for the kids this was nothing compared to the excitement of sleeping in a tent for the night! It was like we had bought a new house. Who cares about the Bungle Bungles – we could have just set up the tent at Spring Creek and the kids would have been just as happy (we’re sure they’ll appreciate having seen the Bungle Bungles later in life).
With limited lighting we thought it best to have dinner early so we could clean up. We felt like grey nomads – it was only 4.30pm! Nice early night though – after a few games and book reading we were all asleep by about 8pm.
Wednesday 9 June
Up early again. We packed up the tent and camping gear, downed brekky and set off to the Mini Palms walk which was a few kms drive up the road. Much of this 5 km walk was in the shade which was very nice as it was already around 30 degrees at 8am.
Next was our last walk in the NP at Echidna Chasm. More awesome high red rock cliffs which close in about our heads. Looks like land of the giants. The chasm kept going for ages – just when we thought we had hit the end, it went around another bend and the walls kept closing in.
Time to head back out of the Bungle Bungles. The drive in was certainly worth it!
We were pleased to find the van just as we had left it at Spring Creek. After scoffing some lunch we hooked up and continued north at about 2.15pm. We devoured our last remaining fruit before passing through the quarantine checkpoint at Warmun (Turkey Creek). The drive though this part of the country is very scenic. Our camp stop for the night was at Durham River, a nice looking rest stop about 35kms short of the Kununurra turn off.
Thursday 10 June
On for a look at Wyndham today. Quiet little town but very nice. We had a look at the jetty area to the north of the town first. Didn’t get too close to the murky waters of the Ord River though – looks like croc territory. We went into a little knick knack shop in a corrugated iron shed and met a really friendly, interesting old lady (puffing away on her ciggies) and had a chat. She offered us some boab seed to eat – apparently it is very high in vitamin C.
Tastes a bit like Wizz Fizz (but not quite as yum).
We filled up the car and jerry can with diesel at Kimberly Motors which is also the visitor info centre – next time you’re in Wyndham make sure you fill up here. At $1.40 a litre it was at least 15 cents/litre cheaper than any other petrol for hundreds of kms, including the other petrol station in town (and apparently they are always heaps cheaper).
After unhooking the van next to Kimberly Motors we drove up to the Five Rivers lookout to take in the view.
The Ord, King, Durack, Pentecost, and Salmond Rivers all meet here in Cambridge Gulf before flowing out to sea (and everyone of them is full of crocs).
Following the advice of the friendly lady at the visitor info centre, we drove out to see some aboriginal rock art along one of the quiet dirt roads out of town…
…not sure how old it is but it was really interesting…
...and then on to the Boab prison tree. What a huge tree!
Back to Wyndham to grab the van and check out the big croc…
…and then on to a free camp spot at the Kununurra turn off.
Friday 11 June
Into Kununurra to have a couple of new tyres put on the van. We restocked on groceries and had a look around town, including checking out a couple of indigenous art galleries with some great looking pieces. Quite a few people had told us that the local indigenous people were a bit rowdy at times but we found them very friendly. I had a chat to Mick for a while at the shops and he told me heaps of interesting info about his past – where he had lived, what he had done etc.
After finishing the shopping we then drove out to Lake Argyle and checked into the caravan park. Very nice spot here with a great pool that overlooks the lake.
Lake Argyle is absolutely huge. The local ranger told us that the evaporation from the lake in the last 12 months was enough to supply Perth with water for five years.
The Ord River is much clearer here than at the Five Rivers Lookout! The river was dammed many years ago in order to provide a consistent water supply to irrigate the many farms that grow fruit and crops in this region.
We spotted our first croc for the trip in the Ord River while checking out the picnic area. Only a freshy though!
Saturday 12 June
In the morning we had a look through the old Argyle Station Homestead which was settled by the Durack family in the late 1800’s– a big pioneering family in this area. The homestead was located in what is now the middle of lake, but was moved when the Ord River was dammed. Some really interesting information and articles here – unbelievable how this family lived and worked in what was (and still is) such a remote area.
After two and a half months our stint in WA had come to an end. We had a great time and there’s still lots more to see – we’ll have to come back again later.
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