Thur. 13th June 2019
Ask anyone where or what the Bungle Bungles (now also known by its Aboriginal name of Purnululu) are and very few people know. Even a few Aussies we’ve talked to have said “what?” We had seen pictures of weird dome shaped rock formations and our friend Myf had said we should visit, so it was high up on our itinerary. We have discovered that it has only discovered by Europeans in 1977 and only opened as a tourist destination since 1982. The options for getting here are by plane from Kununurra or drive along a 53km rough 4×4 only track over Aboriginal land so it is not easy to get to.
We were the last people off the Fitzroy Crossing Lodge unpowered campsite at 8:30am. The larger caravans that were on the move seemed to take longer to get packed up. So back onto Highway 1 for 400km heading east and then north. Stretches of the road were so straight you could see for miles. It took me half an hour to catch up with one vehicle I could see in front of us! This easy driving meant that the passenger could catch up on blog writing without worrying about getting carsick. The scenery was much of the same, flat, parched and a few trees. There was little wildlife, a few bored thin cattle munching on the dry grass and birds of prey hovering hoping to dine on roadkill.
We made very good time and found a rest area by the road for lunch with shaded picnic tables and no flies, not far from the turn off into Purnululu National Park. Refreshed, we change drivers again and get ready for the drive into the park. The instructions are to deflate the tyres by almost half the original pressure which Dave duly did and off we go. It is difficult to photograph the corrugated road but I hope this shows the surface. For the “smoothest” ride about 50km/hr seems best as you can feel every ridge if you go slower. This was noticeable as we accelerated to move off after taking this picture, but it was still very bouncy and noisy from our plates and pans! Loud music helps drown out the internal and external noise. The track is much harder if not impossible in the wet season as the road crosses river beds which are full of water. In “dry” as they call this time of year the river beds are mostly dry and the road has been graded making it easier. When the park first opened it took 5 hours to get in so we should be grateful.
We did take under the recommended 2 hours to get to the Information centre to register and that included a few photo stops including a resting sad looking cow. The road did twist and turn a bit as well as traversing the river beds not to forget a few unexpected bumps and stony sections, but all in all very manageable for the Beast. After that road we felt like we were a James Bond martini, shaken and not stirred! It was a welcome sight to see our lodge and luxury campsite come into view. We have treated ourselves to a superior tent which is very comfortable with a proper bed and ensuite shower room. Nothing like our Beast-mounted roof tent. Half-board is the only accommodation option here, and so we are forced to endure a three course dinner.
As the place is owned by APT who run tours, there were two tour buses in. These are 12 seater 4×4 trucks and they were just heading off to the sunset viewpoint as we arrived. I expect the camp was almost full as every table in the outdoor dining area was occupied. There were also 8 other independent travellers like us and as ever all very friendly and chatty. With breakfast times set around the tour groups we were told it would be served between 6:15 and 7:30am. As we are living on random time this is fine and we want to get walking early as the daytime maximum temperature has been 37°.