Blogs from Bungle Bungles, Western Australia, Australia, Oceania

It was a lively night in the bar last night. I was able to watch my beloved Blues enjoy an unexpected triumph on one of the big TV screens. I raised my arms in jubilation at the end of the game and then did a mini-jig in the middle of the room … and no one batted an eyelid. As we walk into breakfast this morning someone’s hosing out the bar. The door to the ladies’ toilet is front and centre. It's adorned with a colourful "Sheilas" sign, and there's a pair of buffalo horns mounted on the wall above it. The mens’, by contrast, is down the end of a dark corridor and has a very small and respectable looking ”Gentlemen” sign perched discretely above its entrance. I’m not quite sure what message we should ... read more

DAY ELEVEN This morning Kevin and I took an optional helicopter flight over the Bungle Bungles. the Purnulu National Park covers an area of 239,723ha. The banded sandstone domes cover 45,000ha. The park was listed for World Heritage in 2003 because of its natural beauty and geological value. The domes orange and grey bands are caused by the presence (dark) or absence (orange) of cyanobacteria. The orange bands are oxidised iron compounds that have dried out too quickly for the bands to grow. The sandstone was deposited about 360 million years ago. We were so glad that we did. The helicopter was the best way to see the size of area covered by these iconic rock formations. After this everybody went for a walk through the unique orange and black beehive shaped domes. We then proceeded ... read more

Larrawa Station to Mabel Downs (Bungle Bungles entrance) Pouched Eggs for breakfast and on the road again. First stop Halls Creek, a community not without cultural problems. Obvious by the corrugated, no windows and bars on shop fronts. Halls Creek European settlement began because of the Gold Rush and Cattle Industry. The white settlers and original aboriginal land owners fighting over the land resources. There are many prominent people who form the history of Halls Creek, one such character that caught our eye was 'Russian Jack' legend says he pushed a heavily hand-made wheelbarrow 300kms with a sick fellow gold prospector in it. A 2 hour stop over for lunch, groceries, meat and a new swag, burning a very big hole in our wallets. Even further burnt because the ATM machine was empty of cash and ... read more

Pouched Eggs for breakfast and on the road again. First stop Halls Creek, a community not without cultural problems. Obvious by the corrugated, no windows and bars on shop fronts. Halls Creek European settlement began because of the Gold Rush and Cattle Industry. The white settlers and original aboriginal land owners fighting over the land resources. There are many prominent people who form the history of Halls Creek, one such character that caught our eye was 'Russian Jack' legend says he pushed a heavily hand-made wheelbarrow 300kms with a sick fellow gold prospector in it. A 2 hour stop over for lunch, groceries, meat and a new swag, burning a very big hole in our wallets. Even further burnt because the ATM machine was empty of cash and the shops refusing to give cash with ... read more

We travelled down the highway to the Bungles and turned off the road to drive the 50 plus kms in to the Park (through Mabel Downs station). It was quite a rough track with some easy creek crossings but some very bumpy and corrugated sections to contend with (and cattle of course). We took it slowly and carefully and it was about two and a half hours to travel the 50 kms to the Visitor Centre. There is a nice campsite about half way in called Calico Springs where you can stop. From there we had another drive (on a better road) of about 10 kms to our campsite in the south of the park (Walardi). The Park had only re-opened officially (after the wet season) in the last few weeks. The Walardi campsite has no ... read more