Day 20 – Purnululu National Park (Bungle Bungles)

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As usual it was a beautiful sunny day with just a whisp of cloud. We were visited by the “commando” quails who, in a group of 5 or 6, ran around our campsite flitting between tufts of grass and hiding. They would check over the top before making a break from cover.



We had mapped out a number of walks for today. First up was the Echidna chasm. This was a walk along a dry creek bed and then into a narrow chasm. The sign at the front said no people more than 60 cms wide so we saw no black tights today. I guess it’s become a chore pulling stuck people out of the chasm.



There is a new gray nomad trend which I haven’t seen before. This is the multicoloured nomad. Generally the blokes just have gray hair and some kind of beard coming along, but now the women have started wearing multi-coloured hair (some have beards as well but that may just be unfortunate). I think this is a strategy to make out they aren’t gray nomads, but I’m on to it. It has made the people watching element a lot more fun with added variety.



Then we did the Mini Palms gorge. The amazing thing is that once you get into a cool gorge with a bit of moisture the flora changes dramatically to towering palms and becomes almost tropical.



We looked at some of the southern part of the park and we walked the mounds (rock formations), to Cathedral Gorge which is a limestone gorge with a waterfall and a lovely pool and an amazing play on lightl. We had lunch at the Piccaninny Creek Lookout.



I almost ran over a snake but I think I missed him.



The Purnululu NP has been a highlight so far. The topography is a standout with beautiful colour hues which change throughout the day. The beauty is that this park has taken the initiative and banned caravans. They could do more as they still allow camper trailers, but it’s a start.

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