The Bungle Bungles

The Bungle Bungles

24/05/2015

After deciding to turn around and after a good sleep we decided that the plan for this day was just to be tourists. We did just that and really enjoyed our time at the Bungle Bungles.

We readied our selves for the day and we were all got up in a better frame of mind. No pack up today!! And a leisurely day of tourism. Both contributing to our improved mood.

The drive in to the Bungle Bungles felt much better than the previous day and I was beginning to question my perception of this road being rough however, towing a couple of tonnes of caravan make a massive difference to how the road feels. Towing a much lighter rig like the Cub provides a significant benefit when you’re touring. The van proved, on odd occasions, to be a bit of a hand brake. Kris and I plan on doing ‘the big lap’ in the not too distant future and a van is more appropriate for that sort of trip. For us, owning something like a Cub and a van are just not feasible. However, we did devise a compromise for our ‘big lap’. If we desired better mobility to get to those out-of-the-way type places we could camp and we have since purchased a 30 second tent. This should allow us to do side trips to places where we can’t get the van.

Anyway, I digress. We did the walks to Cathedral Gorge and Echidna Chasm and both were great experiences.

Cathedral Gorge is part of the Piccaninny Range and is a magnificent little oasis among the round domes of orange and black stripes synonymous with the Bungle Bungles.

We did see some stone or rock piles on one part of the walk. At the time they just seemed to be an anomaly and I don’t know why they would be there.

I know this guy who spent a fair amount of time building and grading roads near Innaminka. The company took aboriginal culture seriously and engaged traditional owners as heritage consultants to advise about significant locations. This guy told me that these rock/stone piles are burial site in central Australia. I wonder if these piles or cairns are similar?

Cathedral Gorge was quite amazing. It was an amphitheater that had a white beach as the main stage in front of a serene, fish filled rock pool surrounded by beautiful bright green trees. Sound reverberated around the gorge making it hard to hear one another. Nige started to play a Yothu Yindi from his phone, which added another dimension to the experience.

We left Cathedral Gorge and headed for Echidna Chasm. The walk in was via a bolder filled creek lined with tall Livistonia palms.

The sheer, tall walls of the gorge provided a cool entry but narrowed the further you walk up the gorge. Unfortunately, we missed the time of day where the sun was directly overhead and a brilliant pillar of red light to the floor. Next time…

As we walked further into the gorge, the sound began to change and voices of people behind us became whispers, just out of reach. There were massive boulders overhead that had fallen into the gorge but were just wedged precariously above us making the walk a little unnerving.

We headed back to the caravan park. The weather had slowly began to warm up since leaving the Tanami and we were all looking forward to a beverage and shower in the cool of the afternoon .

We really liked that caravan park. It captured the outback feel while still having some creature comforts. The toilets were clean and well serviced and the showers were open overhead. It was a really nice touch having a shower with the night stars overhead.

Unfortunately, the cancer of Cane Toads has reached Western Australia and there was no shortage of them in the park.

All in all, our short visit to the Bungle Bungles was a memorable experience. If you do go there, consider spending more than just a day there because there is lots to see.