Later we packed up in the heat, rewarded ourselves with a last swim and a frozen mango and headed into town. We had decided to spend a few days in the Bungle Bungles but being us we didn’t get away until about 2pm – doing school, shopping, farewell lunch with Hannah and Michael etc etc. Therefore we didn’t make it to the Bungles by nightfall so did an overnight camp near the turnoff to the national park.
In the morning, we headed down the bumpy Bungles road. We had been warned how bad it is but we thought it paled in comparison with Kalumburu Road! We checked out the visitors centre and then set up at Walardi campsite in a shady spot. Bill set to work trying to fix our inverter but with no luck. Eventually Kate managed to drag him away to driver a short way and walk to Cathedral Gorge and the Domes walk. This was our first real taste of the Bungles and it was stunning – layered rock in the domes famous to the area. All the pictures we had ever seen of the Bungle Bungles were taken from the air so we had been a bit nervous that the formations wouldn't be so spectacular from the ground, but it is a truly magnificent place full of Livistona Palms, orange-red rock which glows in the sun, weird warm currents of air, and honeycomb rocks. The walk ended in a massive cool ampitheatre with a lake. On the way back the sun started to set and it was cooler and the light was amazing. Sash showed us how deeply he has the slip slop slam message ingrained when during a pirate game Pirate Bluebeard (aka Sasha) threatened to punish his prisoners (Bill and Zara) by not putting sunscreen on them and taking their hats off so they get sunburned! He then suggested to his first mate (Kate) that they skip to the prisoners in order to capture them (Sasha skips everywhere these days - through shopping centres, down gorges, into campsites...).
That night it was warm and lovely. We lay down on the tarp and watched for shooting stars. We stayed there until we had all seen at least one and it was one of those moments that makes us remember why we ever set off on this big adventure. Just magic.
Next day we headed off early and did the Mini Palms walk which was hot and exposed at first, then shaded and rocky. We clambered over boulders and in between mini chasms and admired the contrast of the palms against the blue sky and rust orange cliffs. We arrived back at the carpark hot and sweaty, but the walk had been so lovely that we decided to tackle the Echnida Chasm walk. We walked into a 200m chasm which had no resemblance to an Echidna and to a lookout over the nearby ranges. These walks were really some of the best we have had all year. We picnicked at the table in the carpark and then returned to our campsite to relax during the hot afternoon. At sunset we drove to a nearby lookout to enjoy the soft light and pink sky. Being us, we missed the actual sunset but it was a lovely peaceful way to end our lovely day in the Bungle Bungles.
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| Postcards and puzzles back at camp |
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| Lovely blue-winged kookaburra visitor |
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| Night-time shenanigans |
Love the pic of all of you together!
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