Barb & John's Hols: Day 21 Heading to Bungle Bungles

Heading to Bungle Bungles

Knowing that there was no way our car would be able to drive a couple of hundred kilometres on corrugated dirt roads through deep water crossings, John and I wisely had booked a full day 4WD bus tour to Purnululu National Park (where the Bungle Bungles are). The tour started from the Bungle Bungles Caravan Park at 0700, so we also booked two night's stay there in order to be right on site the day before, ready for the early start next morning.

We left our campsite at Kununurra earlyish on Friday, and because we had to drive only around three hundred kilometres to Spring Creek we took a short diversion to the Zebra Rock Gallery just outside Kununurra. The Zebra Rock is mined on the Kimberley/Territory border and is crafted into really interesting pieces of jewellery and sculpture by a team of local artists. It's unique .... rarer than diamonds in fact, so of course we had to buy something (and besides we can't afford pink Argyl diamonds). Small to carry too! The shop also has a very pleasant café and we partook of the delights therein before heading down the Great Northern Highway.

Barb at Zebra Rock Gallery

Second breakfast at Zebra Rock Cafe

The nice thing about this diversion was that we also got a glimpse of some of the agriculture of the Ord River Irrigation scheme. We saw a large (not large, huge!) mango orchard and also a plantation of Indian Sandalwood trees used in the cosmetic and perfume industry. The crops here should grow well with an abundance of water provided by the dam and good quality soil, however initial crop plantings of rice and sugar were decimated after the migrating magpie geese discovered this tasty smorgasbord on their way to their Territory nesting regions. Fruit and sandalwood are faring better.

Mango orchards

Sandlewood plantation

With music playing on John's mp3 we tootled along the highway at a good pace. Fortunately there wasn't a lot of traffic on the road, just the occasional road train to keep you on your toes, some of them four carriages long. You also had to be careful of stock and animals wandering along the unfenced highway and crossing in front of you, not to mention single lane bridges.

We stopped at Doon Doon Roadhouse to refuel. This was staffed by some very pleasant aboriginal girls, who had beaming gorgeous smiles and seemed very on the ball. The roadhouse was actually quite busy, being the only place to buy food or fuel for a hundred kilometres or more. Most tour buses called in and several of the surrounding stations and mining exploration teams also had workers coming in for their lunch breaks. The food was pretty good and the toilets cleaner than most.

Doon Doon Roadhouse

We finally got to Spring Creek Bungle Bungles Caravan Park in the early afternoon. It's about a kilometre off the main highway, accessed by a dirt road which wasn't too bad, and is located within the boundaries of Mabel Downs cattle station. The owner of Mabel downs allows public access to the Purnululu National Park through his private property as well as co-owning the caravan park. The Government regulations do not allow any permanent building on the property for tourists, so everything is either a tent or unroofed corrugated iron amenities blocks. It's pretty basic and rustic! There are even Brahman cows wandering around the caravan park .... well it is a cattle property and they were there first. In return for public access the Government is supposed to maintain the road onward to the national park, but as we were to discover the next day it is in a pretty parlous state in truth, keeping all but the most avid 4WD enthusiast at bay. Certainly not suitable for towing a van or trailer on.

Camp kitchen

Firepit and marquee for dining

Big rig next to our more modest camp

We parked and set up camp right beside a rather grand looking caravan and large F250 truck with bicycles affixed on top of the back of the truck. The owners were from Tewantin and were travelling with some other fellow Sunshine Coasters. When they found out we were from Maleny we were invited to join them for sundowner drinks. This was served on a folding table complete with tablecloth and the food laid out in very twee serving dishes. There were olives, blue castella cheese antipasto and water crackers etc to go with expensive wine (I supplied my own plonk - no one offered the good stuff). A bit out of our league, and almost laughably incongruous in such a remote setting, but we did enjoy it.

Afterwards we went down to the main marquee to join in the dinner being served there. There was a hearty pea and ham soup accompanied by crusty damper, and butter chicken curry with rice to follow (they should have used thigh fillets rather than the breast, but hey - it saved us the cooking!). We got a chance to meet some more of our fellow travellers and share stories of recent adventures. There was a blazing bonfire too and some stayed on after the meal to continue the chat. We were too knackered, and had to get up early so we hustled off to bed. It was interesting showering in the dark and looking up to see a million stars overhead. John had to escort me to and from the amenities block during the night as I was too frightened of running into stray cows or other beasties on the way. Sadly this is true. I was quite happy to sleep!