Saturday, 16 May 2026
Yesterday evening we were serenaded by owls which we thought were, perhaps, boobook owls? There were also some other nocturnal birds calling during the night. This morning we were woken by the owls calling again, and all the diurnal birds – including sulphur-crested cockatoos and little corellas – starting their day. All the birds ensured we were up with the daybreak!
The APT group had been allocated breakfast time between 6.00am and 7.00am, so we had been asked to come to the outdoor restaurant between 7.00am and 8.00am. We arrived on the deck about a quarter past seven to an array of fruit, cereal, toast and the option of some cooked items from the BBQ. We both opted for some bacon and egg, having preceded that with fresh fruit. During breakfast, one of the staff told us the owl last night was a barking owl, not a boobook. In retrospect the call probably was a bit more dog-like.
Leaving breakfast, we saw Carissa who asked what we had planned for today and expressed some concerns about wet weather being forecast. She advised us that Head Office is watching the weather reports closely and might close the park if too much rain is forecast. Hmmn, that’s a bit concerning. She told us that in a worst case scenario, if we couldn’t drive out, they would fly us out and fly us back in to collect the truck. Gosh, we wouldn’t want that to happen, we need the truck to keep making our way west. Anyway it was agreed that, at the moment, we only need to be alert, not alarmed.
We set out to explore some of the southern trails, while the weather held. Driving along Gorge Road we stopped to photograph Elephant Rock and took lots of other photos of the distinctively striped domes for which Purnululu is known. Purnululu National Park was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list in 2003 under two criteria. The first criteria of ‘area of exceptional natural beauty and aesthetic importance’ was met by the beehive shaped domes which are unrivaled in their scale, extent, grandeur and diversity anywhere in the world. The second criteria of ‘outstanding example representing major stages in Earth’s history’ was met as the Bungle Bungles are, by far, the most outstanding example of cone karst sandstone.
We arrived at the Piccaninny Car Park knowing that there was no way we would be hiking into Piccaninny Gorge. That is a serious hike that is described in our guide to the southern trails as ‘Exceeds walk trail classification … is for extremely experienced hikers only’. OK, that’s not for us!
We wandered over to check the information board and decided that we would attempt the three shortest walks from this car park: Cathedral Gorge, Creek Lookout and The Domes. Even so, Cathedral Gorge was rated Class 4 – Difficult, with the other two rated Class 3 – Moderate. It was hard to tell how long all of these would take, as the time estimates were for each walk from the car park and return and we were going to link them together.
With plenty of water in our back packs we headed off. We walked along the car park side of The Domes then continued to Cathedral Gorge. The scenery was IN-CREDIBLE! The striped domes are like nothing we’ve ever seen before and there are so many of them. Lots of photos were taken! We wandered into Cathedral Gorge which we didn’t find all that difficult. We think it was the steep steps, a ladder and narrow ledges that resulted in the rating, but we didn’t find any of those as challenging as they sounded. Our walk along the dry creek bed was surrounded by domes and honeycomb rock formations, before it opened out into the iconic natural amphitheater. The added bonus of this walk was that much of it was in the shade.
Exiting the gorge, we walked back to the junction with the Creek Lookout walk. We followed the trail into Piccaninny Creek which was very uneven, deeply eroded and very exposed to the sun. After 200 metres along the creek bed, we turned off onto the final section leading to the lookout, where we were treated to a sweeping view of Piccaninny Creek as it winds its way south to join the Ord River. We were a bit worried about how long this section might take us, but it didn’t take too long at all. We were very hot and sweaty though. Making our way back to the intersection with the Cathedral Gorge track, we spotted some beautiful rainbow bee-eaters. Snapped lots of photos hoping that some of them will be in focus.
Finally, we turned into the section of The Domes walk that took us up close among the beehive domes. There were sections where we could see really clearly the protective coating of orange iron oxide and grey Cyanobacteria bands the domes are famous for. We also completed the optional side trail which took us to another small amphitheater. Not on the same scale as Cathedral Gorge, but pretty just the same.
Returning to the car park, we dug something out of the pantry box for lunch. The lodge would have made us a packed lunch BUT at $25.00 per person we decided we would self cater. We peeled the top off two tubs of Sirena Pesto Pasta with Tuna and found them to be surprisingly good. We found an apple each in the fridge and that was lunch done for about $6.00 each, which was much more economical.
Driving back to the lodge we decided to pop in to Bellburn Airstrip. We had a HeliSpirit helicopter flight over Purnululu booked for 3.15pm, but we thought we should check what they thought about the weather – there were some black clouds about – and if we should fly sooner than later. We can go now, if you can go now. We’re not sure what the weather is doing either, but it’s not raining at the moment. OK, we said, we can go now! But first, the pilot, Laura, had to climb down off the ladder where she was just about to start washing the solar panels.
After fuelling the chopper and changing into her pilot’s uniform, Laura was ready to go. We did the A42 Ultimate Bungle Bungle Flight. After taking off we flew over the Y Gorge, Deep Gorge and ‘The Twins’ before continuing to the highest point of the range and the spectacular red gorges of the north-west. At the rock formations known as The Crocodile and The Snake, we circled around to pass over the Valley of the Giants, a section of massive sandstone structures that are not joined to the rest of the range. We started heading back to the airstrip via the southern face, past the mouth of Piccaninny Gorge, along Piccaninny Creek, over Cathedral Gorge and the famous orange and black striped Bungle Bungle domes, where we hiked this morning.
During the last few minutes of our flight, the rain started. Fortunately, Laura had the chopper flying into the rain, so we didn’t get soaked by rain coming in through the open sides. Ground crew met us on the helipad with jackets that we were able to throw over our heads and, more importantly, cameras, to dash across to the office. We waited a while for the thankfully short shower to clear, then made our way back to the truck. Bernie had put the solar panel on the roof so had a soggy solar panel to fold up!
Back at the lodge we freshened up and then made our way to the outdoor dining area, where there are tables and chairs that make photo processing and blogging much easier. Not to mention the internet access! There are only four guests in camp tonight, with the APT group having departed this morning. They don’t have another tour group for a couple of days so it’s very quiet.
We joined Bronwen and Lisa for dinner. It made sense for the four of us to sit together. Poor Lisa had to sit with her foot elevated after turning her ankle at Echidna Gorge today. I live in fear of doing the same but, so far, so good. They are almost at the end of a girl’s road trip that they have been trying to fit in for a few years. Their third friend flew home from Kununurra a couple of days ago.
Another huge meal. Much more than we would order if we went for a pub meal. Sourdough bread, bruschetta, pork with seasonal vegetables and apple crumble. Feeling absolutely stuffed.
Steps: 13,539 (8.38kms)
