Bungle Bungle

Purnululu is the name given to the sandstone area of the Bungle Bungle Range by the Kija Aboriginal people. The range is situated within the park, rises up to 578 m (1896 feet) above sea level and is famous for the unusual and striking sandstone domes striped with alternating orange and grey bands.

The banding of the domes at Bungle Bungle is due to differences in clay content and porosity of the sandstone layers.

The grey banding is cyanobacteria which grows on the layers where moisture accumulates. The orange bands are layers of oxidised iron compounds that dry out too quickly for the cyanobacteria to form.

Access to the park by road is via Spring Creek Track from the Great Northern Highway approximately 250 km (155 miles) south of Kununurra. The track is 53 km (33 miles) long and is only usable in the dry season (1 April to 31 December) for 4WD vehicles.

It will take approximately 3 hours to negotiate that distance to the Bunble Bungle visitor centre. Access by air is less painful and helicopter flights are available from Turkey Creek Roadhouse (Warmun), 187 km (116 miles) south of Kununurra, or by light aircraft from Kununurra.

Purnululu National Park is a World Heritage Site in Western Australia, 2054 km northeast of Perth. The nearest major town is Kununurra to the north, or Halls Creek to the south. Access to the park by road is via Spring Creek Track, from the Great Northern Highway approximately 250 km south of Kununurra, to the track’s end at the visitor centre. The track is 53 km long and is usable only in the dry season (about April 1 to December 31), and only by four-wheel-drive (4WD) vehicles. Safely navigating it takes approximately 3 hours.

Access by air is less demanding; helicopter flights are available, from Turkey Creek Roadhouse at Warmun, 187 km south of Kununurra, and light aircraft, from Kununurra.