Visiting the Bungle Bungles – all you need to know.

The Bungle Bungles is a World Heritage Area and part of the Purnululu National Park in the East Kimberley region of Western Australia.  It became a World Heritage Area because of its natural beauty and unique geological features – primarily the famous beehive-like domes.  Formed millions of years ago they weren’t commonly known about until the 1980’s.  It is totally unique and one of the most amazing landscapes in Australia.  Definitely one for the bucket list!  The park is open through the dry season from April to October.

Getting there

Firstly, it is not a day trip!  Approx. 4.25 hours drive one way from Kununurra (or 2.75 hours from Halls Gap) to the Bungle Bungle Visitor Centre and then you have another 40-45 mins drive to whichever side of the Bungles you want to go. 

Caravans or anyone towing a trailer with a double axle cannot go further than the Bungle Bungle Caravan Park, 1 km off the main highway.  It is then a long 53km dirt road that is definitely only suitable for 4WDs.  The road starts off with just rough corrugations but then deteriorates into quite rough road with a few creek crossings.  It takes about 1.5 hrs to get to just the tourist information centre there.  Turning right will take you to the area full of the domes that it is known for, and also to the fabulous Cathedral Gorge plus some other lesser known walks.  Turning left at the Tourist Information Centre will take you to the popular Echidna Chasm and a Mini Palms Gorge walk and other walks.

Where to stay

So if you are staying in the Bungle Bungles Caravan Park just off the main highway (as we did) you won’t be able to do both sides of the Bungle Bungles in one day.  Sunset is about 5pm in late June (perhaps a little later in other parts of the dry season) and you definitely don’t want to be driving on that dirt road in the dark.  So with all the driving required and the hiking time, you would need two full days there.  And just to warn you that some people choose not to travel down that road again because it is so bad and so only do one day there.  We would have done a second day there but we would have had to get back to Kununurra by sunset and it just didn’t really leave us enough time. 

The Bungle Bungles Caravan Park also has some cabins which we stayed in but just a few things to be aware of:

• Book well ahead – with these places that are very isolated and without much choice in accommodation, it gets snapped up pretty quickly.
• No internet reception except for the outdoor bar and restaurant area.
• No phone reception
• They were short staffed due to covid and so we could only book in for dinner on one night at the restaurant – luckily we had enough food to feed ourselves the other night.  So it might pay to book your dinner in advance too.

If you are camping or staying inside the National Park you may manage to visit both sides of the park in one day.  Although you would still not manage to do all of the walks.  The cabins or glamping are very expensive inside the National Park and you would need to book well in advance too.  But it saves you the time and effort of travelling on that rough dirt road a second day.  So although it is possible to hike the most popular short walks in a day, if staying inside the National Park, you would definitely need two full days to do most of it.

Places to stay inside the National Park that are not camping include the Bungle Bungle Wilderness Lodge and the Bungle Bungle Savannah Lodge.  Be warned – they are very expensive! 

If camping, there are two campgrounds – Walardi and Kurrajong.  Very basic only, with bore water, no showers and bush toilets.  So you really need to be self sufficient!  The campgrounds are at least cheap.  At the time of writing this, it was $13 per person for either campground.  Bookings essential!

Helicopter rides and plane trips

If you are short of time or just don’t fancy driving down the awful roads you could either fly in or helicopter in from the nearby towns of Kununurra or Halls Gap as there is a small airstrip within the national park. They will then take you on a land guided tour/walk.  Obviously this is a more expensive way of seeing this amazing landscape but you’re saving on accommodation and time.  We did a short helicopter ride with the doors off from within the national park itself.  I can highly recommend!  They were also offering helicopter rides from our caravan park which were slightly more expensive and with doors on. 

What is there to see and do?

Apart from the abovementioned helicopter rides or flights (the airstrip is near the southern section), it really is about walking and exploring. 

Southern Section

The part of the National Park has the orange and black striped domes that the area is famous for.  You’ll get lots of great views just driving to the car park.  From there you can choose to do:

• Domes walk – a short easy walk around some of the domes.  A good one to start with I think.

• Cathedral Gorge walk – another short walk that is connected to the Domes walk.  Cathedral Gorge is an amazing huge natural amphitheatre.  Possibly if you were there at the beginning of the dry season you might also get a waterfall too. Stunning place!

• Piccaninny Creek walk – this was also pretty easy and there was a turn off to it as we returned from the Cathedral Gorge walk.  Lots of great scenery along the way too.  We went as far as the Piccaninny Creek lookout but you can go further. 

We just did the above 3 walks but you can go further up to Whip Snake Gorge.  If you are planning to camp and have a multi-day walk deep into the Piccaninny Gorge you have to register first with the National Park.

Northern Section

We didn’t have time to get up here unfortunately.  But it’s most well-known walk would be the steep Echidna Chasm.  I really would have liked to have seen this one but sometimes you just can’t see everything.  If we only had time to walk the Northern or Southern section, I’m glad we did the Southern.

• Echidna Chasm walk is short and initially you walk through a palm filled gorge but then it becomes narrower and narrower till it becomes about 1 metre wide.  Most people like to do this around late morning, midday or just after.  The light shining down off the red walls is meant to be quite stunning.  
• The Bloodwood and Mini Palms Gorge.  I’ve heard a lot of good things about this Mini Palms Gorge, apparently one not to miss apparently.  It takes a couple of hours and gets a bit steep.  But an enjoyable walk I believe with stairs for the steepest parts.
• Homestead Valley walk – 4.4 kms and probably the least popular of the three walks but nice views for sure.

Links to help you plan your trip

Lots of good general info:  https://www.kimberleyaustralia.com/the-bungle-bungles.html

Guided tours:  https://www.bunglebungleguidedtours.com.au/

Helicopter tours:  https://www.helispirit.com.au/scenic-flights-and-tours/bungle-bungle-helicopter-tours-live/

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Hope you’ve enjoyed this Travel Inspiration from an Empty Nester!