Wed. 8/8

Travel on to the Bungles. Good drive – very scenic. Stops at Ngumban Cliff Lookout & Mary River. Halls Creek for lunch. Road even prettier after that – rolling hills & ranges everywhere. Campsite on Mabel Downs station – just inside the road to the Bungle Bungles. Couple of Brahman bulls grazing through the park. Have a huge fire going at night for everyone to sit around & chat.

                                             Brahman in the caravan park - Mabel Downs.

Thur. 9/8

Tour into the Bungles today. Early start on a 20 seater 4 wheel drive bus. Takes 2 hours to get to the visitors centre in the park. Most of the trip is through the station where the road is very corrugated in places & very rough the rest! There are a number of river crossings with the deepest being about 40cm. Probably could have taken the cars in ok (although only 35cm to the bottom of the doors) but much safer and easier for Graeme & Mike & the cars not to make the journey! First stop after visitors centre is at the beehives. Have morning tea & then a couple of hours to do the walks. Start off down Piccaninny Gorge to the lookout. Spectacular scenery with Beehive formations everywhere. The river bed was an unbelievable rutted stone effect. We then walked down Cathedral Gorge. Great walk down gorge with red rock cliffs both sides. At the end “the Cathedral” cavern – how impressive! Back to the bus for lunch & then onto the other side of the ranges to Echidna Chasm. The beehives have been replaced with towering red hills. Walk up to the chasm along the river bed which is made of pebbles & rocks of all sizes so have to be a bit wary under foot. The towering cliffs are a brilliant orange/brown with the gap between getting ever narrower. There are a couple of sharp bends in the gorge until finally it comes to an end with the sides towering above. An unbelievable place! Back to bus & the long trip home which seemed to be even rougher than on the way out! The scenery was really great though! Have the supplied dinner in the tent restaurant & a chat around the fire. A very enjoyable day!

                                        Beehive formations in the Bungle Bungles.

                                           Graeme dwarfed by Cathedral Gorge.

                                                              Echidna Chasm.

Fri. 10/8

Pack up & head to Kununurra today. Still beautiful scenery along the way. Have to keep an eye out for cattle on the road as we encounter a few straying Brahman. Make camp in the Hidden Valley Caravan Park. After lunch go into town & then up to the Kelly’s Knob lookout. Great views over the town.

                                         Road between Mabel Downs Station & Kununurra.