Had a great camp at Spring Creek free camp, at the junction of the Great Northern Highway and the road into the Bungle Bungles. It was pretty hot when we left Kununurra, so my dearly beloved decided we should make a really early start and do the Cathedral Gorge walk in the Bungle Bungles as early as possible to beat the heat. We had read that it can get up to 50 degrees amongst the rocks there !
After my Emma Gorge experience I have to admit to being in fear and trepidation as the brochures indicated that the Cathedral Gorge walk was a Grade 3, 4kms return trip traversing some steep climbs, narrow ledges & slippery rocks.
If the Emma Gorge write-up was somewhat understated, the Cathedral Gorge blurb turned out to be definitely overstated and by comparison was a walk in the park. The couple of "steep" bits had man-made steps & a very sturdy handrail to boot, so my fears totally allayed I was able to really enjoy the magnificence of the setting.
However the actual 53kms drive in to the Park Visitor Centre, and then the further 26+kms to the Pickaninny Car Park from whence the walk to the gorge began, was an experience to be remembered. Needless to say we left the van at the Spring Creek free camp while we did this trip. We thought the road up to Lawn Hill was corrugated, but this road had to be driven to be believed. How the poor old Pajero stayed glued together I have no idea, but apart from the vehicle, I am so glad neither of us have false teeth, because I am sure they would have shaken out of our mouths at every turn!! In spite of Trev reducing the tyre pressure 3 times to veritable balloons, we just couldn't stop the shaking, so there was nothing for it but to hang on from grim death and endure the hour & a quarter trip in, and then do it all again for another hour & a quarter on the way out. Well worth it though!!
We enjoyed seeing it from the air, but nothing compared to being in amongst the bizarre striped domes, or seeing the strange honeycomb formations in the overhanging rocks as we walked the gorge. Another strange phenomena was the termite mounds growing up like sentries keeping watch on the top of the domes.
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| White patch on top of dome is result of lightning strike |
Amazing country - on one side low, undulating hills covered in spinifex, and on the other this collection of amazing stripy domes rising out of the ground like a colony of beehives.
Tonight we are parked in another free camp just 96kms from Fitzroy Crossing - on the top of a cliff, with a cool breeze blowing and the moon hiding behind a bank of mottled cloud. Loving the cooler temperature !! Tomorrow Derby all being well.
Cheers for now x
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