Video Transcript
Welcome to Wout of the World, and you already saw how we arrived in Australia for a big adventure. We drive from Western Australia, Broome, to Darwin in Northern Territory. And in this episode, you’ll see the Bungle Bungles.
But before we pick up the episode, let’s have a little recap of all the adventure has brought us so far. We’re exploring the Kimberley and first had a warm welcome in Broome. We drove to Derby for the start of the Gibb River Road. In the Windjana Gorge, we went looking for crocodiles, after which we saw Tunnel Creek. At Fitzroy Crossing, we have a great time on the campsite as we prepare for even more adventure.
The Kimberley is spread across the entire Northwestern corner of Australia, and it’s about the size of Germany, But it’s partially populated with only 40,000 people.
You have some canyons, you can make nice walks, there are swimming holes, there’s wildlife, and you can make one of the most beautiful road trips in all of Australia. Let’s go.
The road ahead is empty. We make one final stop before we leave civilization for a while. Well, we drove about 300 kilometres without any gas stations. So this one here in Halls Creek is very important to us. We don’t want to get stuck on the road somewhere, do we, Céline? And we needed some coffee.
We’re now at the Purnululu National Park. But before we get to Bungle Bungles, there’s another 2 hours drive over an unsealed road. So what I do now is put the tyres back at 30 PSI.
That’s It’s right, Jens, but we still have to drive this very challenging dirt road for about two hours. Most of it’s fine, but we do have to conquer the mud and the river crossings. How adventurous is this?
The further in we drive, the more incredible the views get.
This is one of the most rewarding routes I’ve ever driven, and we seem all alone. But it turns out we’re not. Guys, over there is a kangaroo, two of them. They’re just eating the flowers, chilling.
These are actually not kangaroos and not wallabies either.
They are Western Wallaroos, locally known as Euros. They are so fluffy.
Almost there. And as we drive the last bit, we start to see the typical Bungle Bungles landscape. The colours are absolutely stunning.
We’re finally here, guys. It took us first 3-4 hours on a paved road, and then 2 more hours on an unsealed road with lots of river crossings. Super spectacular, adventurous. We even saw two kangaroos on the way, so life couldn’t be more perfect. And tomorrow, we’re heading to Bungles Bungles.
We fold out our wonderful holiday villa for the night, and we can’t get enough of this. Camping life. Walk of shame, guys. Walk of shame. You got to go? You got to go? Well, this one is actually pretty okay.
As always, the animals are never far away in Australia.
The Purnululu National Park or the Bungle Bungles is on the UNESCO World Heritage List, and it’s one of the major highlights of Australia. The dome-shaped rock formations are over 20 million years old, and you can see the different stripes from orange to dark gray because of the different layers of sandstone. The most popular places to visit are the Cathedral Gorge, Echidna Chasm, and the Piccaninny Creek.
The Aboriginal name of the Bungle Bungles is Purnululu, and it means fretting sands.
The rock formations are pretty unique to me as I have never seen anything remotely looking like this.
This morning, we drove to the Piccaninny parking lot for the first two hikes. We’re going to do the dome walk, and after that, also the Cathedral Gorge. Together, it’s about two to two and a half hours, so it’s fine for Jens, and we got the carrier for Céline. This is it, guys, the Bungle Bungles, and I’m going to show you the inside.
We are here in July, and even though it’s high season, we can’t believe how quiet it is.
Our walk through the domes is breathtaking. It’s like an entire city with the rocks being the buildings. So guys, I’m here standing inside the Cathedral Gorge, and maybe you can hear my voice echoing in this space here. It goes all the way up. The cliffs are really high, and I can’t believe it, but I’m all alone here. Look at this. It’s truly one of the best places I’ve seen in Australia.
So we’re back at the camper van, guys. It’s noon, and I can tell you, it’s getting too hot to do any more hikes today. So what we need right now is this. Cheers. Best sip of Coke ever. I fly the drone over the Piccaniny Creek, but as you can see, it’s totally dried out for this season.
And did you know they have an elephant here?
Now we have all day because it’s too hot to do anything except for drinking beer.
Guys, we slept pretty good, but it was really cold tonight. I was wearing a sweater and everybody was just clamping on their blankets. We slept on a different campsite this time in the north side. Today, it’s time to see another phenomenon in the Bungle Bungles, which is the Echidna Chasm. Sun is coming up. It’s going to be a great day.
The place we’re visiting today is called Echidna. We’re here in the north of Bungle Bungles, and these red rocks behind me are Echidna, and inside you will find the Echidna Chasm. And in this Chasm, once a day when the sunlight shines in, you get a spectacular view. We’re here mid-July, and today it will be around 11am. It’s now nine o’clock in the morning, so we’re going to walk over there about one kilometre, and we have all the time in the world. So let’s go.
The rock formation of Echidna is named after a local animal that looks like something between a hedgehog and an anteater. You can see the resemblance, right? The walk is already phenomenal, but the Chasm itself really exceeds our expectations.
After about a half an hour walk, we arrive in the Echidna Chasm, and now we just have to wait for the perfect light.
Slowly, we begin to see the orange light coming in, and the Chasm lights up like fire.
That’s it, guys, for The Bungle Bungles. We’re heading back to the highway next stop, Kununurra. But did we enjoy the Bungle Bungles, guys?
Oh, yes, we did. I’ll see you in the next episode because there’s plenty more adventure coming.
Oh, yeah.
Subscribe to follow our travels in Australia now and all around the world later. Ciao.
Wout of the World
Online travel show in Dutch and English with World traveler and actor Wout of the World. In dozens of episodes Wout takes you out for adventure all over the world, always in the most budget-friendly way. Enjoy over 120 countries from your couch, phone or the computer.