The Kimberley and the Bungle Bungles

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After a couple of days to recuperate in Broome we embarked on the next leg of our tour through the Kimberley region. This region has lots of waterfalls and gorges which are just as stunning as those in Karijini. The rock here is softer so the gorges are wider but are just as pleasing to the eye. The last few days of the tour, taken with Western Exposure, involved a tour of the famous sandstone formations, the Bungle Bungles.

The main route through the region is the Gibb River Road, a dirt road that runs for over 500kms from Derby to Kununurra. The road is repaired every year after the wet season but it still gives you a rocky ride at times. You certainly wouldn't want to attempt this without a 4WD vehicle!

More stunning gorges and waterfalls

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Our nights were mostly spent on campsites but we did have one night of proper bushcamping. We did have the option of sleeping in swags but after the Port Hedland mosquito massacre in the Karijini trip we all took the option of tents this time.

After a morning on the road we arrived at Tunnel Creek in the mid afternoon. This was the hideout of the infamous Aboriginal outlaw, Jundamarra. He was trained by the police as a tracker but he rebelled after being forced to hunt down members of his own family. He harassed the police and the white settlers for four years before being shot at the entrance to the creek. We spent an hour exploring the cave complex by torchlight. We waded in water and squeezed between rocks before going for a cooling swim.

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The next day we visited Windjana Gorge which is the home to hundreds of freshwater crocodiles. We walked down the creek and saw quite a few freshies hanging out in the water. These crocs are not as large as their saltwater cousins and don't pose a significant threat to humans. Even so, we didn't hang around for a swim and headed onwards up the Gibb River Road.

Over the next couple of days we saw some beautiful sandstone gorges and waterfalls. We would walk for 40 mins or so and then relax for an hour in a cooling waterhole. Quite a few of them had good jumping spots into the water, which kept most of tour group happy for a while. Our tour guide, Steve, seemed to be hell bent on breaking his neck by jumping into the water from horrendous heights.

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After four days on the Gibb River Road we headed into the Bungle Bungles, made famous by Neighbours' character Helen Daniels who always went painting in the Bungles when she needed a holiday. The Bungle Bungles are home to a number of gorges and sandstone escarpments but they are most famous for the beehive domes which have layers of rock of different colours.

As we entered the park we weren't unduly concerned by the growing cloud cover - it was the dry season after all. Our guide had visited the park for twenty years and had never seen a drop of rain. It couldn't possibly rain - or could it?

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We set up camp and then eat dinner and then the drops started to fall. During the night our tents were caught in an almighty deluge. In the morning we found that the park had been closed and we weren't allowed to move as any vehicles would turn the roads to mush as soon as they travelled on them. So, we spent a day around the campsite playing cards and a short game of cricket between the showers. News started to filter through that we could be trapped in the park for weeks if it carried on raining.

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After a drizzly night we were finally able to make it out of park in convoy. It was a rocky ride at times but we made it out comfortably in the end. Things improved remarkably a couple of hours later when we found a place to get a helicopter flight over the Bungles.

This was the best money we spent in WA. We went on an incredible 45 min flight over the gorges and the beehive domes which more than made up for the day wasted on the campsite. We definitely ended our trip to Western Australia on a high!