Bungle Bungle

Saturday morning we got up around 6ish, took the boat off and headed out to the Bungle Bungles at 7. It's only 100ks, but took us 2 1/2 hours to get there. It's a sealed road for half the way, then it's unsealed through Mabel Station and into the National Park. The road is only open to high clearance 4WDs and after a day out there I can believe it!

The first (and worst) of 11 river/creek crossings is about 10ks in and a lot of people actually turn back there. I'm glad to say we made it through because the park has to be seen to be believed. I put it right up there with Ularu, snorkelling on the Great Barrier Reef and our sea plane landing at the horizontal falls for spectacular.

We spent 7 hours in the park and travelled about another 100 bone shaking ks to do 3 really wonderful and quite different walks. While the Bungle Bungles are probably best known for the "beehive" formations, we really enjoyed Echidna Chasm-a very high and ever narrowing chasm between the beautiful red rocks. Chathederal Gorge was beautiful too-a lovely walk through the gorge ending in a huge cathederal.

I was exhausted when we reached Echidna Chasm and refused to go the whole way-I sat on a rock and waited for Russ to go take a look then we'd head home. I had to put up with about half a dozen people telling me I should go to the end as it was spectacular.

Finally Russ arrived out and said we couldn't go home until I went in and saw it. I did and it was beautiful.

It's a very high chasm that gradually narrows to the end-in places where it twists and turns, you can't see the sky so feel like you are in a long narrow cave.

Anyhow, my not going in in the first place meant we were a bit late leaving the park and had to do the last and scariest water crossing in the dark-not very pleasant! Then we had to negotiate all the cattle and kangaroos on the highway back to Turkey Creek.