The story of this place
The Bungle Bungles in Purnululu National Park are a series of beehive-shaped sandstone domes rising up to 250 metres above the surrounding savannah, striped in alternating bands of orange and dark grey. The orange bands are iron-oxide-cemented sandstone, while the dark bands are cyanobacterial crusts — ancient living organisms. The range was unknown to the wider world until 1983 when a film crew documented them. Access is via 53 kilometres of unsealed 4WD track from the Great Northern Highway, or by scenic helicopter flight from Kununurra. The Cathedral Gorge walk leads to a natural amphitheatre with extraordinary acoustics. The Echidna Chasm walk threads through a narrow 2-metre-wide gap between towering 200-metre cliffs. Sunrise from the Piccaninny Creek lookout provides the most dramatic colour on the domes.