Purnululu National Park - Best places to see in Australia - What to do, how to get there, where to eat, where to sleep

Why Visit Purnululu National Park – Best places to see in Australia

The 239,723 ha Purnululu National Park is located in the State of Western Australia, and is considered one of the best places to see in the country. It contains the deeply dissected Bungle Bungle Range composed of Devonian-age quartz sandstone eroded over a period of 20 million years into a series of beehive-shaped towers or cones, whose steeply sloping surfaces are distinctly marked by regular horizontal bands of dark-grey cyanobacterial crust (single-celled photosynthetic organisms). These outstanding examples of cone karst owe their existence and uniqueness to several interacting geological, biological, erosional and climatic phenomena.

Purnululu National Park – How to get there

Access to the park by road is via Spring Creek Track from the Great Northern Highway approximately 250 km (155 miles) south of Kununurra. The track is 53 km (33 miles) long and is only usable in the dry season (1 April to 31 December) for 4WD vehicles. It will take approximately 3 hours to negotiate that distance to the visitor centre.

Access by air is less painful and helicopter flights are available from Turkey Creek Roadhouse (Warmun), 187 km (116 miles) south of Kununurra, or by light aircraft from Kununurra.

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What to see in Purnululu National Park

Budgerigars, wallabies, bungle bungle range, gorges, rock pools, sandstone towers and fan palm trees in crevices in rocks.

Photo by huskyte77

Where to sleep in Purnululu National Park – from budget to best lodging

Bungle Bungle Caravan Park (Bungle Bungle Expions), Bungle Bungle Turnoff, Great Northern Highway (1Km along the Purnululu National Park access track – accessible to all vehicles.), tel. 08 9168 7220, . This Station Stay Caravan Park was established on Mabel Downs Station in 2010. Facilities are “bush” style and basic but has a great atmosphere. Meals available. For those that don’t wish to brave the long rough track into the National Park a full day 4wd Bus tour leaves from here May to October. Caravan sites $35 Luxury Safari Tents $120.
There are two public campgrounds in the Park – Walardi to the south, near Cathedral Gorge and Picaninny Creek, and Kurrajong to the north near Echidna Chasm. They are basic campgrounds which offer water, shared fireplaces with a limited supply of wood provided (no collecting because it’s a National Park) and pit toilets. Booking ahead is advisable since you don’t want to be turned back after the long drive in from the highway.