Access to Purnululu is restricted and we are only allowed into 4% of the whole National Park for cultural reasons, so a helicopter flight is a great way to see more (although there are some areas we are not even allowed to fly over).
We took a 30 minute flight, with John and Harry (below) in one chopper and Ferg and me in the other.

The views were incredible, and showed us that the Bungle Bungle Range isn’t just about the domes. There are some serious gorges, chasms and ranges to see in the north, and you can even see to the Tanami Desert. In another 20 million years, the domes will have eroded away in the wind to look like the desert in the distance.
Click through the gallery of photos we took from the air to get an idea of how amazing it is.

Purnululu, or Bungle Bungle, is a place I have longed to see for many years, so the closer we got, the more excited I was. And it hasn’t disappointed. This is a really special experience.

Being surrounded by these unique banded domes – some large, some small – with towering red cliffs, endless gorges and chasms, massive dry river beds, and views you’ll see nowhere else in the world leaves you gasping at the surreal landscape.
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We headed south on the Great Northern Highway (someone has to go south) to Purnululu (the new name for the Bungle Bungle Range). It’s about 250km on the bitumen, through Warmun (the new name for Turkey Creek) and then 53 bone rattling, corrugated kilometres across some private property and then into the National Park. This last 53km takes almost 2 hours, and on top of the corrugations you also get a seriously winding road (quality car sickness trigger) and several creek crossings. No caravans are allowed in, so this reduces the numbers a bit. The enterprising owners of the station through which the road passes have established a caravan park at the start of the dirt road, so the Nomads can still drop the van (for a fee) and do a day trip, or leave the van for a few days (for a fee) and camp in a tent at the Bungles. Not too many Nomads are tent campers though! There is also the pleasant surprise of a coffee van, which is owned by (no surprises here) the station/caravan park owners. I happily added to the season’s profits as we left – it soothed my corrugated brain.
Anyway, we had arrived at the campground at Purnululu in time to wander up the hill for this fantastic sunset. This is the western side of the range, and the surrounding area is flanked by spinifex covered slopes.

The Ivanhoe Crossing is a much fabled crossing of the Ord River, but high maintenance. Increasing flows due to irrigation and the odd person being consumed by a crocodile has meant that this crossing is now permanently closed. But is makes for a good planking opportunity!

While the boys were on their river trip, I visited the relocated Durack Homestead. This is the original house built in the valley that the dam now fills. The house was dismantled, stone by stone, and rebuilt above the dam. They have a great display of the pioneering days of this famous family.

It’s just near the camping ground here, which sits near the dam wall with a spectacular view across Lake Argyle. Is this Horizon Pool to die for, or what?

I sent this photo to our architect and asked if our pool would look like this when it’s finally built. He said it would – when the landscaping is finished.