Purnululu Overnight Hike

Join the Grumpy Old Men as they attempt a thirty-five kilometer hike into the heart of one of the Bungles’ most renowned and picturesque gorge systems. How will these “old and slow” men cope with such a long walk under trying conditions? Have they bitten off a bit more than they can chew?

The lure and challenge of the Bungles was to be the first stop for this year’s Grumpy Old Men’s Kimberley tour. Massive striped sandstone bee hive domes rise out of the red dirt standing sentinel over huge red gorges and imposing country.

Purnululu had been a mystery calling out to me for some time. The challenge of fifty odd kilometers of tough corrugated track peppered with creek crossings has always dissuaded us from dropping in before, but we decided now was the time. With hearts in our mouths we pulled off the bitumen and commenced the journey into a new and challenging part of the East Kimberley. Most of the time we were comfortable at around 40 kmh although there were times we had to crawl along more slowly. Fellow Grumpy – Michael Mann’s words echoed in my mind as we ventured along the road in. He said most of the Kimberley tracks are fine providing you are not in a hurry and take the driving easy. Mike’s words were to become the guiding mantra for this year’s trip, ensuring a smooth trip with not even one puncture in over a thousand kilometers off the bitumen.

So it was we three Grumpy Old Men wound our way slowly but surely into Purnululu National Park. The glory of driving into the Bungles in the late afternoon is one to be savored as deep red rocks and ranges almost seem to glow in their afternoon majesty. Every turn provided a new vista of spectacular cliffs and towering massifs of red, changing hue from orange to red to dark purple as the sun heads towards its bed in the west. The creek crossings in early July were all fine, probably not deeper than 40 cm and always firm underneath (nothing like a firm bottom!)

Purnululu is well set up. There are two public camping areas, all with plenty of  shady campsites, most of them with well maintained fireplaces, pit toilets and water taps (treat before drinking). We set up that warm afternoon under some shady trees and drank a pleasant cold beer as we listened to the birds sing. We then spent time packing our packs for the commencement of our big adventure the following morning. We had read about a good hike to be had up Piccininny Creek and into some majestic gorge country. The advice suggested a 12 or 14 kilometer walk to get right into the gorges. Water was said to be limited, so we packed purification tablets along with around five litres of fresh water each. We also packed dehydrated camping food for dinner along with snacks, salami, cheese, biscuits and nibbles along with some cereal, milk and coffee for breakfast on the second morning. We were very conscious that 50-year-old grumpy old men weren’t ideal material for such a physically demanding challenge, particularly when there was a large degree of unknown. All the reading and homework in the world can’t prepare you fully for such a new and demanding adventure, but we had all been in training back in Perth doing a large amount of walking and cycling in the months leading up to our trip. That evening we ate a fine chicken curry accompanied by a nice Margaret River drop. A crisp salad was served, but we could only find one salad server (some times you’ve just got to rough it!) That evening we hit the swags for a pleasant sleep in preparation for the new day’s adventure.

We rose in the pre-dawn early light to the chorus of varied bird songs in the still air, donned our hiking boots and loaded the packs into the car for the 30 minute drive down to the Piccinniny Creek car park where we planned to leave the car for the 2 days. I was sure we had brought two dozen eggs from Perth, but couldn’t find them at breakfast time, so cereal had to do. The previous afternoon we had registered our planned walk at the visitors centre (a stipulated requirement). By 8:00 am we had shouldered our packs and were walking along the flat smooth rock of the riverbed. Our first rest stop 30 minutes later saw damp brows (we were later to discover our two selected walking days reached maximum temperatures of 37 Celsius both days!) and shoulders starting to feel the straps of the packs cutting in somewhat. In the hard slog of the hours that followed I came to learn that tightening the strap and buckle on your hips relieved the pressure on your shoulders. Onwards we trudged, stopping in the shade for 5 minutes every half hour and 10 minutes every hour. As the flat ground gave way to the beginning of the gorge country we were greeted with an increasing splendor around every turn of the walk. Beehive domes began to push up on both sides of us as the wide creek bed narrowed. Between one and two hours into the walk we noticed pools of fresh looking water should it be needed on the trip back. Well before 10:am the heat was starting to wear on us. Our shirts were wet with copious perspiration, but we drank plenty and often and continued on our voyage of discovery into Piccaninny Gorge.

The flat hard rock of the creek bed began to give way to gravel and sand with more frequent clambering up and down boulders and small crags We were enjoying the wonderful scenery, but starting to feel the exhaustion instigated by the heat and the clambering over uneven ground. We passed a few walkers coming back from a day trip and made the mistake of taking some ridiculous (and hopefully not malicious) advice from one of them who pointed out a side gully, telling Gary that it was a short cut that would save quite some time. Little did we know that quite the opposite was the case! Onwards we pushed up this narrow goat track, often pushing aside thick grass and vegetation. After about 10 minutes I became concerned. It was dam hot; sweat was dripping over my sunglasses and into my eyes, obscuring my vision and leaving a salty taste on my lips. Looking back whence we came it seemed increasingly evident that we were going in a totally inappropriate direction and getting further off the main track. I was hot, aching and tired – staring to notice less and less of the wonderful scenery, concentrating on getting one foot in front of the other. As I pondered our situation, the complete absence of footprints worried me and finally I suggested to the boys that we were headed the wrong way and that maybe we should consider turning back. They both agreed and we turned around. Almost half an hour later we had wound our way back to where we left the main track on poor advice. I found a rock to sit my increasingly heavy pack on, slumped backwards onto it (didn’t have the strength to take the pack off) and just closed my eyes trying to regain sufficient strength to continue the journey. I was pretty buggered and needed to recoup my energy and focus on getting through the rest of the morning.

We looked at each other and cursed this waste of time in such trying circumstances. After wiping the sweat from our brows and taking long gulps of water we pushed on through the heat. In another half hour or so three exhausted grumpy old men passed through The Elbow and arrived at Black Pool. The gorge had now narrowed right up with only a narrow space on the riverbed for walking and steep red cliffs towering in on both sides. We clambered up the rocks off the side of the gorge to find our water source still there but covered in an algal scum. We decided against filling our bottles (even though we had tablets) and collapsed in a heap on a flat rock in the shade. We later learned it was pushing 37 degrees at that time. We were buggered!

We lay on the cool rock for an hour without moving, and then opened our packs and ate lunch. On cooling down we discovered what a pretty place we were in. The gorge had narrowed right down with a narrow, but quite sandy floor. On both sides the walls rose up maybe a hundred meters to red spectacular cliffs dotted with vegetation. Mike wandered further up the gorge exploring while Gary and I lay like tired old men in the shade for another hour. Later in the afternoon Gary and I wandered up in search of Mike and enjoying the scenery along the way. We searched off the gorge floor in a couple of places for water sources and although there was lots of greenery, we were not successful. By 4:00 pm we had made a comfortable camp on the river sand near Black Pool. Mike got the night’s dehydrated rations out of his pack and we boiled water on our portable stoves and were eating dinner well before 5pm accompanied by a Margaret River red lugged 15 kilometers in Mike’s backpack. By 5:30pm three tired but contented Grumpy Old Men crawled into their beds anticipating a freezing Picinniny Gorge night.

We slept well on that moonlit evening and found that the anticipated cold night was actually quite balmy and warm. Next morning we were up by 5:00am intent to walk out early to avoid the heat. We were walking in the cool shade by 6:00am. We trekked on through the huge gorge system, surrounded on all sides by massive beehive domes and red rock ranges. Birds sung as we wound our way through the meandering gorge pathway. By 8:00am it was warming up again as we sat in the shade by a pool and we realized we were only one hour’s walk from the car. With renewed vigor in our footsteps the Grumpy Old Men found new energy reserves to cruise the last few kilometers back to the car. At 9:00am we tramped our way to the car, dropped our packs, shook each other’s hands and drank our last mouthfuls of water, satisfied that we had achieved what we set out to do experiencing some amazing scenery and surviving rather extreme conditions along the way on our Picininny Creek adventure.

Fact File:
A Grumpy Old Men’s Guide to Purnululu

Best Time to visit:
May to July. The park opens in April, some say this is the best time as there is plenty of water and greenery, however it can still be very hot and the creek crossings may be deep. The park remains open until December.

What To Take:
Everything. There is no fuel, fresh water, food or garage at Purnululu. Take sunscreen, appropriate clothing, shade, hat and sturdy footwear. A decent pair of boots is much better than sneakers. Visitors are asked not to bring firewood into the park, nor to collect it there. The rangers provide a limited amount of firewood for cooking fires each afternoon. Fires may only be lit in designated fireplaces. The Visitor Centre is open daily from 8 – 12 and 1- 4. Vehicle and camping fees apply.

Getting There:
The turn-off is about 100 kilometers north of Halls Creek and from there it is 53 kilometers to the Visitor Centre. Take it slow and you should make it safely in around two hours towing a camper trailer.  Don’t contemplate towing a caravan in, however off-road camper trailers should be fine. Remember Mike’s advice – don’t be in a hurry and take the driving easy. It also makes for a much smoother ride and less work on your suspension/shockies if you drop your tyre pressures down 5 or 8 pounds below highway pressures.

Driving Times:
Day 1 Perth to Munjina (Auski Roadhouse)          16 hours

Day 2 Munjina to about 50 kms from Halls Creek 15 hours

Day 3 On to Halls Creek to Bungles Turnoff          2 hours
Track to Purnululu Visitor Centre                            2 hours

Day 6  Purnululu to Kununurra                               4 hours
Kununurru to El Questro                                           2 hours

References:

Author’s Note:
•The “Grumpy Old Men On Tour” stories are from a set of trips beginning in 2005.

Previous Adventures: