Wow, we heard all sorts last night including cattle mooing, dingoes barking….and as Paul was standing outside looking at the wonderful starry sky an eight legged friend crawled across his bare foot (did have flip flops on)! As you can imagine he did’nt keep quiet about it but I think the spider legged before it got the weight of a size eight on its head!
We were ready for a day’s walking by 8am after a great breakfast and the day was already hot promising to nudge the barometer up to 39-40 deg C! Phew lots of water needed…
Our guide Peggy was in jovial form even at this time in the morning. She had picked up a family from an early flight who would be joining us for the day. They were a family from of all places…Wilmslow!
So water and lunch packs on board we set off to the south end of the Bungles to walk the Beehive Domes, Little and Big Cathedral Gorges and Piccaninny Creek in the morning then drive to north end of the massif to have lunch and walk Echidna Chasm. There is so much to write about theses wonderful rock formations but in essence they are sandstones and conglomerates formed by millions of years of weathering and river carving. The beehive description is apt and the striped colouring caused by hardened skins protected by cyanobacterial bands giving it the blackish stripe.
The two elephant rocks at south end of Bungles
Start of the Beehive Domes trail
Dry river bed between domes
Dry swirl pools in the rocky river bed
Paul in Cathedral Gorge
Karen with Judy in background at Cathedral Gorge
Water Monitor keeping safe from our trampling feet!
P&K at Piccaninny Creek
Australia north end rock!
In the afternoon we walked the trail to Echidna Chasm. This north end of the Bungles is so different to the south in that the rock is a conglomerate like pudding stone and very soft. The walls are sheer cliffs with Livingstonia Fan Palms growing in every nook and cranny.
The trail to Echidna Chasm
The texture of the conglomerate rock at Echidna Chasm
Echidna Chasm
Paul and a few palms at Echidna Chasm entrance
Coming out of the chasm!
Sheer cliff faces at north end of Bungle Bungles
We then finished the day by driving out to see the sunset on the Bungles with Peggy sneaking out some cheese and biscuits…..and a bottle of wine!
Waiting for the sun to go down.
Sun setting on Bungles ( not unlike Ayers Rock!)