Hitch Hiking the Bungle Bungles

Our departure from Kununurra didn't quite go as expected.
Instead of saying goodbye to a couple of friends we'd met there, we aquired them as companions for a couple of days. Our hitch hiking companions were happy to get a side trip into the Bungle Bungles with us and then get dropped off at Hall's Creek when we turned south for the Tanami.

We set off with Hazel taking pillion position on the motorbike and Sofia making herself at home in Symon's spare seat (after a little cleaning out).

About 15 minutes out of town and I was stung on the nose by a bee. Knowing I needed to stop soon anyway I ignored this and kept riding until the planned stopping point. Once stopped I checked myself in the mirror and sure enough still had the sting with me so turned around and asked Hazel politely if she could remove the offensive barb.

Brave comments along the lines of 'don't worry I don't react to bees' were to come back and haunt me when about 3 hours later I was stung again, this time the bee had ended up inside my jacket and got me on the arm.

The following morning I discovered the left side of my face was considerably swollen and here begin the adventures of Manimal as I was renamed for the 2 days it took to return to normal. (photo to come later when I get it off Rupert).

The other discovery of the morning was the resident bovines who shared our roadside camping area.

The passenger rotation scheme again had Hazel riding pillion as we entered Purnululu National Park (aka The Bungle Bungles). People had told us that the road was really bad and they had trouble with some of the creek crossings, particularly the first one which had a lot of rock.

The only trouble encountered was after about 4 easy creek crossings I decided to skirt the edge of a particular pool because it looked nice and firm at the edge. Well it seemed like a good idea at the time.
I had to get it bogged at least once on the trip right? Hazel was a trooper and we had it out in seconds, however the experience was not kind on her already despairing hiking boots which were temporarily repaired with gaffa tape for the hike up echidna chasm.

Echidna Chasm is a rather deep, long and very narrow cleft in the rock. To this point either sunglasses and broad rimmed hat or helmet had managed to hide manimal's disfiguration, however in the darkness of the chasm there was no choice but to reveal myself and Alja's gasped 'Oh my God!' did little for my self esteem.

Once out into the light of day I was able to hide my disfigurement and we went on to discover the mini palms gorge which had some rather spectacular large palms at the start of the walk, however due to flooding the previous wet season was lacking a bit in the mini palms department. There were a few, but not many.

By politely disregarding the barriers and warning signs we progressed further into the gorge than we were really meant to but were rewarding by discovering an incredible cave which was pitch black to walk into, but gradually gave up a few secrets as our eyes adjusted. The main secret was that without some serious lighting and climbing equipment we weren't going further than 20 metres.

The day was rapidly departing and so we set off into the setting sun to find a camp site, the second was the preferred option if I was capable of navigating the treacherous roads while possessing the ability to see bugger all.

Rupert's highlight of the day and possibly the entire trip was a chance encounter with an old friend he had set out from London with 5 years earlier on the first leg of his driving adventures which took him through Africa. The 2 landrovers and their owners were united for a night and tales of fellow travelers were exchanged.
The next morning we were off to see the famous bee hive domes of the southern half of the park and a hike into Cathedral Gorge.















Eventually we had to move on as we still had about an hour and a half of gravel road and creek crossings to make it back out to the roadside camp site with the bulls.
Having gotten a good feel for the road on the way in the day before I was more confident and able to push a bit harder. Positions had changed again and with Sofia holding on tight we charged out of the park, a power slide on a bend and launching into the air through a (dry) floodway were not enough to shake her off or even a squeal of terror.

That night Symon pulled out his toys and the landrover was converted into movie screen with the help of a large white screen and with a data projector and Symon's car stereo delivering clear audio we settled in with a number of fellow campers to watch the 3rd Pirates movie.

The following morning we set off for Hall's Creek and just after climbing the embankment and reaching the road the short way (the entry road was a 500m detour) I pulled out behind a pair of touring bikes and spent the next hour trying to keep up with them at an average speed approaching 130km/hr.

With some fresh supplies - our hitch hiking companions wanted to say thanks by cooking dinner for us - we set off to an idyllic camp site via a quick dip in a warmish spring.

Finally we had to return to Halls Creek so the lovely hitch hikers could find someone to give them a lift. Finally an offer was made that if 'I can get my truck running again you can come with me' and sure enough after a few minutes of dubious noises and engine cranking the old beast roared to life and our friends were on their way to Broome, and we were off to Wolfe Creek and the Tanami Rd.