Katherine to Purnululu National Park, Top End Road Trip - November 1997

Heading into Purnululu National Park in the late afternoon wasn't without its attractions.

After spending a couple of days in Katherine Sam and I said our goodbyes to Lana and Ollie for awhile, they were going to head up to Darwin to check things out whilst Sam and I were heading west. After saying our goodbyes it was mid morning when we left Katherine on what was yet another very hot day. Still I was pretty happy motoring my way west today, I'd managed to pick up Metallica's new album, the much maligned Reload while I was in Katherine. Now while it wasn't what I'd call a classic it was certainly better than the local Northern Territory radio stations. The other good news was that we were heading west along the sealed Victoria Highway in the air conditioned Troopie which made for a very relaxed and comfortable day.

Heading west towards Western Australia along the Victoria Highway, the weather conditions were fairly unsettled.

After passing the Victoria River Roadhouse (which had closed for the wet season) we continued west for another couple of hours, stopping occasionally to check out the brewing storms over the Stokes Range to our south. Late in the day we turned off the Victoria Highway onto the Bullita Stock Route and headed into the Limestone Gorge Camp in Gregory National Park. With the tent up Sam and I set off in the stifling late afternoon heat to walk the Limestone Ridge Walk before dropping back down to Limestone Gorge, enjoying the late afternoon light. 

Looking south towards the Stokes Range from the Victoria Highway.

Limestone Ridge views in Gregory National Park.

Gregory National Park

Boab Trees...we were getting close to the Kimberly now.

Limestone Gorge, Gregory National Park.

Sunset over Gregory National Park.

Waking next morning after a fairly hot and sweaty night in the tent (and not in a good way!) we packed up the Troopie, headed back up to the Victoria Highway and headed west again. Hitting the highway we passed through Timber Creek as we made our way west to cross the Western Australia / Northern Territory border just before we arrived at Kununurra. Kununurra is probably the capital of the eastern Kimberly I suppose and it's a good spot to pick up any last minute supplies before heading into the more remote areas. 

Heading along the Victoria Highway towards the border.

We were heading south now down towards Warmun, or Turkey Creek as it was known in those days. Now while Warmun is an interesting enough place I suppose we were down there because we were heading out to Purnululu National Park. Purnululu is also known as the Bungle Bungle Range and this was the first time that I'd been lucky enough to visit this remarkable spot. The drive in from the Great Northern Highway is only around 50 kilometres however it is pretty slow going. The slow going didn't really worry us today, as by the time we left the Great Northern Highway it was already fairly late in the afternoon and the low sun was lighting up the red ranges that we were making our way slowly through. Just before dark we arrived at the camp ground in the park, set the tent up and settled in for another hot night - tomorrow we'd explore Purnululu National Park a bit.

Heading into Purnululu National Park late in the afternoon.

East Kimberly country - approaching Purnululu National Park.

The Dirt.

For most of this road trip we were on bitumen highways so the driving wasn't particularly technical, although the 50 kilometres from the highway into Purnululu National Park was low range driving in sections. The camping at both Limestone Gorge in Gregory National Park and Purnululu National Parks was pretty basic back in the day, basically just a patch of red dirt. There is water at Limestone Gorge however I wouldn't swim there as I think that there is a good chance that Saltwater Crocodiles may live in the waterhole. We were now late in November and while it was good that we had these magic spots largely to ourselves we were putting up with temperatures in the high 40˚ range so it was definitely not for everyone. We used Hema paper maps on this trip. 

Relevant Posts.

Lawn Hill National Park to Katherine, 1997.

Piccaninny Gorge Walk, Purnululu National Park, 2004.

It was a lot more comfortable in the air conditioned cab than it was outside!