Purnululu National Park

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Purnululu National Park
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Purnululu National Park (Western Australia)
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Coordinates: 17 ° 27 ′ 47 ″  S , 128 ° 33 ′ 51 ″  E
Location: Western Australia , Australia
Specialty: Sandstone formations
Next city: Kununurra - Halls Creek
Surface: 2,397.23 km²
Founding: 1987
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The Purnululu National Park (English: Purnululu National Park , formerly: Bungle Bungle National Park ) is located in the eastern Kimberley in the Australian state of Western Australia , about 160 kilometers south of Kununurra and 100 km northeast of Halls Creek as the crow flies . Since 2003, the Park UNESCO - World Heritage .

The area is a good 60 km east of the Great Northern Highway and can only be reached by four-wheel drive vehicle. Characteristics of the Purnululu National Park are, on the one hand, the globally unique, beehive-like sandstone mountain range ( Bungle Bungle ) and, on the other hand, extremely narrow rocky gorges in the sandstone plateau with palm oases.

The lost world of Bungle Bungles , as they are described, is a natural wonder in the middle of remote wilderness. Until recently, due to its remote location, this area was known only to the traditional indigenous people and a few farmers, drovers, geologists, scientists and locals. It wasn't until the area hit the media headlines in the early 1980s that the public began to notice it.

history

What is now Purnululu National Park has been home to the indigenous peoples for millennia. The area is home to numerous Aboriginal arts and burial sites . The name "Purnululu" means sandstone in the language of the local Kija tribe. It is believed that it was either misunderstood as "Bungle Bungle" or that it was the incorrect spelling of the common Kimberley Grass Bundle Bundle. However, rumors still circulate regarding the real origin and meaning of Bungle Bungle, making this "lost world" seem even more mysterious.

The results of radiocarbon measurements suggest that the indigenous people have lived in this region for at least 20,000 years. After Alexander Forrest had explored the central Kimberley along the Fitzroy River and east of it in the years 1876–1879 and recommended it as cattle pasture, in 1884 the grazing of the flat savannahs began. In 1976, a large area along the Ord River was declared a nature reserve to enable the heavily eroded land to be revitalized.

The Purnululu National Park in the northwest of this nature reserve was established in 1987. It covers around 240,000  hectares (ha), the nature reserve another 110,602 hectares.

Geography and geology

The formation consists of fragile sandstone covered by a thin layer of silica and lichen . The massif extends over about 45,000 hectares and is of Devonian origin, about 375 to 350 million years old. It is made up of sand and pebbles that rivers have transported from nearby mountains. This sediment has condensed into sandstone over time. Tectonic movements raised the massif twice, once around 250 million years ago and again around 20 million years ago.

The sandstone formation of the Purnululu National Park has essentially two different structures.

The rounded towers of the Bungle-Bungle-Massif (also called beehives or domes ) in the south and east are the result of heavy erosion that created the heavy downpours of the rainy season . The sandstone is loosely bound and open-pored, so it sands off easily.

In the north and west, on the other hand, the high plateau has essentially been preserved that rises over the surrounding plains at a height of over 200-300 meters and from which isolated rivers have washed away some deep gorges and steeply sloping gullies. The edge of the plateau rises abruptly from the savannah of the west and north.

To the northeast of Piccaninny Gorge , less than 360 million years ago, a meteorite impact left the Piccaninny crater, which is seven kilometers in diameter . The inaccessible terrain structure can be seen from the air.

In order not to accelerate the erosion caused by the low bond, thermal expansion and wind, all rock climbs are forbidden and restricted access is generally limited to the river regions.

flora

The plateau and the dome itself have no vegetation, but there are green islands with more than 600 documented plant species between the beehives and at the gorge entrances . The park is home to plants, some of which do not even have a name because they were only recently discovered.

The fan palm Livistona victoriae is particularly eye-catching; it clings to walls and crevices, especially in the north-west, at dangerously steep places, and reaches heights of up to twelve meters. Tree species that cling to the rocks with their roots are the rock fig ( Ficus platypoda ), the milkwood tree (a Tabernaemontana species) and the small eucalyptus species “Tropical red box” ( Eucalyptus brachyandra ).

Much of the park consists of wavy, deep red or yellow sand plains, overgrown with acacia and silver tree bushes , with eucalyptus forests as well as with spinifex and other grasses. Kapok bushes , Kimberley Bauhinia ( Bauhinia cunninghamii ), Kimberley heather ( Calytrix exstipulata ) and Grevillea species mix up the savannah country with colors.

fauna

The biodiversity is remarkable; it is particularly related to the boundary between tropical and arid climatic zones, which ensures that species of both climatic zones coexist. Over 40 mammal and over 80 reptile species are documented in the park.

The flat-nailed kangaroo , for example, comes from tropical latitudes, whereas the mountain kangaroo comes from stony dry zones . The frilled lizard comes from the north, the brown snake is adapted to both moist and dry habitats.

The easiest animals to spot in the park are the birds. There are around 150 species, including spinifex pigeons and flocks of brightly colored budgies . Other species such as the nocturnal owl swallow , the white-mirrored pigeon and the brown-breasted thickhead are so well camouflaged that they can hardly stand out from the rocks that inhabit them.

Infrastructure

The Purnululu National Park has an airport ( Bellburn Airstrip ) in the south on the plain , from which organized excursions can be undertaken in the dry season .

Individual travelers can alternatively head for the park via the difficult Spring Creek Track from the Great Northern Highway (entry point 304 kilometers south of Kununurra and 160 km northeast of Halls Creek ) with a four-wheel drive vehicle . It takes two to three hours for the approximately 53 km of piste and only then has you reached the visitor center on Bellburn Creek west of the edge of the slope.

At the Visitor Center the track splits into a northern and a southern route.

The 20-kilometer north route leads along the edge of the demolition to a parking lot for hikers with three paths:

  • Walanginjdji Lookout , a lookout point on the west side of the demolition edge, 500 m.
  • Echidna Chasm , a two-kilometer hiking trail in an extremely narrow rocky gorge that does not let in a ray of sunshine. It narrows at its end to a width of only one meter. In front of the gorge entrance , along the stony creek bed, an area of ​​tall Livistona palm trees is crossed.
  • Mini Palms Gorge , five kilometers, another gorge with young fan palms.

The south route (27 km) ends at the Piccaninny hiking car park in the edge zone of the Bungle Bungle "beehives", which are only accessible on a small area on a circular hiking trail.

Two further gorge hiking trails are accessible from this parking lot:

  • Cathedral Gorge (3 km), a gorge entrance that gives associations with a cathedral: the hiking trail leads through the "central nave", bounded by high walls, into the round "apse", which surrounds a small pond that remains even in the dry season .
  • The Piccaninny Gorge (30 km) is the longest and deepest of all canyons in Purnululu National Park. The hiking trail that branches off in front of the entrance to Cathedral Gorge can only be covered in several day's marches; Wild camping and complete self-sufficiency are required. The project must be registered with the national park administration.

The national park administration resides in the Wilderness Lodge , for campers there are the campsites Walardi and Kurrajong with toilets and running water, but without food.

The park is open from April 1st to December 31st and can be visited with an Australian National Park Pass. Since the rainy season usually starts in October / November, the park may close earlier in some years, depending on the road conditions.

administration

CALM (Conservation and Landmanagement) has held numerous discussions with the Purnululu Aboriginal Corporation about the future of the park since 1986. This organization represents the interests of the indigenous people who play an important role in the development and management of the park. The Purnululu tribe live on leased land within the park and will continue to perform their traditional role as guardians of the region. For example, Aborigines work as rangers in the park.

literature

Web links

Commons : Purnululu National Park  - Collection of Images, Videos, and Audio Files
Wikivoyage: Purnululu National Park  Travel Guide