As I am sure you have discovered by now, we had been very busy tourists during our stay in Kununurra. There was now just one thing left to do....a ramble through the Mirima National Park which was right on our doorstep.
Early morning seemed to be the best shot for both colour and personal comfort. A gate in the back fence of the Hidden Valley Caravan Park took us directly onto the track into the park which forms the park backdrop.
This quite large park (it covers over 2,000 hectares) is known for its spectacular rock formations. These layered rocks were formed over 300 million years ago by sedimentary creek deposits and wind blown sand. Fortunately the fragile orange sandstone we see today is protected to a large degree from the eroding effects of the torrential rains of the wet season by a thin layer of grey-black algae and lichens, which also create some of the patterns on the rock. As we were to see, many have been compared to what is found in the Bungle Bungles.
The early morning light was already beginning to pick out the tops of many of the crags
which have been weathered into all shapes and sizes.
At this point it was easy going, but that did change later.
Everywhere we looked there were new shapes and colours. Serious editorial rigour has been applied to this blog!
As the sun poked its head over the rim of the park walls, our track was becoming more challenging
and the rocks were beginning to show their real colours and patterns.
Here we have a great example of the dark layer of algae and lichen on this rock face,
and again here, where the effect is, as I mentioned earlier, strikingly similar to that found in the Bungles.
Not too far into our jaunt we turned off the main track to follow a very narrow path through the scrub which we believed would take us to a spot from which we could overlook Kununurra township.
Where ever we looked, to the the left and right, striking rock formations rear skywards.
We were finally there, where this trail sign seemed to state the obvious!
All around us the rocks were now glowing red, but could we see the town?
Well, just.
Even if this view of the town was a little suspect, other rewards for our efforts to get here were all around us.
We were more than glad of the shade as we made the return trek to the main track. The day was already beginning to heat up.
Quite a few sections of this track required some careful negotiation.
But of course, there are some advantages in having to slow down......you see more!
On this rock face the erosion marks were nothing short of fascinating.
In addition to the spectacular rock formations, a section at one end of the park provides a structured walking path where descriptive signs, designed and developed by the local indigenous custodians of the park, provide information about much of the local flora.
But even here, the striking scenery
is never too far away. How's this for a taste of the Bungles?
There are dozens of informative signs along this part of the walk, all of which are beautifully designed and very easy to understand.
But the trees or shrubs which they describe are not always immediately obvious. In this case, the 'turkey bush' was growing high on the rock face above us, where its pink flowers were glowing in the morning sunlight.
And, here again, we had to cast our eyes about us. OK, we are looking for the 'emu apple'.
That must be the tree.
It was, and a much closer inspection confirmed what the sign had told us. If nothing else, this section of our walk through the park showed us just how easy it is for the untrained eye to walk blithely past significant examples of good bush tucker. And many of these trees and shrubs provide multiple benefits. In this case, apart from the fruit, the emu apple leaves and bark are used in creeks to stupefy fish which can then be easily plucked from the water as they float to the top.
As I said earlier, these are but two examples of many along this pathway. We spent a very interesting hour or so in this section before retracing our steps back to our caravan park. A walk through the Mirima National Park is an absolute must for any who visit Kununurra. Apart from anything else I now felt less miffed that we had not been able to see the Bungle Bungles on this trip. We had been presented with a mini version in our own Kununurra back yard.
Our Kununurra experience was now at an end. By now we were both worn out by all that we had seen and done and were really looking forward to our next stop....a few days 'confined to camp' lazing about at the Lake Argyle Resort.
So let me farewell Kununurra and our sojourn in the East Kimberley with the last of my photos of the symbol of the Kimberley, this painted boab tree on the slopes of the rocky hill on the side of Weber Plan Drive, not too far from the entrance to the Hidden Valley park. I can't think of a more apt parting scene.
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