Bungles heli-hike is out of this world!

Great Walks editor Brent McKean recalls the heli-hike he did in WA’s Purnululu NP during his 6-day Kimberley, Bungles & Beyond pack-free guided walk with us.

“Local helicopter company HeliSpirit has been flying tourists over Purnululu NP (AKA the Bungle Bungles) for years, but this was to be the first time that pilots would drop off hikers within Piccaninny Gorge, saving two or three days of walking.

There had been talk for some time about offering this service, but nothing had ever happened. That was until Mark Norek from Life’s An Adventure heard about the idea and decided to get it going. I asked Mark about his motivation to create this experience.

‘I wanted to get my clients to go where the big buses and operators were not going. Our kind and supportive partners at HeliSpirit made the impossible happen,” said Mark. “They had the contacts with National Parks and the Indigenous support from being a long-term running business in the area. I’m just glad that all have embraced the idea and now have provided an amazing way to see the Bungle Bungles.’

So, there I was, sitting in a helicopter with my pilot and two other walkers, listening to the whirling engine. Within seconds we were airborne. From the air, Purnululu is an imposing sight. The orange and black stripes across the beehive-like mounds, encased in a skin of silica and algae, are clearly visible.

The pilot pointed out several geological features, including the natural corrals where local farmers used to herd cattle in the 70s before the area was protected. As we flew further over the range a hidden world of gorges and pools was revealed, with fan palms clinging precariously to walls and crevices in the rocks.

After the 20-minute scenic flight we touched down on a ridge just above Piccaninny Gorge and quickly exited the helicopter. Once our group of nine was together our local Indigenous guide lead the way, explaining about park’s geological and cultural significance.

Inside the gorge was a world of palm-rimmed waterholes and polished-pebble creek beds. The walking was easy and there seemed to be a ‘WOW’ moment around every corner – my camera madly clicked away trying to capture the splendour of it all.

And there it was again. The spirit of the Kimberley. A gorge millions of years in the making with thousands of unique rock formations, coloured in a hundred of shades of earth, walked on by nine excited hikers.

Over the next couple of hours we wandered, waded and rock-hopped, going deeper into the gorge, the high orange walls offering respite on a sunny day, and soon we reached the start of ‘The Fingers’, five sandstone chasms that spread out like a giant’s handprint.

We lunched and explored one of the ‘fingers’ before it was time to head back and rendezvous with the helicopters. By the time we returned to our accommodation we were all tired but buzzing with the excitement of the day. This was a bucket-list experience.”

Note: The heli-hike is an optional extra and a minimun of two people is required (click here for pricing and other info). For those who don’t do the heli-hike your guides will take the group on a 10km walk to pretty Whip Snake Gorge. Follow the Piccaninny Creek sculptured dry track through the striped bungles formations until we reach Whip Snake Gorge, a narrow gorge filled with ferns, with a rock pool at the end.