Bungle Bungle Flight 10/4

We went on a small Cessna 207 plane flight departing from Kununurra and heading for the Bungle Bungle ranges. This is Diversion Dam on the Ord River in Kununurra.



Lake Argyle is the largest man made lake in the Southern Hemisphere. It holds between 9 and 18 times as much water as Sydney Harbour depending on who you believe. It does however expand in size during the wet season. It is the second biggest reservoir in Australia.



We passed over two enormous cattle stations Lissadell and Texas Downs, whose homesteads were based in the middle of nowhere. One was that remote that it was only accessible via a helicopter during the wet season. There was some fabulous scenery of craters and rugged cliffs.



Next was the highlight of the trip, the Bungle Bungle Ranges .



They were only really discovered in 1982 when they were captured on film as part of a documentary on cattle. Only a few people knew of their existence before then.



The area was classed as a World Heritage site in 2003 and is part of the Purnululu National Park.



The origin of the name Bungle Bungle is a mystery. One theory is that it came from a misspelling of one of the grasses in the area 'Bundle Bundle grass'. But David's theory is that the area was once visited by a big brown bear, a man called Geoffrey, a pink hippo and an orange thing with a zipped mouth. You choose.



If you look closely you might spot Helen Daniels from Neighbours still painting away, she loved to visit regularly.



We stopped at Bellburn to drop off some passengers. It was just an airstrip in the middle of nowhere. Here is Jayne waiting for the return flight whilst David got some much needed fresh air as he was a little green and suffering with motion sickness.



On the return journey we passed over Piccaninny Gorge and Deep Gorge.



We also flew over the Argyle Diamond Mine. The mine recovers in excess of a million carats annually. They also produce the rarer pink diamonds of which only a wine glass full is found annually and is priced at a million dollars per carat. Unfortunately for Jayne this meant she couldn't have an exclusive Australian pink diamond, and is unlikely ever to do so unless she wins the lottery.