Purnululu National Park, also known as the Bungle Bungles, is one of the most sacred and spectacular places on earth. There are ancient gorges filled with life, which are made of layers of sandstone that are more than 350 million years old.
It is truly one of those places that must be seen to be believed. One visit in your lifetime won’t be enough, and the longer you stay the more you will learn about this incredible land and its people.
Keep reading this guide to discover the best places to camp when you visit Purnululu National Park, what you can expect at each campground, discover the other accommodation options, and get expert tips on driving into and exploring Purnululu.
Let’s start with the most obvious question first…
Can you camp at Purnululu?
The answer is yes, you can certainly camp at Purnululu. There are camping options both within the National Park and on the outskirts – giving you the option to stay near the National Park even if you don’t have a fully capable 4WD to drive all the way in.
Road and 4WD access are discussed later on in the article, you can skip ahead here.
Purnululu National Park is a remote location – be prepared
The main thing to keep in mind when planning your trip to Purnululu is that it’s a very remote location. You must make sure that you carry a fully supply of drinking water, food, and fuel for your trip, and plan your journey to ensure you never run out of supplies.
I managed to travel in Beryl (my 4WD) from Broome to Kununurra, stopping at Purnululu and El Questro with just my standard 60 litre fuel tank. I never had to use the spare diesel I carried with me because I planned each service station stop and the kilometres I wanted to cover at each place. If I had wanted to explore Purnululu National Park for more than 2 days, I definitely would have needed to use my extra diesel.
There is no fuel available at the Bungle Bungle Caravan Park, which is located next to the Great Northern Highway (at the turnoff to the Purnululu National Park).
I also carried a personal locator beacon with me on my trip around Australia, which would have given me a way to call for help in a life-threatening emergency. Purnululu National Park has limited to no phone reception – there will be no calling for help on your mobile phone if you get stuck. Consider carrying a personal locator beacon, like the GME PLB I carry (you can get them from Anaconda stores online).
Heat and Weather at Purnululu
It can get dangerously hot from September to April at Purnululu, with temperatures often getting to 40°C to 50°C. This is considered the ‘off-peak’ season as flooding rains normally batter the landscape, making the National Park inaccessible.
During ‘peak season’ or the ‘dry season’, daytime temperatures typically reach 30°C to 35°C. This is the coldest time of year at Purnululu. Night time temperatures at this time get quite cold, often below 0°C.
Even in winter it’s hot at Purnululu. Be sure to carry plenty of water when you’re out walking, and actually drink it. Making sure you eat throughout the day is also a vital way to help your body replenish the vitamins that it needs to properly absorb the water you drink. 5 litres of water is useless without any food in your body to help absorb it.
Purnululu is closed during the wet season (November to April)
The wet season occurs every year at a slightly different time, but typically goes from November to April. During this time there is a huge amount of rain and water across the landscape, meaning that the National Park is impossible to enter and move around in. The National Park is closed to visitors during the wet season.
Best month to Visit Purnululu
The best month to visit Purnululu is May.
Just like Goldilocks likes her porridge, it’s not too hot and not too cold. The National Park isn’t quite in peak tourist season in May, and there will still be some water in the water holes. Visiting in May will see you miss most of the big crowds, and you will still get to experience the landscape after the replenishing rains.
Like any place in Australia, the temperatures and climate are much more complex than just a ‘dry’ and a ‘wet’ season. You can read in detail about Purnululu’s yearly weather patterns here.
Purnululu Camping Options
There are multiple camping options when visiting Purnululu, three are within the National Park itself, and one is at the entrance to the National Park right off Great Northern Highway. There are also two free highway rest areas that are perfect for those on a tight budget or a short trip.
1. Walardi Campground (Purnululu National Park)
The Walardi Campground is one of the two campgrounds within Purnululu National Park, and it offers you the opportunity to be completely immersed in the magic of the place.
It’s located 12 km south of the Visitor Centre and is close to Cathedral Gorge and the Domes Walk. I stayed here when I visited Purnululu, and loved how quiet it was. The campground is nestled amongst the trees, with nothing but nature all around.
A campsite costs $13 per person per night (adults), $10 for concession and $3 per child aged 6-15 years. You will also have to pay entry to the National Park, which is $15 per vehicle. If you’re a frequent visitor to WA’s National Parks, a great way to save money is to buy an Annual All Parks Pass.
There is no phone reception at the Walardi Campground or Purnululu National Park. If you do get some patchy reception from time to time, you will be one of the lucky ones! There may be some patchy Optus reception out there, and same for Telstra, but there will be absolutely none for any other provider.
Bookings for Walardi Campground are essential and must be made before entering the National Park. I would recommend booking your site well in advance, or at least before you get in the car to head out there. It’s a busy place and can sometimes be booked out weeks or months in advance.
You can book a campsite through the DBCA website up to 180 days in advance.
Quick Tips
As for the camp itself, it’s got basic amenities like a drop toilet and some picnic tables. It’s nothing fancy, but is exactly what you’d expect from a DBCA campsite in a remote location.
- Campsites are unpowered
- Generators are not permitted on any campsite
- Campfires are not permitted at any time of the year
- Drones are not allowed anywhere in the National Park
- Take all your rubbish with you as bins are not provided in the National Park
Dual-axle trailers are strictly not permitted in any of Purnululu National Park’s campsites, so you’ll have to leave your caravan elsewhere if you want to stay in the National Park. The campground is suitable for tents, swags, rooftop tents, and single-axle trailers.
Walardi Campground is only open during the dry season.
2. Kurrajong Campground (Purnululu National Park)
Kurrajong Campground is the northern campground in Purnululu National Park and is located 7 km north of the Visitor Centre. This is a bigger campsite than Walardi, and generators are permitted in some parts of the campground between 8am and 9pm.
This is the perfect campground if you want to be near Echidna Chasm and Mini Palms Gorge. It’s got all the same amenities, pricing, rules, and booking requirements as Walardi Campground.
3. Bungle Bungle Caravan Park
The Bungle Bungle Caravan Park has long been a central meeting point and hive of activity for those who are coming to see Purnululu National Park. It’s located just off Great Northern Highway and is the take-off point for helicopter flights, 4WD bus tours, and Spring Creek Road for self-driving into the National Park.
The caravan park has a range of great amenities, and it really is a wonder just how much is available in such a remote place. There are cabins, safari tents, powered sites, and unpowered sites.
Their cheapest camping site is $25 per night for a tent camping site for one person, and their most luxe accommodation option is $359 per night for an air-conditioned cabin with a queen bed and full ensuite. Check out their website to peruse accommodation and camping options and to make your booking.
The managers at the Caravan Park make it even easier by offering dinner every night from 5pm to 7pm. Dinner is a set fee of $45 for adults and $20 for children, and bookings are essential (they can be made at reception).
The infamous and charismatic ‘Bungle Baravan’ serves beer, wine, and spirits from 4.30pm to 7.30pm daily. It’s a great place to meet some other travelling folks and hear some epic tales around the campfire.
4. Bungle Bungle Savannah Lodge (Purnululu National Park)
The Bungle Bungle Savannah Lodge offers unparalleled luxury in the heart of the Purnululu National Park. There’s a pool at the lodge which is the only place in the National Park where you can reliably swim all year round.
It’s very much an oasis amongst the wild and offers not only luxury lodging but the opportunity to immerse in the cultural history of Purnululu. There are locally-guided walking tours and traditional ceremonies where you can learn about the Djaru and Gija Aboriginal people and their connection with the land.
The Lodge has 26 ensuite cabins which you can book for ‘Dinner, Bed and Breakfast’ for $369 per person twin share. Children are $273 per person.
National Park Entry Fees will still apply if you’re staying at the Lodge, no matter what mode of transport you take to get there.
5. Leycesters Rest
Leycesters Rest is a free camping area just 9 km south of the Bungle Bungle Caravan Park on the Great Northern Highway. The drive to the Caravan Park will take less than 10 minutes and is a perfect access point for a trip to Purnululu National Park.
It’s a fairly standards roadside rest area with basic amenities. There are drop toilets and a few bins around the site. Drinking water is not available so you must bring your own. There’s a dump point, undercover picnic tables, limited other shade and a 24 hour-stay limit.
Dogs are permitted and you might get some patchy Telstra reception.
6. Spring Creek Rest Area
The Spring Creek Rest Area is even closer to the Bungle Bungle Caravan Park than Leycesters – it’s basically right across the road from the turnoff to the Caravan Park, and will take you less than 2 minutes to get there.
Given its convenient location and the fact that it’s a free overnight stopping area, it’s almost always busy. If you’re planning to stay a night there, I would recommend getting there as early as you can during the day to nab a nice spot to set up camp.
Dogs are permitted at the rest stop, and the maximum stay is 24 hours. There are some modest drop toilets and very few other amenities. It’s perfectly simple and perfectly convenient, but certainly nothing fancy!
Now that you have all the camping options for your trip to Purnululu, keep reading to find out everything you need to know about the famed drive into the Bungle Bungles, and some other important tips.
Can you Swim in Purnululu?
There are no permanent swimming holes or pools at Purnululu that are accessible by car or on designated walk trails. During the wet season there are plenty of water holes that would be the perfect place to swim…if only you could actually get there!
The region is not accessible during the wet season, and both the National Park and the Bungle Bungle Caravan Park usually close during this time. It’s best to plan your trip during the dry season (April to September).
There might still be some water hanging around in the natural pools in May, once the Park opens up after the wet season. But the longer the pools go without rain, the more stagnant and potentially bacteria-laden the water becomes. Unless there’s been a very recent downpour of rain and the water is crystal clear, with not a speck of green algae in sight, swimming in the pools is not safe.
What is the road to the Bungle Bungles like?
The most frequently asked question about the Purnululu National Park and the Bungle Bungles is ‘what’s the road like?’. The road has a pretty bad reputation and appears to be at the heart of fear for many a 4WD-er.
When I was making may way through the region, everyone who I met had either a story or a fear about Spring Creek Road – the road that takes you from the Bungle Bungle Caravan Park to the Purnululu Visitor Centre (which is called the ‘Purnululu Ranger Station’ on Google Maps).
How long does it take to get to Purnululu?
Spring Creek Road is a 53 km gravel road that is accessed directly off Great Northern Highway. It took me just under an hour to get to the Purnululu Visitor Centre at an average pace of about 50 km/h.
The road is bumpy, rocky, uneven, corrugated, narrow in sections, and has some very tight hairpin bends over the small hills. Any 4WD with a low-range gear can easily navigate Spring Creek Road.
Because of the bad reputation of Spring Creek Road, I was extremely reluctant to tackle it solo. But once I arrived at the Bungle Bungle Caravan Park, they assured me that if I took it easy and didn’t rush, that I would do it easily. And they were right. The road was a breeze compared to the crazy hype I had heard about it, I got zero flat tyres and Beryl had absolutely no problems the whole way. That being said, I’ve met a few people who didn’t have such good luck.
There were quite a few shallow water crossings, but they were easy to navigate and all had really nice rocky bottoms. In the more shoulder seasons, I imagine that these crossings would be a bit deeper than the 0.5 metres I experienced, so perhaps consider going in those seasons only if your vehicle has a snorkel.
Spring Creek Road Advice
The best advice I can share about staying safe on the Spring Creek Road is:
- Don’t attempt the road in a 2WD vehicle – it will not be possible (2WDs are actually banned on the road)
- Engage high range 4WD even if it doesn’t seem like you need it – it helps with handling the uneven rocky and steep sections
- Go slowly around blind corners – it’s a busy road and you will encounter cars coming the other way
- Check any water crossings you’re unsure of before going through in your vehicle – better safe than sorry!
- Carry two spare tyres if you can
- Take it slow as much as possible, this will reduce the risk of collision as well as damage to your vehicle
If you don’t understand anything on this list or have never driven a 4WD before, I would recommend booking a guided tour of the Purnululu National Park instead of self-driving.
As gutsy as a classic Toyota Corolla is, there’s no way you’re getting one of those to the Bungle Bungles! You can book 4WD bus tours through the Bungle Bungle Caravan Park.
Where is the Visitor Centre?
One thing that confused me at Purnululu was the location of the Visitor Centre. You have to do almost the whole drive into the National Park before you get to the Visitor Centre, which is located at the end of Spring Creek Road. The Visitor Centre is called ‘Purnululu Ranger Station’ on Google Maps.
Where do you leave your car at the Bungle Bungles?
If you’re staying at the Bungle Bungle Caravan Park and don’t have a 4WD or are not self-driving into the National Park, you can leave your car at the Caravan Park. You’ll need to pre-arrange this with the managers at the Caravan Park before abandoning your vehicle.
Where do you leave your trailer or caravan at the Bungle Bungles?
Caravans and dual-axle trailers are completely banned on the Spring Creek (Purnululu) Access Road. You could ask to leave your caravan or trailer at the Bungle Bungle Caravan Park if you are staying there.
Otherwise, the Warmun Roadhouse (55km north on Great Northern Highway) also have a caravan park where you may be able to leave your caravan for a couple of nights.
Are dogs allowed at Purnululu?
Dogs are not allowed in Purnululu National Park. When I visited Purnululu, I stayed a night at the Bungle Bungle Caravan Park, which welcomes dogs.
While I was there, the reception staff were kindly looking after someone’s beloved fluffy white dog while they were in the National Park. However, the Caravan Park do have a post on their Instagram page saying that they do not provide dog-minding services. So, if you’re planning to bring your dog make sure you arrange for someone to pet-sit while you’re out.
Is it worth camping at Purnululu/Bungle Bungles?
The obvious answer to that question is yes – of course it is worth camping at Purnululu. My favourite part was spending a night in the depths of the National Park itself and really soaking up the life and wonders around me.
It’s a remote place so it’s not suitable to visit as a day-trip, unless you’re flying there on a charter flight from Kununurra.
Purnululu is best enjoyed slowly. Sit down for some quiet moments and listen and look out for a rainbow bee eater or a bowerbird, a zebra finch, a nightjar, a desert mouse, a gecko, a water monitor, a frog, or wild orange, milky plum, bloodwood, or rock fig… The life to discover and experience at Purnululu is endless, all you have to do is be still for a moment.
It’s spectacular, alive and the people and land have so much to share. It’s a place you will never regret spending time and money to experience.
Final Thoughts?
If you have some magical nature moments from Purnululu to share, or some hectic 4WD stories, I’d love to hear about them in the Comments. If you have any questions, feel free to leave them below.