A Beam of Light in Echidna Chasm

The morning is still young and after our exhilarating helicopter flight over the Bungle Bungles, we follow Gorge Road and head over to the northern section of Purnululu. We’re meant to stay here tonight at Kurrajong Campground but have decided to visit the area, then drive back to Kununurra.

Reaching Echidna car park, it’s a lovely still morning and there are shaded picnic tables so we enjoy breakfast without any rush. I trundle up to Osmand Lookout, a few hundred metres away to get an aerial perspective of the escarpment and the area.

Walking into Echidna Chasm, there’s towering Livistona palm trees everywhere and lush green foliage. The chasm is a narrow gorge, at some points only two metres wide, but with 200m high vertical walls. It’s impressive walking in and the pathway seems endless as it skirts between the narrow slits between the walls. It’s got a real Indiana Jones feel to it.

We are here to observe a daily ritual that is millions of years old when at approximately midday, the sun breaks in through the shadows and lights up the gorge like a laser sharp beam of golden orange light.

After a few hundred metres into the gorge, there’s a central chasm and Jen finds a comfortable spot to lie down between a bed of rocks and pebbles (a rock and a hard place...). I think she’s asleep. It’s whisper quiet as we wait for the midday rising sun to filter down the walls and light up the crevasses of the gorge.

This is not the end of the chasm and I take a left hand turn through another ancient doorway following the gorge deeper. It’s darker and narrower here but in the distance are 2 seperate aluminium framed steps leading enticingly to what looks like a vertical shaft with a large and perfectly symmetrical boulder lodge between two adjacent walls. That’s a pretty good description of it. The boulder hangs like it’s about to fall. Maybe it’s booby trapped by coyote waiting for roadrunner again. Nevertheless it’s an impressive piece of natural art.

I sit here waiting for the sunlight and suddenly a burst of colour enters the chasm and a beam of light magically shoots down the walls filling the crevasse with energy. The intensity looks like fire or lava flow.

After a while, I retrace my steps into the larger chasm to take shots of the sunlight beaming in from above which is equally impressive. Some things in life are temporary and fleeting so we all enjoy the moment with awe and humility.

Well that experience alone was worth the dust and flies that we have endured to get here.

Back in air conditioned luxury, Jen drives the 4WD out of the National Park and she quite enjoys the bumps and corner slides along the way leaving a trail of dust in her wake.

Tyres pumped back up to pressure, we hit the bitumen once more and make haste to Kununurra.

CAMP: Happy Valley Holiday Park, Kununurra / 2 nightsRead more