Hey everyone, and welcome to World Heritage Journey. I'm Joel on the Road, thanks for
joining me! For today's video, we're at Purnululu National Park, in north-western Australia. So,
about 50 kilometres down this dirt road behind me, lies spectacular Purnululu National Park.
It's another of Australia's magnificent, undisturbed landscapes. Since it's so remote,
and we can't get our car in, we'd planned to join a tour, and explore the area at ground level.
But thanks to some mechanical issues, our truck isn't going anywhere, and we're taking
alternative transport instead - a helicopter! Let's go.
Purnululu National Park lies in the remote Kimberley region of Australia's north-west,
on the traditional lands of the Djaru and Gija peoples, who've lived in the area
for thousands of years. The national park covers a large area, of nearly 2400 square kilometres,
and is in one of the remotest areas of Australia. Even by helicopter it's 15 minutes from the
highway, and the nearest town of more than a few people is hundreds of kilometres away.
Much of Purnululu National Park is taken up with the Bungle Bungle Range,
one of the most spectacular natural formations in Australia. The Bungle Bungles are a series
of beehive-shaped sandstone rocks, or what's officially known as cone karst formations.
It's one of the best preserved and most impressive cone karsts anywhere in the world,
rising in some areas to around 250 metres above the surrounding landscape.
But one of the most striking features of the Bungle Bungle Range is the orange and grey stripes
that run horizontally across the formations. These stripes are created by cyanobacteria;
microscopic organisms that grow on the moist sandstone.
It's these cyanobacteria that create the grey stripes, while the orange stripes are where
the sandstone has dried out and oxidised too quickly for the organisms to form.
It's fascinating to see in pictures, but genuinely remarkable to see in the flesh.
In addition to the incredible beehive domes, there's also deep gorges that run
across the Bungle Bungle range. Piccaninny Gorge is the largest and most impressive,
but Cathedral Gorge, Whip Snake Gorge, and Deep Gorge are all magnificent as well.
It really is one of Australia's most amazing natural formations,
and it's quite startling to discover that Purnululu and the Bungle Bungles
weren't widely known in Australia - or even the world - until the 1980s.
Wow, what a fantastic experience. Purnululu and the Bungle Bungle Range just look magical from up
there, with those incredible beehive domes, deep chasms and gorges, and the beautiful contrast of
the red rock with the green flora. I'm still a bit disappointed we couldn't go hiking,
but there's nothing quite like a helicopter ride. But, that's it from me here at Purnululu, thank
you so much for watching. Give me a thumbs-up if you enjoyed the video, or leave me a comment and
let me know what you thought - I'd love to hear from you! And of course, don't forget
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