“Nothing Like Australia” encouraged ordinary people to submit their images of their favourite Australian experiences. This was a clever way to involve the most important people in showcasing some of the best and quite often, lesser known, Australian tourism experiences.

The website received over 29,000 entries and it was whittled down to just 8 finalist. One of these finalist was West Australia’s very own Purnululu National Park or Bungle Bungles as it is also known. The photo entry describes:

“There’s nothing like the echo of people singing in Cathedral Gorge, the Bungle Bungles. Everyone has a go…” submitted by Brian Dullaghan, Newstead, TAS

The Bungle Bungles is located in the Eastern part of the Kimberley region, with Kununurra and Halls Creek being the closest towns. The National Park covers nearly 240,000 hectacres and the Range rises up to 578 metres above sea level and stands 200 to 300 metres above a woodland and grass-covered plain, with steep cliffs on the western face – it is magificent to see from both the ground and the air. Even though it has been home to indigenous Australians for many years, few Europeans knew about this amazing phenomena until the mid to late 1980′s. It was then World Heritage listed in 2003. The National Park is home to Echidna Chasm, Picaninny Gorge and of course Cathedral Gorge as shown in the campaign entry. There are some fantastic bush walks or visitors can opt to take a chopper flight from inside the park, or from Warmun (Turkey Creek) or a scenic fixed wing flight from Kununurra.

“Purnululu” means sandstone in the Kija Aboriginal language. The name Bungle Bungle comes either from the corruption of an Aboriginal name for the area, or from a misspelling of one of the common Kimberley grasses found here, bundle bundle grass.

In addition to how it got its name, the other most popular question about the Bungles is: how did this remarkable landscape come about? The distinctive beehive-shaped towers of the Bungle Bungle are made up of sandstones and conglomerates (rocks composed mainly of pebbles and boulders and cemented together by finer material). These sedimentary formations were deposited into the Ord Basin 375 to 350 million years ago, when active faults were altering the landscape. To the north of what is now the Bungle Bungle Range, uplift occurred along the Osmond Fault to create the Osmond Range, and to the west took place along the Halls Creek Fault. Streams and rivers eroded these ancient highlands and at their edges slopes were steep and the energy in the streams and rivers was high, allowing them to carry large boulders and dump them at the foot of the scarp. Such boulder conglomerates can today be seen in the walls of Echidna Chasm. Most of the rocks in the Bungle Bungle Range, however, were formed from sand deposited further from the highlands by lower-energy braided rivers flowing across broad plains in open valleys. As more sand accumulated, the older channels consolidated to form sandstone.

The distinctive beehive-shaped landforms seen today have been produced by uplift and erosion during the last 20 million years. Contrary to its solid appearance, the sandstone is extremely fragile. The weight of overlying rock holds the sand grains in place, but when this is removed, the sandstones are easily eroded and the rounded tops reflect this lack of internal strength. Water flowing over the surface will exploit any weaknesses or irregularities in the rock, such as cracks or joints, and rapidly erodes the narrow channels that separate the towers.

One of the most obvious features of the sandstones is the alternating orange and black or grey banding. The darker bands are on the more permeable layers of rock (which means water is able to move through them with relative ease). They allow moisture to seep through to the rock surface, promoting a dark algal growth. The less permeable layers in between are covered with a patina of iron and manganese staining, creating the orange bands. These outer coatings (the rock beneath is a whitish colour) help to protect the lower parts of the towers from erosion. (source: www.dec.gov.au)

Channel Seven Reveal the campaign winner

So back to the campaign…
The eight finalist experiences were shown on a special Channel 7 show ‘Holiday Hot Spots’ culminating in the winning entry being announced…
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

...and the winner is...

“There’s nothing like going on the back of a camel at dawn to see the sunrise in the heart of my beloved Australia – Uluru”. Rookie Alvarez, Condell Park, NSW

Beware!! Cable Beach experiences 9 metre tides which is enough to get anyone in trouble if you do not check the tide book regularly!!!

Cable Beach got its name in the late 1880′s when the new telegraph cable was established linking the colony to England providing essential communications to the outside world.

As most visitors view the beach as the home of sun, sea and (occasional) surf, The Yawuru people have been closely connected to country for thousands of years. This is perhaps best illustrated by their seasonal calendar. They recognize six climactic seasons throughout the year. The seasons are broken down according to prevailing winds, ecological cycles (such as when certain fruits are prevalent or when the dugong and kangaroo are fat) and temperature. Their connection to the landscape is as much practical as it is spiritual.

The area of ‘Minyirr Park’ that is behind the dunes of Cable Beach is a sacred site to the indigenous population. It is believed to be the site where Aboriginal people were created. It is their traditional belief that three groups of people formed by spirits came from the sea and moved inland, singing life into existence and creating language groups, tribes and sacred law and culture. Minyirr Park now boasts an interpretive site and walk the trails amongst the sand dunes where you can learn about, and respect this important connection.

Having been voted WA’s best beach in previous years, Cable Beach is now in the running to be ‘Australia’s leading beach’ at the 17th Annual World Travel Awards. Get online to view this pristine beach from the Broomecam then place your votes!!

We were all very excited to be heading over to the major cities to celebrate with our guests, past and present, 10 successful years of The Great Escape Charter Co. We also surprised everyone when we introduced our special Sydney & Melbourne guest, Mr Wayne Poon!!

This was our chance to shout everyone those beers that Kylie, Trippy, Poonie and Jez had always promised. The parties were a great opportunity to catch up on ten years passed – what yarns were spun and laughs were had by all!! Some even stayed after the party to show us the sights of the big city!!

The functions were also a great opportunity for us to premier to our guests, our brand new Rowley Shoals DVD, click here to see for yourself.

Cruise Passenger

The Great Escape recently sponsored the Kimberley cruising feature in the latest edition of Cruise Passenger. See MV Great Escape on the front cover and a selection of images inside issue 37.

If you wish to subscribe to this magazine, click here

Australien Magazine, Germany

Broome, the Kimberley get a regular mention in the AUSTRALIEN magazine.

Western Australia is a favourite destination for our German friends.

The Last Wilderness

Terry Sweetman travelled on board MV Great Escape in May from Wyndham to Broome.

He was a guest of The Great Escape Charter Company aboard a Kimberley Classic Adventure.

George

The business lifestyle magazine for St. George.

Offers travel ideas for premium business customers.

Australian Traveller

Broome & the Kimberley are regular features in Australian Traveller.

In fact Broome was recently voted 4th in the 100 Best Town Issue.

Last week, MV Great Escape’s guest and crew were treated to a special sight of a pod of Pilot whales playing right near the boat.

OLD COUNTRY NEW COUNTRY
-The Journey of a Raft

This is the poignant and politically powerful story of Bardi Elder Roy Wiggan passing on to his nephew Albert the traditional aboriginal craft of raft-making. In the process, they travel from their country – the rugged and ancient beauty of the Kimberley region, one of the few remaining wildernesses on the planet — to the once pristine, now industrialised Pilbara to the south.

As Roy instructs Albert in Bardi raft-building, the land of their people is being destroyed by mining developments. To the Bardi people, “country” is not real estate to be bought and sold. It is the essence of their aboriginal being. But, now, Roy and Albert believe that mining “will ‘destroy our lifestyle, our culture.”

Roy and Albert’s dialogue in this beautifully-shot piece revolves around not just raft building, but their thoughts on the destructive impact of “new country” industrialisation on their “old country.”

‘Our job was to look after this country. Our job was to respect this land. It’s in our dreaming. It’s in our songs passed on for thousands of years. Now they want to take it all away — the last bit of Australia: The Kimberleys,’ Albert Wiggan says.

According to George Negus, the program’s presenter and Co-Executive Producer with Kirsty Cockburn, the story highlights two countries, two Australias – “theirs and ours that we call progress.”

“This short-film asks: Do these people stay with the old ways and continue their traditional lifestyle and culture? Or do they take the new ways and give up the very thing by which they define themselves ?” he asks.

Click here to preview a short trailer of the SBS documentary Old Country, New Country

‘There aren’t many traditional elders still around today unfortunately, especially ones who are willing to speak on camera, so this film is really special …’ Missy Higgins, May 2009.

Click here to familiarise yourself with James Price Point and see pristine coastline we are trying to save.

There are now increased flights from all the major centres around Australia with Qantas, Virgin Blue and Skywest. http://www.airnorth.com.au/ are the regional airline servicing Broome, Kununurra and Darwin being a convenient connection to the East Coast. There are a variety of new accommodations to choose from in Broome and of course, Spring Race Carnival is fast approaching and we are already enjoying the Staircase to the Moon.

If you prefer to go further a field and explore the Kimberley, check out Yahoo travel to find out why you should cruise the Kimberley coast.

Despite its isolation, Broome and the Kimberley attracts thousands of visitors a year. Tourists from all over Australia as well as international, see the region as a ‘must-do’ when visiting Western Australia.

Besides the Kimberley region’s historic towns, pristine beaches, adrenalin-pumping fishing, exciting outback Gibb River, Broome alone draws a crowd each year to witness the Staircase to the Moon. This natural phenomenon occurs each year between March and October when the full moon rises over Roebuck Bay. The low tides at this time expose the mud flats and as the moon rises, it creates a reflective effect reminiscent of a stairway.

Follow the link for the 2009 dates