The Piccaninny Gorge Trek is located in Purnululu National Park, also known as ‘The Bungle Bungles’. Situated in the Kimberley region in the remote northwestern part of Australia, Purnululu National Park is renowned for its stunning geological formations, including the distinctive honeycomb cone-shaped domes. Until 1983, the Bungle Bungles were known only to Aboriginal people. It was “discovered” by a film crew, and in 1987, the area was declared a national park. It is now a UNESCO Heritage site and a popular tourist destination in the Kimberley.
The Bungle Bungles undoubtedly offer a lot of options for hikers. However, the multi-day Piccaninny Gorge Trek is the only trail where you can escape the crowds at this popular destination.
Overview of the Piccaninny Gorge Trek
For experienced hikers seeking a challenging adventure, the Piccaninny Gorge Trek is a must-try. This multi-day trek spans approximately 30 kilometers and takes you into the heart of the Bungle Bungle Range, where Piccaninny Creek has cut a deep gorge through the main plateau, allowing you to explore the impressive gorge system. During the winter months, the creek is dry, and the Piccaninny Gorge Trek follows the creek and its tributaries.
The Piccaninny Gorge Trek is a grade 5 return hike that normally takes 2 to 4 days to complete, but can take longer. The time required to complete the trail depends on whether you explore all five side gorges.
If you are not planning to explore all side gorges, 2 days and 1 night is enough to complete the hike. However, you will require an extra one or two days to explore the gorges.
There are no signs or track markings, so you have to rely on your own navigational skills. However, it is easy to navigate as you follow Piccaninny Creek. Once you are in the gorge, the GPS signal is interrupted by the tall gorge walls. It may be difficult to send messages through a satellite communicator. We met a couple who had difficulties sending messages through Garmin InReach when inside the gorge.
The walk along Piccaninny Creek is mostly flat, but walking on loose cobbles and sand in scorching 35-36-degree heat can be challenging. Furthermore, exploring the side gorges involves a lot of boulder hopping and scrambling. But rest assured, you will be rewarded with the most spectacular views.
How to get to Purnululu National Park and start of the Piccaninny Gorge Trek
Purnululu National Park is located in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, a remote and sparsely populated area in the northeastern part of the state. This area is known for its rugged beauty, vast wilderness, and stunning gorges.
If you are on a road trip around Australia, to get to Purnululu National Park, you can drive from Kununurra (north of the national park) or Halls Creek (south of the national park). We drove from Kununurra, and it took about half a day to get there.
Spring Creek Track
From Kununurra, drive along the Great Northern Highway for about 250 km. At the turn-off to the park, there is a sign. From the turn-off follow the unsealed Spring Creek Track for about 53 km to get to the visitor centre. You’ll need a very good high clearance 4WD, as the road is very heavily corrugated. In fact, it was one of the worst unsealed roads with terrible corrugation we ever drove on in Australia. There are also several creek crossings.
If you drive in the northern direction, the closest town is Halls Creek, it is about 100 km drive to the turn-off to the park. There is a caravan park in Halls Creek.
After completing the hike we drove in the direction of Halls Creek, but didn’t stay there and drove further to Fitzroy Crossing. We arrived at Fitzroy Crossing after dark and didn’t find anywhere to stay, so drove another 90 km, and stayed at Ellendale Station Rest Area.
Another option is to fly to Kununurra . You can hire a 4WD there, stock up on water and groceries, and drive from Kununurra along the Great Northern Highway for about 250 km until the turn-off.
Piccaninny Gorge Trek Trailhead
The Piccaninny Gorge Trek starts from the Piccaninny Creek carpark, located approximately 27 km from the Visitor Centre. The closest campground is Walardi Campground, about a 17 km drive from the trailhead.
Important things to know before starting the Piccaninny Gorge Trek
Registration
For your safety, you must register at the visitor centre before starting the hike. The Visitor Centre opens at 8 am. It is a good idea to register the day before so you can start the hike as early as possible to avoid the heat. Upon completing the hike, you have to sign off to avoid search and rescue operation. Just in case, we agreed to sign off the day after we complete the hike, as the visitor centre closes at 4 pm. Please note that registering and deregestering are compulsory.
Personal Locator Beacon
It is compulsory to carry a personal locator beacon (PLB) on this hike. If you don’t have your own, you can hire one at the Visitor Centre for $20 with a $200 deposit.
Pay for camping
Additionally, while at the visitor centre, you need to pay for camping at the Piccaninny Gorge. It costs $8 per person per night. Since there are no facilities, hikers must be self-sufficient and carry all camping gear, food, and water supplies with them.
The park entry fee is $17 per vehicle per day, or buy a Park Pass.
Seasonal closure
Purnululu National Park is closed during the wet season from November to April.
Weather forecast
Daytime temperatures can exceed 40 degrees Celsius, so be prepared for the heat. Make sure to check the weather forecast before hiking, and don’t take this hike if there is rain is forecasted. The creek bed can flash flood very quickly. We were asked by the visitor centre not to stay in the gorge no longer than next 2 days due to the rain forecast, so we only did 2 days hike. When we came to the visitor centre to sign off, we were informed that the park might get closed because of the rain. Indeed, it was closed the following day.
Water
The most reliable source of water in the gorge is the Black Rock Pool, located about 1 km from the Elbow. When we hiked in June, there was plenty of clean water there. As the Black Rock Pool is used as a water source, it is strictly prohibited to swim there. Water should be treated before use. There are also some seasonal pools in the gorge, but the water there looked filthy.
It is recommended to carry 1 litre of water per person per hour of hiking. We carried 4.75 litres of water each and refilled one 1.5 litre bottle, and this lasted us 1.5 days. We returned to the carpark by midday on day 2, and on day 1 we started very early in the morning. This way we avoided the heat while hiking in the open area and were able to reach the shade of the gorge before it became very hot.
Piccaninny Gorge Trek – Trail Notes
From car park to the Elbow (8 km)
The Piccaninny Gorge Trek starts from Piccaninny Creek carpark and initially, it follows the same route as other Southern walks. It is an 8 km hike from the carpark to the Elbow. This stretch of the trail mostly follows a firm creek bed with occasional loose cobbles and sand. You will be surrounded by impressive beehive-shaped domes, but there is no shade in this section until you reach the mouth of the Piccaninny Gorge (Elbow).
We registered at the visitor centre the day before, so we could start the hike early to avoid intense heat and reached the Elbow before it got too hot. It took us about 3 hours to reach the Elbow.
From Elbow to Black Rock Pool (600m)
The Piccaninny Gorge starts at the Elbow. Once inside the gorge, you can walk in the shade which makes hiking easier.
From the Elbow, continue for about 600 meters further into the gorge until you reach the turn-off for Black Rock Pool. Please remember that there is no signage at the turn-off. From there, it’s a short boulder scramble to the pool.
Black Rock Pool is the only reliable source of water in the Piccaninny Gorge. Therefore, some hikers choose to camp near Black Rock Pool to be close to the source of water, and explore the side gorges from there. We refilled our 1.5-litres water bottle there and continued further into the gorge.
From Black Rock Pool into the gorge
In this section of the trail, the steep gorge walls up to 200 m high loom overhead and provide plenty of shade. However, walking on sand and loose cobbles was quite tiring. We hiked another 5 km to the start of side gorge 5. Initially, we considered setting up the camp there but then decided to hike back and camp halfway between the start of side gorge 1 and side gorge 5. There are plenty of places to set up a camp. You can camp anywhere between the Elbow and the end of the Piccaninny Gorge.
Exploring Side Gorges (Fingers)
There are five side gorges branching off from the main gorge. They are arranged like the fingers and a thumb of a right hand, hence they are also referred to as the ‘Fingers and a Thumb’.
The first gorge, or the Thumb, is located on the left and is approximately 3 km from the Elbow.
Once you’ve chosen a spot to set up camp, you can begin exploring the side gorges, provided you still have sufficient time and energy. Alternatively, you can save the exploration for the following morning. Hiking within the gorges is slower and more demanding compared to hiking along the main gorge due to rough terrain. Some of the gorges (fingers) may be partially filled with water, requiring swimming, while others involve steep climbs, boulder hopping, and scrambling.
Due to time constraints, we only had time to explore one or two gorges. At the beginning of the trek, we met a couple who had hiked to several gorges and told us they liked Finger 5 the most of all. Hence, we decided to give it a try.
Finger 1
Finger 1 requires swimming through a narrow and dark gorge. According to some reports, swimming can take up to 40 min.
Finger 2
After completing this hike, I watched some videos on Youtube, and I think the side Finger 2 really stands out with its remarkable cave and amazing rock formations.
Finger 4
As of June 2023, access to Finger 4 is closed. Due to rock falls, it is not safe to hike into this gorge.
Finger 5
Finger 5 was the only gorge that we hiked to the end. This side gorge requires some boulder hopping and scrambling, it ends in a cave and tunnels underneath and between huge boulders.
