Purnululu National Park, Western Australia

The brilliant oranges, reds and greens of the Purnululu landscape are strikingly beautiful. The contrast between the green plants and orange sandstone makes this landscape like few others in the world.

Over a period of some 20 million years, these deposits were uplifted and incised by torrential floodwaters which carved out deep gorges. The range now stands over 200 metres tall, towering over the surrounding semi-arid savannah grasslands.

Despite their fragility, the ancient sandstone domes have withstood floods, wind and fire for many millennia. This is due to the thin, protective layers of orange iron oxide and black cyanobacteria, visible in horizontal bands, which prevent them from disintegrating.

Cathedral Gorge, in the southern end of the park, is one of Purnululu’s most famous attractions. A narrow path which winds its way along the creek bed opens up to an impressive and humbling natural amphitheatre.

A spectacular waterfall here cascades from the heights of the cavern, but only after very heavy rain during the wet season, when the park is inaccessible. It is a magical sight that very few people get to witness.

The conglomerate rock walls of Echidna Chasm in the north are a stark visual contrast to the banded sandstone landscape to the south. The walls of the gorge rise more than 200 metres from the creek bed, and form a narrow passageway which is barely a metre wide in places. 

The Bungle Bungle Range fan palm (Livistona victoriae) is a prehistoric relic, found only between the Victoria River Basin in the Northern Territory and the sandstone Bungle Bungle Range in Purnululu.

The palm grows on the precarious narrow ledges of sheer cliff faces, surviving on permanent water seepage within the towering, sheltered gorges in the northern end of the park. They are also found at the base of the cliffs and along streams and intermittent watercourses.

Purnululu is home to more than 130 bird species, including the iconic spinifex pigeon (Geophaps plumifera) with its unmistakable orange crest. It also provides a habitat for some migratory birds, who arrive from the north during the wet season, and the south during the dry.

The Kimberley sandstone dragon (Diporiphora bennettii) is one of the many reptile species whose home is the vast landscape of the Purnululu World Heritage area.