Haibun The Bungle Bungles

 

This morning I've written the following haiku for the National Haiku Writing Month [1] Facebook page:

no beehives
at the Bungle Bungles
instead the stars sting
~ Beehive (prompt)

And I remembered the trip to the Bungle Bungles, which is why I decided to look again for the old diary entries and write a haibun about them.

I had been in Kununurra for a few days. Since I didn't have an off-road vehicle, I definitely had to take a guided trip. Since the distance to the Bungle Bungles is already 330 km, this was also advisable.
The journey started at 5:40 a.m. Our driver or ranger is Steve. First we took the Northern Highway and it took a very long time. You could see dingoes and also lizards. Finally we came through Tickalara Creek, because our track was about 3-4 km further on. You get close to the Ord River [2], you see the Mabel Downs, which stretch for at least 100 kilometers, over or through the Frank River and so on through an incredible landscape. Some spinifex pigeons (red-headed pigeon or Geophaps plumifera) could be seen. At lunch I united with another vegetarian.

Goonoonoorrang
swelling in the rain
the frogs summon [3]

Then we continued to the Froghole and Minipalms. At first the weather was good. Steve raved about a rain three weeks ago. He was here just two days ago. Everything was dry here, even when we arrived - but then a tropical rain fell on us, soaking us to the bone within minutes. My shoes were also thoroughly wet, even before we had to wade through the “bone-dry” streams. First we went towards Minipalms. On the way we left our things dry under a rocky outcrop. We saw many waterfalls; Steve hadn't seen them before on his 35 odd tours altogether. It path went deep into the crevices. We also saw the garish green frogs. Inside the gorge, the croaking of frogs sounded like an instrument of the Aboriginees. As we waded back the rain broke off, so I got my camera to take some more photos.

invaders wading
through transitory books
the frogs keep croaking

Then we went to the Froghole, and on to the Echidna Chasm (Purnululu National Park). There we walked to the end over many rocks and often through water. Steve played his didgeridoo from a distance. When we returned the sun was setting, so we saw the Bungle Bungles in full blush.

alpine glow
in the outback
pass the tea

A wallaby leaped past on the way to the Walardi Camping Area. Steve put the Billy on the fire. And there was even a shower since it had been raining. Then dinner (curry); as with flights, we vegetarians got our food first.
In the evening it cleared up and there was a wonderful starry sky to watch. We slept on canvas-covered mattresses in our sleeping bags. While lying down I looked at the two Magellanic Clouds. I hardly wanted to take off my glasses to continue looking at the stars that stood out from the deep black sky. Strangely, there were no mosquitoes. The stinging stars were much better.

stars punching holes
into the black canvas
staring a while

The next day we woke up at 4:30 a.m. to the sunlight and the birds. We washed up and got busy preparing breakfast. Before 6:00 a.m. we were on our way to the Beehive Domes, for which the Bungle Bungles are known. We hiked around the Piccaninny Gorge and the Piccaninny Walk until afternoon. The light always made the hills appear different. A natural window could also be seen. The Cathedral Gorge is quite large and now had a swimming pool after the rain the day before. Steve played the didgeridoo and I also tried my hand or better mouth.

Piccaninny
Piccadilly
amazing morning

We came back to the camp (Desert Inn Oasis) for lunch. After eating, everyone helped so that we could set off pretty quickly. Then there was another 70 kilometer long journey to the highway. It seemed even more treacherous to me, perhaps because we now had to cross a few fords. We unloaded Anna and Justin in Turkey Creek, from where they wanted to take the bus to Broome (approx. 860 km) in the evening. We arrived in Kununurra just after 7:00 p.m. And thanks to Edwina, my car was parked in front of the reception of my hotel without any paint that a gang (the Crocs) had sprayed on my rental car.

crossing fords
and splashing waters
no need to smoke [4]

Links and Annotations:
[1] https://www.facebook.com/NaHaiWriMo
[2] Goonoonoorrang is the original name of the Ord River in Miriwoong, an Aboriginal Australian language. Its English t was given  in honour of Sir Harry St. George Ord, Governor of Western Australia from 1877 to 1880. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ord_River  
[3] Watch the movie The Emerald Forest by John Boorman for the connection between croaking frogs and rain. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Emerald_Forest
[4] https://expeditionportal.com/media/2018/08/Camel-Trophy-II-Wordpress-14.jpg   

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