A Purnululu National Park accommodation list to put you at its heart

Leah McLennanBy Leah McLennan
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Spread a swag out under the stars at a remote bush camp, or get close to nature but without compromising on soft pillowy beds, hot showers and multi-course dinners.

World Heritage-listed Purnululu National Park sings with raw beauty and the rich culture of the Traditional Owners, who together have Kija, Jaru and Malgnin language identities.

When it comes to accommodation, there are options for every style of traveller. Treat yourself at a luxury stay, where the tucker is laid on, the staff are friendly and they will organise helicopter and 4WD tours, or get back to absolute basics and push in the tent pegs. If you’re looking for accommodation in or near Purnululu, here’s our guide on where to stay.

two people walking toward The Bungle Bungle Range, Purnululu National Park
See enormous striped rock formations at The Bungle Bungle Range when visiting Purnululu National Park. (Image: Tourism Western Australia)

1. Purnululu National Park Camping

Wake up in the heart of Purnululu National Park at one of the two no-frills campgrounds. Both are about a 15-minute drive from the Purnululu Visitor Centre, which is 53 kilometres off the Great Northern Highway via a rugged track.

Walardi campsite  is probably the pick of the two. This 37-site campground is 12 kilometres from the visitor centre, while the larger Kurrajong is seven kilometres from the centre and can cater for 100 vehicles. The list of facilities at both campgrounds is short: pit toilets and untreated bore water.

2. Bungle Bungle Savannah Lodge

Purnululu’s Bungle Bungle Savannah Lodge  offers luxury accommodation surrounded by wild nature. Sitting pretty, about 11 kilometres from the visitor centre, the lodge offers a comfortable place to unwind with a pool (the only one in the park) and a top-notch restaurant.

an aerial view of Bungle Bungle Savannah Lodge
Stay in a modern cabin surrounded by nature.

Retire to one of the 25 modern cabins with queen or twin beds, timber floors, louvre windows and ensuite bathrooms. Wake up to the sounds of birds chirping and the smell of a hearty breakfast being prepared. Dinner is served under the stars and followed by drinks around the fire pit. Get in quick if you’re a family as there is just one cabin that can sleep up to four guests.

a campfire at Bungle Bungle Savannah Lodge
Cosy up by the fire at Bungle Bungle Savannah Lodge.

3. APT Bungle Bungle Wilderness Lodge

Nestle amongst the bushland in the heart of Purnululu National Park, APT’s Bungle Bungle Wilderness Lodge offers easy access to the famous beehive striped domes of the 350-million-year-old Bungle Bungle Range.

a safari tent at Bungle Bungle Wilderness Lodge
Wake up to the sound of birds chirping at Bungle Bungle Wilderness Lodge. (Image: Tourism Western Australia)

Tents are furnished with comfy twin beds, bathrooms with hot showers and decks with two director chairs. Nearby, the restaurant serves up a scrumptious buffet breakfast and multi-course dinners featuring Indigenous herbs and a drinks menu boasting local Matso’s beers and Western Australian wines. The lodge also ticks plenty of eco-friendly boxes: solar is adopted where possible, eco-friendly cleaning products are used throughout, all recyclable items are returned to Broome for processing and water is recycled by utilising ABCO systems.

4. Violet Valley Campground

Fourteen gorgeous campsites sit on the banks of the Bow River, just 36 kilometres from the entrance to Purnululu National Park and 13 kilometres from the Great Northern Highway.

the Violet Valley Campground at dusk
Go off-grid at Violet Valley Campground.

On the traditional lands of the Gija people, the Camping with Custodians site was opened by the Baulu-Wah (Violet Valley) community in 2019. Facilities include hot showers, flushing toilets, a fire pit, barbeque and laundry.

wallabies at sunrise in Violet Valley Campground
If you’re lucky, wallabies will greet you at sunrise.

5. Doon Doon Campground

Owned by the nearby Woolah community, the campground  was remodelled in 2019 under the Camping with Custodians initiative, which allows travellers to camp on Aboriginal land, while the Aboriginal-run tourism business generates income for isolated communities, helping locals to stay and work on country.

an aerial view of Doon Doon Campground
Doon Doon Campground is an Aboriginal-run tourism business. (Image: Tourism Western Australia)

Conveniently located just off the Great Northern Highway, the campground neighbours Doon Doon Roadhouse, where you can buy fuel, brekky, great burgers, basic grocery items and coffee. Campsites are shady grass sites that are a mix of powered and unpowered. Take it up a notch and stay in one of the four basic but clean cabins with air-con. Everyone has access to the new toilets and hot showers, an undercover camp kitchen with electric hot plates and cooktops and laundry.

the camping grounds of Doon Doon Campground
The grounds are easily accessible by road. (Image: Tourism Western Australia)
Leah McLennan
Leah McLennan is a freelance writer based in Darwin. She was a journalist in Sydney for over a decade and counts her time as travel editor for Australian Associated Press as one of the highlights of her career. From exploring remote campsites in the Top End with her family, to seeking out new art galleries in faraway cities, she’ll grab an adventurous or arty travel experience within her reach.
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Your Mandurah guide: art, dining & dolphins await in WA’s coastal gem

    Monique CeccatoBy Monique Ceccato
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    Discover the perfect road trip stopover between Perth and wine country.

    Western Australia punches above its weight when it comes to coastal hot spots, but no other town or city has seen a tourism boom quite like Mandurah. Named Australia’s Top Tourism Town in 2023 , it’s the relaxed, beachside break you’ve been searching for. And it’s perfectly placed, sitting between Margaret River and Perth, as it’s just a 55-minute drive from Perth’s CBD. Which is why we’ve put together your ultimate Mandurah guide.

    Aerial view of Mandurah.
    Plan your perfect coastal escape to Australia’s Top Tourism Town of 2023.

    The best things to do in Mandurah

    Wetlands and rivers, ocean and inlet; Mandurah’s laid-back lifestyle centres around the aquatic. Its waterways cover twice the ground of Sydney Harbour – measuring some 134 square kilometres in total – and form a unique environment for oceanic and estuarine flora and fauna to thrive.

    In the city’s estuary lives perhaps the region’s most famed inhabitants – a resident pod of 100 bottlenose dolphins – and the inlet’s silty bottom is home to the prized blue manna crab. Spot the former breaching and playing on an hour-long dolphin cruise through the channels, or try your hand at catching the latter by wading through the estuary’s shallows with a scoop net in hand.

    While swimming at the circular Kwillena Gabi Pool, chance encounters with the local wildlife aren’t uncommon. The sheltered estuarine pool takes its name from the traditional custodians of the land, the Bindjareb people, and directly translates to ‘dolphin waters’. Jutting out of the eastern foreshore, it’s enclosed by a ring of net-free floating pontoons, which allow the dolphins to swim freely through the attraction.

    If that’s a little too close for comfort, book a kayak tour with Down Under Discoveries . The dolphins have been known to cruise beside the paddle-powered crafts, which are a fun, family-friendly way to explore the city’s inner waterways.

    Dolphins swimming in Mandurah.
    Watch dolphins glide by as you explore Mandurah.

    You don’t have to be on the water to appreciate the coastal city’s aquatic beauty, with 600 kilometres of cycleways and scenic walking trails traversing Mandurah’s estuary, inlet and coast.

    Follow the 30-kilometre coastal trail and you’ll come face to face with one of Thomas Dambo’s headline-making ‘Giants of Mandurah  sculptures, Santi Ikto, along the way. There are five sculptures around Mandurah in total, hidden among gum-filled reserves or sitting sentry over the water.

    Head to the Mandurah Visitor Centre to pick up a map to pinpoint their exact location and download the traveller’s companion to learn more about the sights along the way. Or join a three-hour e-bike tour from The Bike Kiosk and you’ll stop by two of the giants – Santi Ikto and Yaburgurt Winjan Cirkelstone – as you sightsee central Mandurah.

    The towering Santi Ikto, one of Thomas Dambo’s iconic Giants of Mandurah.
    Meet Santi Ikto, one of the legendary Giants of Mandurah.

    Where to eat in Mandurah

    Mandurah’s culinary scene reflects its laid-back lifestyle, with large, honest meals and locally brewed beer. After visiting Lake Clifton’s 2000-year-old thrombolites, head to the peppermint and gum-shaded beer garden at Thorny Devil Brewery . Tuck into a platter of house-smoked meats and an ale pulled fresh from the tanks. Closer to town and right on the waterfront is Boundary Island Brewery ; here, woodfired pizza, pub-style seafood dishes and easy-drinking brews are centre stage.

    On a Murray River Lunch Cruise , the focus is as much on the environment around you as the food you’re filling up on. Help yourself to the colourful salads and freshly cooked meats on the buffet as you meander up the winding, jarrah tree-lined waterway, stopping at the heritage Cooper’s Mill for a quick walking tour along the way.

    Keep your eyes trained on the Creery Wetlands as you pass – you’ll spot much of the region’s migratory birdlife, and, as always, might see the playful bottlenose dolphins in the inlet.

    The most memorable meals aren’t necessarily always the fanciest, and lunch aboard a self-skippered Mandurah BBQ Boat is a testament to that. All food and beverage prep is left up to you as you cruise through the canals, sausages and steaks sizzling away on the central hot plate.

    If seafood is more your kind of fare, board the Wild Seafood Experience , where dolphin cruise meets long table lunch. Eight courses of crab, crayfish and scallops await.

    A table filled with plates of crab, crayfish, and scallops.
    Dine on the water with eight courses of ocean-fresh fare.

    Where to stay in Mandurah

    With so many waterways comes abundant waterside stays. Like the self-contained Seashells Mandurah on the shores of Comet Bay. The calm, oceanic outlook from the one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments and villas is as close to Maldivian as Mandurah gets. Families especially enjoy the property, bouncing between the protected cove and the beachfront pool for endless hours of fun.

    Seashells Mandurah; on the shores of Comet Bay.
    Stay right by the sea.

    The Sebel Mandurah , just a hop, skip and jump from the Mandurah Ocean Marina, has a different outlook entirely, overlooking the estuary and lively foreshore on the other side. It’s also within walking distance of the Mandurah Performing Arts Centre , cinema and a swathe of waterfront bars and eateries.

    But you can’t get any closer to the water than on a vessel from Mandurah Houseboats . You don’t need a skipper’s ticket to hire one, nor do you need comprehensive boating experience; just a full driver’s license and your undivided attention during the pre-departure tuition will do. Then you’re free to take to the estuaries and tributaries for a few nights of peaceful rest, surrounded by the very element that makes Mandurah so special.

    A houseboat cruising in Mandurah along the river
    Captain a houseboat to explore Mandurah at your own pace.

    Plan your next WA getaway in Mandurah.