If you’ve grown up in Australia and like to explore remote places, you’d be familiar with pictures of the famous domes of Purnululu National Park, the Bungle Bungle Range, in the Kimberley.
And taking a helicopter flight above the Bungle Bungle Range is an iconic—and popular—thing to do. You fork out some serious cash and in return expect to see some spectacular scenery.
Unfortunately, for us, it fell a bit flat and ended up being our greatest disappointment on our 8-months Great Aussie Road Trip. Here’s why.
PURNULULU FROM ABOVE: THE ICONIC HELICOPTER FLIGHT
The husband had listed this scenic flight as one of his “must-do’s” on our road trip, having seen pictures in 4WD magazines since he was a youngster. I’m never opposed to a scenic flight—in fact I’m more likely to take one than the husband is—but we both want value for money (doesn’t everyone?!).
We’re by nature sceptical and not easily impressed but anything we saw online or in brochures looked pretty spectacular. But we weren’t just going to book a helicopter flight, we also planned to spend about a week camping and hiking in the national park.
THE LOGISTICS: BOOKING THE FLIGHT
My preference was helicopter over light plane.
You can have the doors off in a helicopter so you don’t have to deal with dirty windows and any glare reflecting through windows. Helicopters also fly lower, which I thought would be better. On the flip side, a helicopter scenic flight will always cost much more than a light plane, and you cannot take anything with you that isn’t on your person (e.g. no bags).
HELICOPTER FLIGHT OPTIONS
HeliSpirit is the only company that is permitted to offer scenic helicopter flights over the Bungle Bungles. Leaving from the Bellbird Airstrip inside the national park, they have three different options, each with a slightly longer flight path:
| Flight Option | Duration | Price (Per Person) |
|---|---|---|
| The Bungle Bungle Domes Flight | 18 mins | $359 |
| The Bungle Bungle Domes & Red Rock Gorges Flight | 30 mins | $559 |
| The Ultimate Bungle Bungle Flight | 42 mins | $649 |
After researching online, I was leaning towards the Ultimate Bungle Bungle Flight to get the most bang-for-buck so I rang the company to discuss further and finalise our booking. My goal was optimal lighting conditions for photography, especially over the domes. I would have liked to go just before sunrise to get that red glow on the ranges but they don’t fly at that time so that option was out.
Unfortunately, the staff lacked specific local insight regarding lighting conditions, including sun angles and best timing, effectively leaving me to figure out the best possible time from afar. We’d never been to Purnululu National Park and I didn’t know the landscape so I expected more guidance on light and time of day (like I have received with other scenic flights). I’m sure I wasn’t the first person wanting to take serious photos.
After discussion, I booked a late afternoon flight (3:45 pm) in the hope that I would get some golden light and avoid the harsh contrasts that occur earlier in the day.
THE AERIAL REALITY CHECK: WHY IT FELL FLAT
By the time the helicopter flight date came around, we’d already spent about four days in Purnululu National Park, having explored all the northern walks and seen the famous domes at sunrise. Our expectations were sky-high.
Before take-off, I talked to check-in staff and the pilot about my goal of taking photos, and asked for the front seat on the helicopter since I assumed it would give me the best views (based on previous scenic flights we’ve done).
There were two helicopters leaving at the same time with one other person hopping onto the same helicopter as us. Helicopters were arriving back with virtually no break between landings and take-offs—it had a strong whiff of ‘conveyor-belt scenic flight’ experience. (We could also hear them from the camping area all day.)
As it turned out, I made the completely wrong call. In hindsight, my planning—combined with the company’s lack of guidance and care—resulted in an excellent example of how not to do this flight.
WRONG TIME AND WRONG SIDE
The first mistake I made was sitting on the wrong side of the helicopter given the flight path. For the Ultimate flight, you must sit on the right side behind the pilot to see the ranges and look over them rather than into the plains beyond.
Afternoon also meant the light was coming from the west and because of the flight path and topography, you’re looking straight into the sun for more than half of the flight (if you’re sitting on the left of the helicopter). I was seeing nothing (wrong side) except for the sun (wrong time).
As we rounded the top of the ranges and turned south, I was at least looking east and had slightly more chances of getting some shots but I was still mostly looking beyond the ranges and into the plains.
THE AERIAL EXPERIENCE: LACK OF SCALE AND REPETITION
From the ground, the gorges and rock formations appear massive as you gaze up sheer walls. From the air, the entire range flattens into one large mass. Somehow we both thought that Purnululu is far more expansive than what it turned out to be. For sure, it’s very large—it’s just not as large as we’d expected.
From above, the ranges looks remarkably similar—beyond the domes, the plateau lacks any real definition and is entirely covered in spinifex and small trees, which just looks like a sea of green. Yes, there are gorges, crevices and plains but there’s no real dramatic scenery here.
PILOT NON-ENGAGEMENT
It was clearly the end of a long day, and our pilot was “Mr. Rote-Monologue” personified. I understand that as a scenic flight pilot, you have to regurgitate the same information over and over but that is part of the job—and I’m paying for it. For the cost of the flight, I expect some enthusiasm at least.
Beyond the monotonous monologue, our pilot was also rigidly unwilling to adjust our flight path by even a metre to allow for better viewing—a first in all my experience with scenic flights. I realise that the airspace is extremely busy over Purnululu but flying over narrow gorges means you can’t actually see the gorges because you’re directly above them. I asked him to fly slightly to the left so that I could photograph them—not a chance. Imagine my happiness.
THE REALITY OF THE DOMES
The domes—or beehives— actually only make up a fairly small part of the ranges, which is not as evident from the ground as it is from above. On the Ultimate flight, they’re right at the end and are indeed, the best part.
We were both incredibly disappointed with our flight (and yes, I talked to the ground staff afterwards). It felt like a complete tourist trap that just pumped out one flight after another. To be clear: this was neither our first nor our last scenic flight but our expectations have rarely been this crushed after a flight.
MY RECOMMENDATION
We’d already become fascinated by Purnululu’s beauty over the four days prior to our scenic flight. We’d loved all the northern walks, watched the sun rise over the ranges at Osmand Lookout, and headed to the southern walks and the domes for sunrise views on another morning.
We hiked into Piccaninny Gorge for three days so it wasn’t that we didn’t like the Bungle Bungles—on the contrary. We both just found the ground experience far more rewarding than anything we saw on our helicopter flight.
In hindsight, we should have skipped the whole flight. The Bungle Bungles are spectacular and being immersed in the landscape was far more awe-inspiring than we could have imagined. If I went again, I ‘d go in the morning, sit behind the pilot and not expect the world. 🙂
So if you’re intend on taking the scenic flight option—I totally get why you would—my recommendation would be to stick to the short, “cheap” 18-minute flight. You’ll see the highlights (the domes) and get a sense of the landscape from above. It’s also a good option if you have time constraints or have limited mobility and a flight is really the only way to see the range.
If you really want to splurge on a scenic flight, save your $650 (per person) and take a flight to Horizontal Falls in Broome, the Abrolhos Islands near Kalbarri, over the Middle Ranges in Central Australia or the Great Barrier Reef in Cairns. We absolutely loved all of those flights.
SO, IS THE HELICOPTER FLIGHT OVER THE BUNGLES WORTH IT?
No, or maybe yes.
The Ultimate flight was definitely not worth it for us—it’s simply too repetitive a landscape. The 18-minute Domes Special might just be the sweet spot, offering you something different while also not having to mortgage the caravan for a scenic flight.
If it’s the only way to see Purnululu, do it. Otherwise, skip it and just enjoy your time walking the tracks and admiring the domes and steep gorges from the ground.
Happy exploring,
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