To find a vehicle test use the pull-down lists below.
On location, hunting for dinosaurs! While waiting for a massive Sauropod to wander across the barren...
Destinations > Burringurrah
Burringurrah
Issue: March 2001
Words and photos by Andrew Gregory
Australia's Outback is a diverse and colourful place, with many areas still waiting to be discovered by the modern day traveller. One of the features of the Outback is Australia's collection of huge rocks, made famous by the likes of the iconic Uluru.
As an ancient continent, Australia is full of beautiful rock formations. Clumps of strange shapes jut out dramatically from flat plains such as the Devil's Marbles in the Northern Territory, while other formations are simply bizarre, like Wave Rock in Western Australia. Some of these rocks have drawn humans to them like magnets for past cultures and tourists alike, while some remain relatively anonymous in the scrubland.
One such relative unknown is Mt Augustus, which is the largest rock in the world at twice the size of Uluru. It was discovered by Francis Gregory in 1858, and named after his brother Augustus. Technically Mt Augustus is a monocline, while Uluru is a monolith. The difference between a monolith and monocline is quite simple to explain, a monolith being a single block of stone while a monocline is an exposed bend in an existing rock strata. Either way, Uluru and Mt Augustus a clearly two of Australia's most impressive natural monuments.
Mt Augustus towers 858m above the surrounding stony plain and 1105m above sea level, and is visible from over 100km away. It is eight kilometres long and three kilometres wide, occupying the lion's share of the 9168 hectare National Park set up in 1989 to protect it. It is estimated that this unique rocky feature has so far survived 1750 million years.
The rock was formed in the Upper Proterozoic age, when the entire region was actually the floor of the ocean. Boulders and sand were deposited on the sea floor, eventually consolidating to form sandstone and conglomerate strata which folded with the movement of the earth's tectonic plates.
Mt Augustus is 490km east of the Western Australian town of Carnarvon, which in turn is 900km from Perth. Most visitors to the region around Mt Augustus drive in through Gascoyne Junction, where the Gascoyne and Lyons Rivers meet. The road in is mostly gravel, and the combination pub and general store is a welcome sight once you arrive.
Approaching the rock, its presence is overwhelming and what it lacks in symmetry it makes up for in sheer size. The camping area is very close to the rock and it takes a bit getting used to having a giant constantly looking over your shoulder. The Mount Augustus Outback Tourist Resort (which is a modest caravan park with unit accommodation and a camping ground) is owned by Peter Vogelsanger who says that the number of visitors to the rock is growing every year. However, access to the area is difficult and rain can sometimes close the roads during the peak tourist season.
Winters are usually beautiful with clear blue skies and the autumn months are likely to be full of storms as the tail end of cyclones make their way down the Western Australian coast. Summer can be unbearably hot, with temperatures hovering around 50° Celsius. Spring is the time when one of the major differences between Uluru and Mt Augustus makes itself apparent. Where Uluru is almost completely bare of vegetation, Mt Augustus enjoys a patchy covering of native plant life. If there have been good rains, wildflowers such as pink and white everlastings and purple mula-mulas form a carpet around the rock. There are several plant species which grow only on the mountain itself, including some very rare hibiscus, mula-mula and foxglove. Sturt desert peas also flourish around the rock in season.
The mountain certainly has the same mystique about it as Uluru. There are a number of trails and most people climb at least some section of the rock. There are two ways to the summit; one is a very difficult walk up a boulder strewn gorge, the other follows the recently marked Rangers trail. This hike, however, makes the climb up Uluru look like a stroll. The twelve kilometres to the summit and back takes most people five or six hours. When Francis Gregory first climbed the rock he wrote that the trek to the summit took "two hours of heavy toil." He reported the view from the summit was so clear he could take bearings to the hills more than 160km away.
There is a 49km drive around the base of the sandstone and quartz massif, which features caves and rocky creek gorges. Water draining off the rock feeds groves of white barked river gums and there is permanent water at Cattle Pool on the Lyons River. This pool attracts all manner of bird life, such as swans, ducks, corellas and kookaburras.
Like Uluru, Mt Augustus holds a special significance for the original inhabitants of the surrounding land. The Wadjeri tribe are the custodians of the area, and their traditional name for Mt Augustus is Burringurrah. The Wadjeri would often return to the base of the rock because of the natural springs and permanent waterholes they found there.
read on below advertisement
The name Burringurrah comes from a local aboriginal legend, in which a young boy named Burringurrah was undergoing his initiation into manhood. The process was strict and rigidly enforced, and Burringurrah broke tribal law by running away from the initiation. He was pursued by the tribesmen, who speared him in his right thigh, and then hit him with a mugurrah (fighting stick) when he tried to crawl away. Burringurrah died lying on his belly with his left leg bent up beside his body. Approaching Mt Augustus from the south, you can see Burringurrah lying in his final resting pose. The place where the spear broke off, leaving a stump, is now known as Edney's Lookout. The geological fracture lines at the western end of the mountain are said to indicate Burringurrah's wounds. This would have been a solemn message for the Wadjeri people.
The show put on by Mt Augustus at sunset is one of the greatest Outback experiences you are likely to see. The rock changes from gold to red during the day and glows intensely as the sun highlights its bizarre shapes. On a clear evening the rock is a brilliant orange against a crimson and blue sky, and unlike the show put on by it's smaller cousin, if you make the effort to be there you may be the only one to witness it.
Halfway across the continent from Mt Augustus is the perennial icon of the Australian Outback, Uluru. Known around the world for many years as Ayres Rock, it was named after Sir Henry Ayres, the Chief Secretary of South Australia, and later Premier.
It too puts on a spectacular light show at sunset, but the likelihood of being able to watch it on your own is very slim. Uluru can be climbed, and it is a 1.5km walk from base to summit. The Anangu people, custodians of the land, discourage climbing Uluru. A walk around the base of Uluru, which is less physically demanding and shows greater respect to the custodians of the land, is just as awe inspiring as the climb to the summit.
There are all sorts of spiritually and socially significant aspects to Uluru which the Anangu people would like to see respected. Many legends stem from Uluru's presence in the desert, including the story of a blue tongue lizard man who was hunted by ancient ancestral people for stealing emu meat. This story, and many others like it, are depicted in rock carvings and drawings at the base of Uluru.
A trip to Uluru can be easily arranged, the roads in and out of the area are all sealed and drive quite an easy one. Due to an enormous tourism presence, the region around Uluru has been well developed, and all styles of accommodation are catered for, from camping to five star hotels.
Perhaps the most significant aspect about seeing both Uluru and Mt Augustus is witnessing a portion of eternity. These two huge monuments have been left exposed while all around them the landscape has been graded flat by the ravages of time. The weather has shaped their forms, honing Uluru into its distinctive symmetrical shape. A trip to both of these symbols also makes one appreciate the cultures that have spent so many lifetimes around them; the art, legends and spirituality of these areas drive home a powerful and potent message about our country's past.
Getting There
Burringurrah NP, also known as Mt Augustus NP, is located 1100km north of Perth. The park is most easily accessed from Carnarvon via Gascoyne Junction, a journey of 450km, or from Meekatharra, a journey of approximately 350km. The roads surrounding the park are well-formed gravel, passable in most conditions except after heavy rain.
Staying There
Accommodation is available in the area for most people, whether you like camping or need a few more of life's little luxuries while on holidays. Twin Share and family units are available at the Mt Augustus Outback Tourist Resort, which also offers camping and powered sites for visitors.
Things To Do
The main attractions of the park are bushwalking, rock climbing and wildlife spotting. There are several well-marked trails for hiking throughout the area, and the more scenic parts of the rock itself are all accessible from a 49km ring road around the base of the mountain.
Around & About
Burringurrah NP is very isolated and the nearest major centres are at least 350km away over gravel roads. Carnarvon, on the Western Australian coast is the high-tech home to some of Australia's vital satellite communications hardware. Carnarvon is also the home of the Dolphin Express hovercraft, which makes the two hour run to see the dolphins at Monkey Mia every day except Monday and Friday. There is also a 1500m jetty at the heart of the bay in Carnarvon, providing a focal point for the local community.
Important Numbers
Burringurrah NP Ranger 08 99430527
Mt Augustus Outback Tourist Resort
08 99430527
Recommended Maps
Hema Maps Road Atlas P82 J2 $21.95
Discover Australia National Parks
P260-261 $39.95
Western Australia Handy Map $5.50
Words and photos by Andrew Gregory
Australia's Outback is a diverse and colourful place, with many areas still waiting to be discovered by the modern day traveller. One of the features of the Outback is Australia's collection of huge rocks, made famous by the likes of the iconic Uluru.
As an ancient continent, Australia is full of beautiful rock formations. Clumps of strange shapes jut out dramatically from flat plains such as the Devil's Marbles in the Northern Territory, while other formations are simply bizarre, like Wave Rock in Western Australia. Some of these rocks have drawn humans to them like magnets for past cultures and tourists alike, while some remain relatively anonymous in the scrubland.
One such relative unknown is Mt Augustus, which is the largest rock in the world at twice the size of Uluru. It was discovered by Francis Gregory in 1858, and named after his brother Augustus. Technically Mt Augustus is a monocline, while Uluru is a monolith. The difference between a monolith and monocline is quite simple to explain, a monolith being a single block of stone while a monocline is an exposed bend in an existing rock strata. Either way, Uluru and Mt Augustus a clearly two of Australia's most impressive natural monuments.
Mt Augustus towers 858m above the surrounding stony plain and 1105m above sea level, and is visible from over 100km away. It is eight kilometres long and three kilometres wide, occupying the lion's share of the 9168 hectare National Park set up in 1989 to protect it. It is estimated that this unique rocky feature has so far survived 1750 million years.
The rock was formed in the Upper Proterozoic age, when the entire region was actually the floor of the ocean. Boulders and sand were deposited on the sea floor, eventually consolidating to form sandstone and conglomerate strata which folded with the movement of the earth's tectonic plates.
Mt Augustus is 490km east of the Western Australian town of Carnarvon, which in turn is 900km from Perth. Most visitors to the region around Mt Augustus drive in through Gascoyne Junction, where the Gascoyne and Lyons Rivers meet. The road in is mostly gravel, and the combination pub and general store is a welcome sight once you arrive.
Approaching the rock, its presence is overwhelming and what it lacks in symmetry it makes up for in sheer size. The camping area is very close to the rock and it takes a bit getting used to having a giant constantly looking over your shoulder. The Mount Augustus Outback Tourist Resort (which is a modest caravan park with unit accommodation and a camping ground) is owned by Peter Vogelsanger who says that the number of visitors to the rock is growing every year. However, access to the area is difficult and rain can sometimes close the roads during the peak tourist season.
Winters are usually beautiful with clear blue skies and the autumn months are likely to be full of storms as the tail end of cyclones make their way down the Western Australian coast. Summer can be unbearably hot, with temperatures hovering around 50° Celsius. Spring is the time when one of the major differences between Uluru and Mt Augustus makes itself apparent. Where Uluru is almost completely bare of vegetation, Mt Augustus enjoys a patchy covering of native plant life. If there have been good rains, wildflowers such as pink and white everlastings and purple mula-mulas form a carpet around the rock. There are several plant species which grow only on the mountain itself, including some very rare hibiscus, mula-mula and foxglove. Sturt desert peas also flourish around the rock in season.
The mountain certainly has the same mystique about it as Uluru. There are a number of trails and most people climb at least some section of the rock. There are two ways to the summit; one is a very difficult walk up a boulder strewn gorge, the other follows the recently marked Rangers trail. This hike, however, makes the climb up Uluru look like a stroll. The twelve kilometres to the summit and back takes most people five or six hours. When Francis Gregory first climbed the rock he wrote that the trek to the summit took "two hours of heavy toil." He reported the view from the summit was so clear he could take bearings to the hills more than 160km away.
There is a 49km drive around the base of the sandstone and quartz massif, which features caves and rocky creek gorges. Water draining off the rock feeds groves of white barked river gums and there is permanent water at Cattle Pool on the Lyons River. This pool attracts all manner of bird life, such as swans, ducks, corellas and kookaburras.
Like Uluru, Mt Augustus holds a special significance for the original inhabitants of the surrounding land. The Wadjeri tribe are the custodians of the area, and their traditional name for Mt Augustus is Burringurrah. The Wadjeri would often return to the base of the rock because of the natural springs and permanent waterholes they found there.
read on below advertisement
The name Burringurrah comes from a local aboriginal legend, in which a young boy named Burringurrah was undergoing his initiation into manhood. The process was strict and rigidly enforced, and Burringurrah broke tribal law by running away from the initiation. He was pursued by the tribesmen, who speared him in his right thigh, and then hit him with a mugurrah (fighting stick) when he tried to crawl away. Burringurrah died lying on his belly with his left leg bent up beside his body. Approaching Mt Augustus from the south, you can see Burringurrah lying in his final resting pose. The place where the spear broke off, leaving a stump, is now known as Edney's Lookout. The geological fracture lines at the western end of the mountain are said to indicate Burringurrah's wounds. This would have been a solemn message for the Wadjeri people.
The show put on by Mt Augustus at sunset is one of the greatest Outback experiences you are likely to see. The rock changes from gold to red during the day and glows intensely as the sun highlights its bizarre shapes. On a clear evening the rock is a brilliant orange against a crimson and blue sky, and unlike the show put on by it's smaller cousin, if you make the effort to be there you may be the only one to witness it.
Halfway across the continent from Mt Augustus is the perennial icon of the Australian Outback, Uluru. Known around the world for many years as Ayres Rock, it was named after Sir Henry Ayres, the Chief Secretary of South Australia, and later Premier.
It too puts on a spectacular light show at sunset, but the likelihood of being able to watch it on your own is very slim. Uluru can be climbed, and it is a 1.5km walk from base to summit. The Anangu people, custodians of the land, discourage climbing Uluru. A walk around the base of Uluru, which is less physically demanding and shows greater respect to the custodians of the land, is just as awe inspiring as the climb to the summit.
There are all sorts of spiritually and socially significant aspects to Uluru which the Anangu people would like to see respected. Many legends stem from Uluru's presence in the desert, including the story of a blue tongue lizard man who was hunted by ancient ancestral people for stealing emu meat. This story, and many others like it, are depicted in rock carvings and drawings at the base of Uluru.
A trip to Uluru can be easily arranged, the roads in and out of the area are all sealed and drive quite an easy one. Due to an enormous tourism presence, the region around Uluru has been well developed, and all styles of accommodation are catered for, from camping to five star hotels.
Perhaps the most significant aspect about seeing both Uluru and Mt Augustus is witnessing a portion of eternity. These two huge monuments have been left exposed while all around them the landscape has been graded flat by the ravages of time. The weather has shaped their forms, honing Uluru into its distinctive symmetrical shape. A trip to both of these symbols also makes one appreciate the cultures that have spent so many lifetimes around them; the art, legends and spirituality of these areas drive home a powerful and potent message about our country's past.
Getting There
Burringurrah NP, also known as Mt Augustus NP, is located 1100km north of Perth. The park is most easily accessed from Carnarvon via Gascoyne Junction, a journey of 450km, or from Meekatharra, a journey of approximately 350km. The roads surrounding the park are well-formed gravel, passable in most conditions except after heavy rain.
Staying There
Accommodation is available in the area for most people, whether you like camping or need a few more of life's little luxuries while on holidays. Twin Share and family units are available at the Mt Augustus Outback Tourist Resort, which also offers camping and powered sites for visitors.
Things To Do
The main attractions of the park are bushwalking, rock climbing and wildlife spotting. There are several well-marked trails for hiking throughout the area, and the more scenic parts of the rock itself are all accessible from a 49km ring road around the base of the mountain.
Around & About
Burringurrah NP is very isolated and the nearest major centres are at least 350km away over gravel roads. Carnarvon, on the Western Australian coast is the high-tech home to some of Australia's vital satellite communications hardware. Carnarvon is also the home of the Dolphin Express hovercraft, which makes the two hour run to see the dolphins at Monkey Mia every day except Monday and Friday. There is also a 1500m jetty at the heart of the bay in Carnarvon, providing a focal point for the local community.
Important Numbers
Burringurrah NP Ranger 08 99430527
Mt Augustus Outback Tourist Resort
08 99430527
Recommended Maps
Hema Maps Road Atlas P82 J2 $21.95
Discover Australia National Parks
P260-261 $39.95
Western Australia Handy Map $5.50
