Mirima National Park -
Entrance
Kununurra's greatest attraction is undoubtedly
the Mirima Hidden Valley National Park which is located just 2 km
from the town centre.
Mirima is a real wonderland. A
kind of mini-Bungle Bungles with horizontal bedding forming strange
birthday cake-like shapes. Mirima has been formed by the erosion of
the quartz sandstone by the waters of nearby Lily Creek. The result
is dramatic and unusual.
The area abounds in wildlife
with lizards and birds (particularly the white-quilled rock pigeon)
predominating. If you arrive at the right time you may see some of
the rock wallabies which inhabit the area. Another striking feature
of the park is the boab trees which grow on the rock faces. The
seeds of the boab are carried to these inaccessible places by rock
wallabies and left in
their dung - a natural and extremely successful
fertiliser.
There are three walks in the park. The first is the Demboong Banan
Gap Trail, a short, easy 500 metre return walk through a narrow
valley, ending with a view of Kununurra through a gap in the range.
The second walk is the Looking at Plants Nature Trail. This walk
has trailside signs which help you to get to know some of the
plants in Mirima and their use by Aboriginal people. The final walk
is a 800 metre return walk of moderate difficulty. The
Derbe-gerring Banan Lookout Trail climbs up steep slopes to a
lookout providing views back to the sandstone range of Mirima and
over the Ord Valley. From May to August Department of Conservation
and Land Management staff conduct guided walks in Mirima National
Park on Bush Tucker and Boab Trees.
Happy Hunting.