WE TRAMP PAST, OVER AND BEYOND WAVE ROCK TO HIPPOS YAWN (29 MARCH 2015)

Wave Rock.......who in Australia hasn't heard of Wave Rock? A 'must see' for any who visit this part of The West. But, as I explained in my last, this was not always the case. It only gained its wide National and International status after a photograph of this extraordinary lump of granite won a New York competition.

Before we take a closer look at this natural wonder, let me regale you with another little known fact....'Wave Rock' is not a rock in its own right at all.....it is the curved face of a huge granite boulder, the 'Hyden Rock'. 

This all began some 2,500 million years ago, when a mass of granite known as the Yilgarn Block covered the entire southern half of WA....underground. Fast forward to a mere 100 million years past, and the three domes of what is now Hyden Rock had been formed by underground erosion. They did not actually become exposed for another 40 million years, when the softer material around them was eroded away. Hyden Rock could now see the light of day, including the incredible wave formation on one of its faces.

I hope this map provides some perspective (there's that word again).  The famous wave is but the tiny section on the northern face of this massive outcrop.



I have been unable to find an aerial photograph of the total expanse of this massive lump of granite but this shot, courtesy of the Internet (and marilynbridges. com) hopefully gives you some idea of how the wave fits into the scheme of things here. The dark streaks which are a real feature, and emphasise the curve, are black algal remains plastered on the rock's face.








So much for the background. No sooner had we set up, than we set off!  I was still coming to grips with the fact that the rock was the backdrop to our park as we made our way through the camping corner 










to short the pathway beyond













which soon had us standing at the eastern end of The Wave.













This was, for us, a mere sneak preview. It was latish in the day, and I was not happy with the light and the shadows across the rock face, but neither of us could stand the thought of leaving our first glimpses until the following morning.







The shadows were not the only problem.  Although they don't show in this shot, there were hordes of gawking tourists strewn right along the wall, some as far up its curve as they could scramble, others posing as if surfing the wave. We decided that a very early start the following morning would hopefully overcome both problems.

It did. The shadows were gone and the only 'touro' in sight was 'she who gallops ahead with the verve of youth'.







'The Wave' is one hundred metres long and fifteen high. I took shots in the early morning light 

from all possible angles and directions but still could not get it all in one frame, but this one comes pretty close. And as you can see, those who come to admire this oddity of nature, are not early risers!







At the far end of the wall, a trail leads through the casuarinas to the local dam.












The dam? How does this rate as a tourist attraction?  My initial thoughts entirely, but I was proved wrong. All shall be revealed. This same trail also takes trekkers to various rambles across the top of Hyden Rock, reached by a climb up these stairs,

followed by a haul up the granite slope where a chain hand hold has been provided for the infirm of knees, hips or legs in general, 















and finally, another set of steel stairs.

A cautionary sign at the base of all this warns against inappropriate footwear. Common sense, one would think.  Not so, dear readers...whilst we did not spy any high heels, we saw many in thongs and other equally inappropriate foot attire clambering their way around the heights.

And there before us was the dam, a water storage of limited capacity, but which receives that which it stores via a most ingenious system.







The previous day, when looking at the top of Hyden Rock from a distance, we had noticed what appeared to be a restraining rampart wall running around its side.

Odd, we thought. Oh well, we'll see what this is all about tomorrow.  Restraining wall indeed!






This has nothing to do with restraint, safety or anything of that ilk......this is a water trap and funnelling system. Rain water pours down the granite slopes of both this and the neighbouring outcrop to be trapped at the base of the wall which has been cleverly engineered to utilise gravity to feed the water directly into the dam.

This sign in the granite shows the extend of the catchment walls around both outcrops. 




During a normal rain event, these walls capture and direct about 40% of the fall into the dam. The rest soaks into the rock and pools in various low spots. When it pours, as it can do out here (as we discovered later) up to 80% of what hits the granite ends up in the dam. How wonderfully creative and simple this is. 










And the system is not far from the top of The Wave. 

From our vantage point here on the upper slope of the rock, you can appreciate just how close our park was. The white patches showing between the tops of the trees are the vans and other park infrastructure. Beyond that, at the right of the shot, is the silver surface of the rather grandly named Lake Magic....perhaps on some occasions, but not during our visit as you will see later.








The surface of the rock is far from smooth, and it did surprise us to learn that when wet it can be quite treacherous.









Another surprise for us was to see the amount of surface water which accumulates across the rock face, and the degree to which this apparently impervious, hard lump of granite supports vegetation, ranging from trees and shrubs







to patches of mosses and lichens.

Water stained scars and fissures can be found all across the rock surface and  these rock pools help sustain more than just plant life.










This little local lizard was more than happy to pose for a photo as we wandered into his sun room. What a fine example of nature's camouflage he presented...although he is pretty distinct here, when he finally decided he had spent enough time in our company and scuttled off, he almost disappeared against the background colours of the rock.

A little further on during our meander we could see down onto the trail which leads from the corner of the park to the eastern end of the face of The Wave. Location, location! 

By the time we returned to the base of the rock we were thankful for our early start....the hordes were beginning to descend. There had been something special about wandering along the face of The Wave on our own.









But now it was time to head in the opposite direction. We were off to Hippos Yawn, along a 1.5 km trail which begins at the eastern end of The Wave. Much of this took us over the rock of the base of the outcrop

whilst a few sections veered off into the nearby scrub

or ran just beyond the limit of the rock face.









In many spots the face of the rock bears the scars of it birth and extraordinary age....cracks, holes and overlapping plates of granite all speak of a tumultuous formation and a stoic weathering away ever since. This really is a venerable rock, a genuine ancient of this planet. 




It was not hard to see why Hippos Yawn is so named. As to its formation, let me cut a very long scientific explanation short....in this case, the hole, a 'talfone' is believed to be the result of internal geological wear and tear when salts and crystals within the rock expanded and exerted enough pressure to break open the surface and leave the sort of hole we see here. This is an on-going process. In ????? years time, Hippos Yawn will become Hippos death as this entire rock crumbles away.





At the risk of being considered something of a Philistine, I actually found the rock formations next to The Hippo almost as interesting.....like great dollops of chocolate ice cream on a cone. 









From Hippos Yawn it was back to the park for us, off through the car park which caters for the myriads of day trippers to the area











and along a very well made and maintained walking trail through the salmon gums to












the other public car park of this area, that which caters for visitors to Wave Rock itself.










One thing we must say about this entire area....the facilities provided for the visiting public are grand. Good and well cleaned toilets bocks and BBQ areas and adequate parking spaces cater for all needs. The locals do take their task here seriously and with obvious pride.




There are some other visitor attractions in this area we did not visit. The Humps and Mulka's cave, 16 kms north of Wave Rock, did not manage to exert an attraction greater than our need to watch the World Cup final, but we did take the time to check out the Wave Rock Resort, Lake Magic and some of the local tourist lures on which I shall report in my next. 

THE STATUES OF HYDEN AND THE WAVE ROCK PARK (28 - 29 MARCH 2015)

Today was to be one of the shortest runs we have done for quite a while....a mere 125 kms from Lake King to Hyden, the small wheat belt town a mere 5 kms or so from the famed Wave Rock.

As we travelled north along the surprisingly good secondary highway, we passed this oddity of the bush, a truck left on a hill for reasons quite unknown to us. There was no signage to explain the rush of blood which resulted in this most peculiar of parking spots.....it was just one of those things!

Whilst we did not bother to actually visit the quite large Lake King itself as we drove north-west towards Hyden, we did pass several other quite sizable lakes along the way.

As we approached our destination, we were in no doubt that we were well and truly back into the wheat belt. The large open paddocks of this part of WA were all around us.

Not that the Ship's Cat was in any frame of mind to appreciate the scenery. For some reason known only to him, he was in a mood, a grumpy mood. He had been howling for miles,

and, as we had expected would follow, he expressed his ire with one of his famous 'death rolls', when he flings himself onto his back and claws at the cage. Sympathy level....nil...get over it Max, we're nearly there.

Survive he did, and in no time we had reached Hyden.

We had actually passed the turn off to Wave Rock, but decided to have a quick look at the nearby town before settling in.  Beyond the welcoming sign, the highway curved past a fuel station and roadhouse,

and the grounds and buildings of the large Hyden Hotel/Motel.

A short distance further on we passed the town's Memorial Hall

and pulled into the large visitor parking area opposite.

Here we found one of the best visitor information boards we had come across. This side provided a pocket history of the development of the town and a large map of the surrounding district, 

while the other face of the notice board was dedicated to whetting the tourist appetite for Wave Rock, amply supported by some local sponsorship!

But we were not here to look at all this. I was on a mission to take in a set of statues alongside the highway about which I had recently read. I thought I had spotted them at the far side of this open area beyond our parking bay.

I was right. And I was very glad I had made the effort. What an ingenious and evocative display this is. I have selected but a few samples of the many along this strip to share with you.

As you can see, each statue is married to an informative plaque. These provide stories of the early life of Hyden, and some of the folk who made the town what it is today.

Here we have John Hyde, an early sandalwood cutter, driving his horse and dray to the mill. All the statues here are made from old scraps of iron and steel, put together in most inventive ways.

This statue is of one of the early town surveyors in action, 

whilst this pair pay homage to the work of the early shearers. If you look closely you can see the nearer of the two is bending over his sheep to push it out through the race, whilst his companion has just upended his next clippers target before setting to work to separate it from its fleece.

One of the last in this series of marvellous works of art is 'Russ and his Bus'. Russell Mouritz did not actually drive a real bus. This statue is symbolic of the 'tourism bus' which has breathed new and stable life into the Hyden community, a drive in which our Russ played a leading part.

Wave Rock was not well known until 1964 when a photographer entered a picture of it in an International competition in New York.  He won the prize, and Wave Rock was very much on the international map.

To best take advantage of this natural phenomenon on their doorstep, the good folk of Hyden, who, like so many who inhabit very small country towns, were struggling to make ends meet, formed the Hyden Tourism Development Company. The redoubtable Russell was a prime mover in this venture. The company built and manages the Hyden Motel, the Wave Rock Caravan Park and the Resort.  In 1998 a new airstrip allowed for fly in, fly out visitors. Today seventy Hyden residents are employed to cater for the nearly 150,000 visitors who come to see Wave Rock every year. What a success story.

Walking around the town it is not hard to see where some of the profits of this sensible management of a marvellous natural resource have been used.

The Hyden town swimming pool looks pretty impressive from the outside, for a good reason.

It is, and it was open....I was miffed that we were too busy to spend a few hours here.

Next to the pool are the lush expanses of the town footy oval and the nearby tennis and basketball courts.

The main shopping street, short though it is, is not short on innovation.  The 'Bush Shopping Village'

as the sign on the entrance floor states,

is an extraordinary collection of individual shops scattered along angular arcades under the main roof. As I have very poorly attempted to show in this photo, each comes with its own outback type roof and verandah. Inventive and novel to say the least.

A covered walk leads from this centre to the neighbouring bakery, one which by all accounts, is well worth a visit.  Sadly it was not my day for pastry.

And we had things to do.  There was no time to be sitting about munching on hot pies. We had a van to set up. So we back-tracked out of Hyden and made our way to The Wave Rock Caravan Park.

At the end of the park front wall the park entrance beckoned.

In we went and drew up opposite the park office and store.

From here a ridge of brownish coloured rock could be seen behind the trees and a large public car park. Surely it is not that close.....yes it is....that is the top of Wave Rock. I expected it would not be too far away, but this was too good to be true.

But first things first as always. It was time to settle in.  The sites of Wave Rock Caravan Park are laid out in a large circle, with the shared facilities of the camp kitchen, ablutions, BBQ's and so on all centrally located. This is a great idea, and makes life very convenient for all staying here.





We followed the signs and began our journey around the circuit,













past the central facilities area on our right, 















the tent and camp ground on our left (there's the rock again!)












and the very flash en suite sites, each with their own small verandah in addition to all the other expected amenities.






As you can see this circuit road is sealed.  I know I bang on about this a bit, but the difference in dust levels in dry parks like these when this is the case is significant, particularly when those few idiots who consider park speed limits apply to all but them hurtle around the roads.





Our provided site was large, and, despite the somewhat spindly appearance of the bordering trees, quite shaded at the critical times of the day.









I had noticed as we drove along the roadway into the park that sites on this section seemed to slope quite sharply. As we began to set up, this observation proved to be a reality. To level the van front to rear presented a problem. With our nose necessarily high off the ground, the rear stabiliser legs were on too much of an angle to grip and hold.








Thinking cap on....travelling shovel employed....problem solved. The legs were soon firmly set in their own holes. Ah, the challenges of life on the road.










As I mentioned before, the location of the huge camp kitchen and entertaining area made life very convenient. It was but thirty metres or so from our site.







These facilities here at Wave Rock are the largest we have ever encountered. Set in surrounds of artificial turf, which does make a pleasant break from the otherwise dirt surfaces of the park, this building is huge (check out the solar panels).









One end houses the exterior entrances to the ablutions, and, on the inner side of this section, the large camp kitchen facility.












At the other end of the building is another set of loos and an open covered space in which park visitors can congregate and just chill out.











But it was the central section which grabbed our attention, in particular the large screen TV.






Television reception throughout the park is virtually non-existent here for those without a satellite dish (read MobileMarshies). So??? Our last day here was to be Sunday 29 March.  So???  Now any who haven't twigged by now must immediately place yourselves in the 'Cricket Phillistine' category....this was the day of the World Cricket Cup final, and the Aussies were playing. The thought of not being able to watch that was too much. My main concern was that some doting mother may have selected the ABC Kid's programme before I arrived to take up station. I was prepared to be mean, nasty and quite intransigent....this match was critical viewing!

Fortunately, the park was quiet during our stay, and some of our neighbours were equal cricket tragics.  We had a fine time, comfortably established on the second tier of the stands, 

drinks in hand, and everyone of us instant experts on all things to do with the white ball and the willow. And we won!  What a day, and what a finale to our Wave Rock experience.






After all this excitement it was time to pop over to the more than adequate park pool and cool off.







This is all very fine and dandy, I hear you exclaim, but what about 'The Rock'?  Did you actually get to see 'The Rock'?  Of course we did dear readers, that an much more, which I shall share with you in the next missive.