Wave Rock & The Humps

20^th – 22^nd September

Wave Rock: I think most Australians would have heard of, if not seen the iconic photos of people “surfing” the wave (I know my mam and dad did). 😊 So, we were excited to visit and “surf” the wave ourselves.

Let me tell you, it’s not as easy as it looks, that slope is deceptively steep, and even though we don’t look as though we’re very high on the wave, we were slipping down even as the photos were taken.

You can walk up on top of the wave, it’s not a pretty walk, industrial looking stairs, high, wire fences and lots of Keep Out signs. But the reason for this, and the wall, became clear when we reached the top. Off to one side of the wave is a dam and those ugly walls act as a waterflow management system, ensuring that as much rainfall as possible flows into the dam. So, I can live with the practicality of the walls, though they could’ve made them prettier. 😉

The top of the rock was similar to McDermid Rock, though not as impressive. Still, we wandered around up there for a couple of hours, enjoyed the views, and spotted our next destination way off in the distance.

At the base of the Humps is Mulka’s Cave, one of the oldest rock art caves in southern WA and well worth the look.

The Humps is another big rock formation and by far our favourite. Bigger and bolder than McDermid Rock and Wave Rock, with more troughs, and gullies, peaks and oases, we stayed up there until the sun was low in the sky.

There was something prehistoric about this landscape, I mean can’t you just picture a herd of Brontosaurus wandering about in the valley below? We didn’t see any Brontosauruses, but found some boulders to play on. What can I say? We’re easy to please. 😊

The water in the ponds was crystal clear and delicious. As fresh as you can get, at least, that’s what Peter told me.

There wasn’t a lot of wildlife to be seen, but this bird of prey, a Brown Falcon I think, kept me busy for a while.

I stalked this bird for thirty minutes or so, got a few shots then decided to park my bum on a rock for a few minutes. I hadn’t been sitting long when I realised that the hunter became the hunted. I was minding my own business, enjoying the view when my peripheral caught a movement. I turned to my right in time to see the falcon coming at me, in a head on attack… No Kidding! At really high speed he passed over my head so close that I thought I’d lost my cap. I thought Peter would come running to my aid, but the sound of his laughter in the distance told another story. Falcon 1 – Jo 0

In this area we stayed a couple of nights in Hyden at a little spot called ‘The Camp’. It’s a lovely little town and they’ve done up a really good display of the local characters from years past… kind of a rusty history told in rusty sculpture. Really good.

See you out there somewhere

On tow and on the go!