Where have I been, Hyden?

The last stop on our quick road trip was the tiny town of Hyden, a few hours jaunt up the Brookton Highway where a few of WA's famous land formations sit at the base of a hill. Hyden is home to Wave Rock, aptly named for it's unique wave shape. It it also the home of a lesser known rock formation called Hippo's Yawn, again aptly named for its obvious shape. Both are bewildering sites to see, but of course have plausible reasons for the way they were formed over years of weather and water erosion.


We stopped for the night at the Wave Rock Resort. The resort was within walking distance of both Wave Rock and Hippo's Yawn and allowed us the frightening prospect of encountering one of Australia's infamously poisonous and deadly slithering reptiles. We walked the one kilometre track through the bush to Wave Rock where the flies were much more of a threat than any other creature could be. They attacked with vigor like wild, divebombing, kamikaze pilots into our facial orrifaces. I desperately needed my fly net from my trip up north, but was without that luxurious protection this time.

The granite cliff formation of Wave Rock rises 15 metres up and stretches 110 metres long. Mineral deposits contribute to its unique coloring and crystals collected from the rock are amongst some of the oldest found in Australia. The rock itself is over 60 million years old.

Just down the walking track from Wave Rock and shrouded in gum trees was the gaping mouth of a rock Hippopotamus head which was Hippo's Yawn. It was another site to behold. I had the eerie sensation of its mighty stone jaws clamping down on me and swallowing me whole when I stood within its cavernous walls.

The Aboriginal Dreamtime lore of nearby Mulka's Cave also lends an eerieness to the Wave Rock/ Hyden area. Mulka was the illegal son of a woman who fell in love with a man with whom marriage was forbidden according to Aboriginal law. As a result of this woman and man breaking the law Mulka was born with crossed eyes which prevented him from properly aiming a spear and becoming a successful hunter. Frustrated, Mulka turned to hunting and eating children and became the terror of the district. He lived in a cave where the imprints of his hands can still be seen today. When Mulka was confronted by his mother for his anti-social behavior he killed her. This disgraced Mulka further so he fled his cave and was later captured, speared to death and his body left for the ants as he did not deserve a proper burial. This legend served as a grim warning for those who broke Aborginal law.

Of the three accomodations we had on our trip Wave Rock Resort was my favorite for all the amenities it provided us. Debbie and I shared a two room cabin with four beds, a TV, kitchenette, BBQ, and private bath. The reception office was also a general store where we could buy mosquito repellent, cereal and other various sundries as well as some souvenirs. The resort also consisted of a caravan park full of campers and elderly couples doing the "drive around Australia" thing. There was also a very clean outdoor pool that looked refreshing and cool. After our little bush walk and site-seeing a dip in the pool sounded a treat. However, the sun had sunken into the horizon and the fact that the pool was mostly in shade during the day made its inviting waters anything but pleasurable. It was more like taking a dip in an ice cold pond, but we stuck it out and swam around to warm ourselves up.

It was the end of a nice, scenic trip around the central and south central parts of Western Australia. We had one beautiful bottle of sparkling wine (champagne) left to enjoy while we savoured the last day of a memorable trip over grilled steak and salad on the tiny front verandah of our little cabin.

Dog statue at random dog cemetary

on the the side of the road.

[drive back to Perth]