Day 31 | Near The Humps: a day of running around on granite rocks of the large variety

34 km | zzOz total: 1,585 km

You can spend hours running around these big, ie, huge, granite rocks.

Being of the cynical type I was a little underprepared for exactly how impressive Wave Rock was to be.

Having been following the brown Wave Rock signs since leaving Albany I’d anticipated it was probably an, overrated, tourist trap. Sometimes nature just has a way of orchestrating a surprise. I was really impressed.

The rock wave, just like an immense breaking, big sea style, wave is about 15m high and 110m long. And to think the odd surfer likes to engage with one of those monsters.

I found it hard to believe that it was only stumbled on by Europeans in 1928 and wasn’t even considered a tourist attraction until National Geographic did an article in 1963.

Well, it’s fast catching up.

Eventually having done all the walks I departed for The Humps. This has Mulka’s Cave, which, not surprisingly, is a cave which contains the most extensive gallery of Aboriginal art in, well, the whole SW corner of WA. There’s 430 odd handprints in various ochre colours of an indeterminate age which are almost discernible in the gloom.

A walk up to the top of The Humps was perhaps more rewarding, 360° view with Hyden township visible in the distance. Haven’t managed to come far today what with all that rock hopping.

A large thermometer outside the Wave Rock cafe had been registering 10°C at 2pm, ie, not a lot.

A couple of hours later I don’t believe it had warmed up there on the top of the world with that cold easterly wind howling in.