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Surfing on Wave Rock
It’s early when we leave Cape Le Grande, the sun was beautiful coming up over the water, but we don’t see any kangaroos on the edges of the road like we did yesterday when we went into town. Today is like every other, we never know where we are going to be sleeping tonight. When we get to Ravensthorpe we go to the servo to get petrol, and see someone come out with hot chips, it’s only eleven am but we go and get some too. Early lunch.
We decide to turn inland and go up past Lake King to see Wave Rock. I don’t know why the power of the universe put that rock so far out of the way! But we leave the coast behind and head back inland. It’s a couple of hundred kilometers, but the road is good so we get up a fair way before we decide to stop at Lake King.
It seems Greg and I are the only ones on the road, as we meet very little traffic.
Lake King Caravan Park is deserted when we pull in, home to mine workers
it seems, and one other vehicle like us, with a Chinese couple in it. The man waves and smiles to us, but the wife has had enough I think, she is banging things about in the van, and doesn’t come out at all.
Only One hundred and twenty seven kilometres to Wave Rock, we leave early the next morning and get there by nine am.
When you walk round the corner and see it for the first time it’s really stunning, especially at this time in the morning. The colours are amazing.
A young guy comes out as we go in and he has a surfboard over his shoulder. His girlfriend must have some special shots, she has a big camera over her shoulder. We walk up and down a few times, and we both do a run up and get a surfing shot. Hasn’t everyone who’s been here?
We walk down to the Hippos Yawn; the photos speak for themselves, looks just like a Hippo too.
Next it’s up the stairway on to the top of Wave Rock; it’s a pretty steep climb but lovely views when you get up there, another
big heap of boulders perch on top of one another, we didn’t make it to the very top. Too steep for me! Flowers were out, growing in the lichen and a stand of green glossy bushes, there’s plenty of water up here, and they catch the town water supply on top. They have made a dam wall on the side of the rock.
After lunch in the car park we wave goodbye to Wave Rock. The municipality has signs along the road, Enjoy your Wave!
We turn onto the Lake Grace highway and go through Kalgarin; looks like this town had a cyclone. The roof is off the shop and another place is covered with a tarpaulin. Two workers are sitting on the roadside, and when we wave, they look at us as if we are from out of space. What happened to Wave to everyone!
We come to a sign pointing right, its called The Tin Man Highway, must be a story behind that one.
We come to Pingarling, huge wheat silos tower over the landscape of this wheat growing area. Mile after mile of grain growing ground.
We pass signs for Dumbleyung, Toolbrunup,
Ghowangerup, Badgerup, Ongerup, Chinicup, Ooyerup, Tititucup, Kuringup, Poonawareup, Tambellup, Moulgerup, and Peringillup. That, is just a few of them on the road that we were on!
We know there is a caravan park at Lake Grace and it’s getting late when we do a drive by, it’s full of those railway workers, two of whom we saw way back. The girl in the shop says there are eighty men in this small town pulling up the railway sleepers.
We go on, and come to Pingrup They have the best looking recreation ground we have ever seen, hockey field with lights, and a football ground in the middle of a horse racing track. The clubrooms were nice; it must be a wonderful rural community, nice playground for the kids. Thing was we didn’t see a single living soul in the little main street that night or the next morning.
The only thing we did see as the sun came up next day, was a murder of crows in the middle of the footy ground fighting over who was going to toss up the coin!
The green ring neck parrots flash too and fro in front
of the car all the way down the highway towards Albany, and a huge wedge tail eagle sits on a station gate. Takes your breath away to see one so close, no doubt he’s looking for breakfast, it’s only seven fort five. Too late to take a photo.
Into the town of Katanning, beautiful heritage buildings, and we have morning tea outside the library. Two mature age, brothers ride up to the library and park their bicycles, they don’t like the look of the Maui tourist van, and as the van drives away, they send them off out of town shouting words that we cant understand. Funnily they don’t bother us on the other side of the road, we must be ok. They then get on their bikes and ride madly up the street.
The shire of Bobalong and then the town of Tambellup, the town of friendship.
We see signs that warn of kangaroos, but we have only seen the roos in the national park so while I am deleting photos off my camera, I look up when Greg hits the brakes! There they are right in front of the car, a mob of six big
western greys! And as we slow down a seventh bursts out of the bush.
Lucky miss for them, and us!
Round the corner and we come to Cranbrook, then coming in to Mt Barker we are back in civilization, cars every where and all in a hurry to get somewhere fast.
We find our caravan park, it looks out over a beautiful bay, and the scenery is just stunning.
We have three nights here and have a look around, Albany is a beautiful city.
Next day, Whale World is good, we spend all morning there getting the history on the whaling industry.
We’ve done a lot of kilometers in the last week, but we go on to Peaceful Bay where we have three days, One whole day on the beach fishing, before tackling "The Valley of the Giants."
I caught a flounder for tea.
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Susan Gillies
non-member comment
loved catching up
It was so good to see you both in Albany, it is such a buzz seeing family on the road. Hope to catch you again in Margret River. love Soozie