Location: Bruce Rock, Kokerbin, Quairading, Taopin Weir
Region: Wheatbelt
Date: Wednesday, 30 August – Thursday, 1 September 2023
Temperature:
We started the day with a wildflower drive just outside Corrigin, just a short drive and you could easily walk the drive if you wished. The flowers don’t disappoint, I’m just a bit sorry I don’t know all the names…
Yet another stopLookout to Corrigin
We return to Corrigin and collect the van and decide to follow the “Granite Way” to take in other local rock sites so we head to Bruce Rock. Nice day area but can’t access most of Bruce Rock as it’s on private land unfortunately.
Old Corrigin WaterTowerCorrigin pubWindmillRoad out of Corrigin
Next stop is Kokerbin rock; the 3rd biggest monolith in Australia. We take the walk around and past the Devils Marbles and spy an echidna on the way resting under a tree, then we climb to the top and take in the vista and back down again and then follow the path to visit the historic well.
On the way back we saw a “stumpy” aka blue tongue, warming himself in the afternoon sunshine.
KokerbinFloraEchidnaDevils MarblesFrom the topTowards the SummitHistoric wellWildflowerWildflowersStumpy (aka Blue Tongue)
We continue on granite way, past Mt Stirling to Quairading and then onto Toapin Weir to camp for the night. As we drive slowly along the gravel road we are surrounded by flocks of Australian Ring Neck Parrots (aka the Port Lincoln Parrot and the Twenty Eight parrot due to the sound it makes).
Mt StirlingQuairading BlossomsFloraPincushion resurrection plant (dies then resurrects after rain).Taopin WeirTaopin WeirFloraMoss
On Thursday 31st August we travelled back to Perth via York an historical town nestled in the foothills surrounding Perth.
My daughter Carly arrives this weekend for a 3 day visit before heading to Singapore.
Our plan while in WA for the next 5-6 months; with Louise kindly offering her house as as our base in Perth, is to explore the bottom half of the state by taking 1- 3 week trips away at a time. If you think of it like a daisy with Perth the centre, our loops will be like the petals. Due to our delay in leaving the East Coast it will be too hot to travel the far North this year so we will save that for next year.
We have my daughter Carly arriving on Saturday night on a short three day stay as she heads to Singapore so we decided to take a short trip and on Monday 28th August we head East from Perth towards Brookton then Corrigin where we will stay two nights, leaving the van and just taking the car the extra distance to Wave Rock, a total of 330 kms from Perth.
The drive out is filled with lots of green and gold pasture all the way from Brookton to Corrigin which surprises Rob and I; thinking it would be sparse and dry, but this region is known as the Wheatbelt and covers a vast area both West and South from Perth. It’s beautiful country.
We camp for the night at free camp in the centre of town. Nice and flat, quiet with public toilets nearby that are well maintained with soap and paper towel. It’s surprising how important well maintained facilities become when you travel like this!
Green and Gold PasturesPassing BrooktonCamp at Corrigin
On Tuesday we head out for Wave Rock, leaving the van at Corrigin. We can stay a max 72hours.
We pass through Kondinin, then stop at Kalgarin to admire some artwork and check out some wildflowers before heading on to and Hyden and Wave Rock.
Wave Rock is a now a chargeable experience for visitors and the park includes a cafe.
The rock is a short stroll from the car park and there is a bush tucker walk on the way. The face of the rock presents itself around a curve and it is a breathtaking sight. It’s darker than I thought it would be and the colours and sheer size of the curve are extraordinary to say the least. Rob and I goof around trying to sit on the curve and he tries to Surf it!
Wave RockHyden catchment On top of Wave RockMini Wave
We walk up the rock and across the top taking in the catchment and views. It has been quite interesting to discover so many outback areas originally used these large rocks to catch and contain water and many are still in use along with other newer systems. Wave rock still has many areas of the low walls originally built around it in evidence of this practice.
As we walk we see a Sandalwood tree which is rare as these were nearly all collected out of existence in this area due to their export value to Asian counties for joss sticks (incense). We also see lichens and a few wild flower growing in Gnamma holes on the top face of the rock.
Sandalwood TreeLichen and flowers in Gnamma holesMore LichenMore Flowers
We continue walking, making our way down and then across to take in Hippo Yawn and then further on to the salt lake which is near the resort.
Big cracksHippo’s YawnHippo’s YawnSalt Lake
We finish our walk around the park taking in the wildlife and as we go read about Mulka’s cave nearby. The cave has a very interesting story about Mulka which I will leave for you to discover if you visit and is thought to be one of the most prodigious examples of Aboriginal Art with over 200 hand prints in the cave. Worth a visit.
Physio my way 
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