19th ~ 20th November
  
After the fun and excitement, apparently, of the Tin Horse H'way we settled into another hour or so of travel to Hyden, stopping only briefly at their park with a large display of statues, all made from farm and mining machinery ingeniously put together to show the history of the region. Our destination like so many others is Wave Rock, a famous landmark for the region. 

 There is a caravan and camping site within 100 metres of the rock, and a resort about a kilometre away. Our itinerary still holds its good fortune regarding minimal crowds and when we pull into the camp it is only about 15% full. Soon we have set camp and pulled on the walking boots to explore.
 
It has been said to us that it is a long way to drive to see a rock! Perhaps for some, however, we had a wonderful time there being amazed by old Mother Natures artistic bent and exploring the rock above and the surrounding lands. The Wave, well it really is amazing and somehow shows you your place in nature, a place you can feel part of the whole thing. The Wave changes colour and character as the sun travels its path above, alternately casting the rock face in brilliant light or deep shadow. This is another Google moment should you wish to understand the chemical and mechanical methodology of the construction of this rock, suffice to say it took a while!
 
Above and behind the Wave is a rather smooth, very large rock. Not Uluru sized, but you won't be fringing it home. A convenient set of steps aids visitors to scale the rather steep bottom slopes, then you are on your own to explore the smooth contoured rock. The view is 360 degrees and quite spectacular over the WA outback. Nearby salt pans and saltbush give way to sweeping wheat fields broken by low rolling hills and patches of native scrub. Just to the north lies the circular vivid green salt water Magic Lake. To the south a golf course hugs the bottom slopes of the rock, long bare fairways with deep black sand greens provide an interesting contrast to nature.
 
We enjoyed a few climbs upon the rock as well as a walk along the foot of the rock, via Hippo's Yawn (a large cave under an overhang shaped like a hippos upper jaw) and out to Magic Lake. In the next day we also went swimming in the lake, quite an experience as the water is so slat laden that you cannot sink. In fact lay on your back and your feet and legs actually stick out of the water as well as neck and shoulders.
 
A day trip 18klm north takes us to Mulka's Cave situated in a group of hill sized rocks called The Humps. Mulka is a huge Aboriginal man, part of a local legend, a man who was shunned by the tribe for his habits and appetite and took to living in this cave, kidnapping and eating children. Nice guy! The cave has a mouth which looks like a over large catfishes, once inside it is pretty rough, however the ceiling and higher walls have hundreds of handprints blown by the local tribes over the centuries.
 
After Mulka's Cave we began a long walk around the base of The Humps, then a winding trail climbing along ridges and butts to the summit. Natural rock sculptures presented themselves along the path, and we wound through small gullies supporting their own unique micro environments. Once again the view was magnificent, though severely curtailed by a blustery wind. Whilst here we spied a secondary gravel road heading north, a road we had considered taking the next day as we head to Kalgoorlie. The road looked fine and this decided our next adventure.