After getting off the Majestic Princess, we are met by mutual good friends who live just outside of Perth by Mullaloo Beach. We have previously organised to stay two days in Hotel Doubletree by Hilton. Our friends, Rinkje and Peter, give us a quick walking tour around our Hotel to gain some idea of our surroundings. Our Hotel stands gleamingly in the middle of what ‘was once the red light district of Perth CBD’ advises our friends. We pass perfectly innocent looking aged timber balconies atop an delightful Hotel very clearly from an earlier era. There are securely locked up nightclubs I notice as I step gingerly over a used condom. We find a comfortable Thai restaurant and afterwards, walk back across the road to our little home away from home on the sixth floor. Lyndie and John accept an upgrade to the tenth floor but unfortunately are woken on the hour throughout the night by the sounds of pub revelries , karaoke and even a brawl which elicits a prompt but loud response from police and ambulance. Methinks the district still has a pink light if not a red one shining forth through the wee, small hours.
It has oft been said by the erstwhile traveller, that there is nothing to stop for in a ‘One Horse Town’. However, we do stop for lunch in the town of Kulin which is located at the end of Tin Horse Highway. What sort of town might be located at the end of such a highway, I hear you ask? We are heading ‘east young man’ for Kalgoorlie via Wave Rock, which is situated a couple of miles from the town of Hyden. Many backwater towns are looking to offer tourists a reason to stop and Kulin has found it. They know that many tourists are on their way to Wave Rock and so for many years now, in an attempt to advertise their Horse Racing held in October, they have held a competition for local farmers to come up with a ‘tin horse’ statue. This has resulted in diverting the stream of drivers down into their town, achieved by providing all of these creations on display beside the highway. These brightly painted creations are made out of local farm materials. They stand on the side of the road ready to tempt avid photographers from their air conditioned cars. There are tin horses using a pool slide, there is a tin horse teacher or if your tastes run towards a more cultural outlook, there is a dreamy ballerina in delicate egg-shell blue. You well might ask how a tin ballerina could look delicate when her body is formed by a barrel, but with her delicately accented metal arms which bend at the elbow, she stands permanently en-pointe adding some culture to the tinder dry surroundings in this wheat belt area of Western Australia.
Through the daylight hours, Perth is a different ‘kettle of fish’. I remember upon our last visit to this city, being impressed by the free public transport system throughout the CBD. They have CAT buses (Central Area Transit) to many locations in Perth, Fremantle and Joondalup. You look on the map for the appropriate coloured bus you need and they seem to arrive every fifteen minutes or so. We travel by bus and train (which cost $2.80) to Fremantle to visit the markets. There were two different market locations selling all manner of very different items including 1950’s dolls and many things from our past. On a small stall, I find a similar doll as I had as a child. It was about the same size as me and was known as a “walking doll”. She was dressed as a nurse and Stephen confirms that she is thrown out now - someone may well have rescued her from the dump and put on a similar stall elsewhere priced to sell at $200. Following a traditional Snapper and chips meal, we take the slow ferry back into Perth CBD for a change and the free bus to our doorstep. There is no doubt about it, Perth has really got the public transport system very well worked out and are to be congratulated, for there is no doubt, providing very efficient pubic transport is the only way to keep private car usage down.
Following our two night stay, we hire a small people mover and travel to Mullaloo Beach to spend the evening and overnight with our Perth friends. Rinkje and Peter were friends who met Lyndie and John on a cruise some five or so years ago. During our circuit around Australia, we also included a visit to them, in our explorations of Perth. They are charming hosts and following a laid-back swim in their newly added pool, we are entertained by Peter and his Ukulele poolside. We cannot help but realise how enjoyable the ‘fruits’ of being retired are. Our host, Peter has celebrated a birthday a few days earlier and we bring out the requisite cake and candles, as no one escapes the remorseless march of time or lit candles. We reluctantly depart from our friends’ home to commence our journey to Kalgoorlie, via Wave Rock and the commencement of the road segment of our journey.
Following our two night stay, we hire a small people mover and travel to Mullaloo Beach to spend the evening and overnight with our Perth friends. Rinkje and Peter were friends who met Lyndie and John on a cruise some five or so years ago. During our circuit around Australia, we also included a visit to them, in our explorations of Perth. They are charming hosts and following a laid-back swim in their newly added pool, we are entertained by Peter and his Ukulele poolside. We cannot help but realise how enjoyable the ‘fruits’ of being retired are. Our host, Peter has celebrated a birthday a few days earlier and we bring out the requisite cake and candles, as no one escapes the remorseless march of time or lit candles. We reluctantly depart from our friends’ home to commence our journey to Kalgoorlie, via Wave Rock and the commencement of the road segment of our journey.
Wave Rock is a granite cliff 15 metres high and 110 metres long. Its rounded-like shape has been caused by weathering and water erosion which has undercut at the base and left a rounded overhang. Water from the springs running down the rock during wetter months dissolve minerals adding to the colouring of the wave. In 1950, crystals from Hyden Rock were dated as being 2700 million years old, amongst the oldest in Australia. Apart from this well know rock, just outside the town of Hyden where we will stay overnight, there is also a totally different lake just 1 km from the town. Known as Lake Magic, it is a naturally occurring salt lake, formed of gypsum. Nothing grows or lives in the lake due to the gypsum content, and it is clear and clean, with beach sand around the perimeter. The township of Hyden was established in 1922 when the first farming blocks were allocated for agricultural development. It is regarded as a secure grain/wheat growing area with a rainfall of approximately 350mm per year.
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As well as Wave Rock - which looks better in her advertising than in real life (!) in my opinion, there are equally interesting features around the area to see such as Hippo’s Yawn, the Town Dam, the Humps and Mulka’s cave. Hippos Yawn consists of an unusually shaped granite tor that was formerly part of the larger outcrop. The second most visited site, it is connected to Wave Rock and the car park by a loop walking track, approximately one kilometre long. Atop the Rock are barriers concreted into the surface of the rock which direct rainwater towards a dam used by the town for water supply. While aborigines were the first inhabitants to the area, it is believed that they gave the district a wide berth during the past century and a half. Many stones used by the aborigines have been found on their campsites throughout the area and painted hand marks can still be seen on rocks at the Humps.
The Legend of Mulka’s Cave came from an Aboriginal legend believed to be associated with the Cave. Mulka was the illegal son of a woman who fell in love with a man with whom marriage was forbidden. It was believed that as a result of breaking these rules she bore a son with crossed eyes. Even though he grew to be an outstandingly strong man of colossal height, his crossed eyes prevented him from aiming a spear accurately and becoming a successful hunter. Out of frustration, Mulka turned to catching and eating human children. Mulka became the terror of the district. It was said that he lived in Mulka’s cave where imprints of his hands can still be seen, much higher than that of an ordinary man. The Sandalwoodeers are believed to be the first white men in the area. The earliest recorded farming was in 1922 and descendants of these settlers still live in Hyden. Wheat production started in 1927. The railway from Lake Grace reached Hyden in 1932.
The State Barrier Fence (previously known as the Rabbit Proof Fence) passes to the east of Hyden. The fence was originally erected between 1901 and 1907 in a desperate bid to hold back the invading rabbits that were spreading across Australia from their place of introduction near Geelong, Victoria in 1859. So destructive were these introduced pests that if left unchecked, agriculture in Australia would not have been possible. The Fence is located between Starvation Bay, west of Esperance on the SouthCoast, to the Ninety Mile Beach, east of Port Hedland, spanning a distance of 1827 kms. It used 8,000 tonnes materials in its construction and in addition to this, posts were cut from the adjoining bush wherever possible.
We keep heading east towards Kalgoorlie where we hope to get a tour of the huge open cut mine in this area.
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As well as Wave Rock - which looks better in her advertising than in real life (!) in my opinion, there are equally interesting features around the area to see such as Hippo’s Yawn, the Town Dam, the Humps and Mulka’s cave. Hippos Yawn consists of an unusually shaped granite tor that was formerly part of the larger outcrop. The second most visited site, it is connected to Wave Rock and the car park by a loop walking track, approximately one kilometre long. Atop the Rock are barriers concreted into the surface of the rock which direct rainwater towards a dam used by the town for water supply. While aborigines were the first inhabitants to the area, it is believed that they gave the district a wide berth during the past century and a half. Many stones used by the aborigines have been found on their campsites throughout the area and painted hand marks can still be seen on rocks at the Humps.
The Legend of Mulka’s Cave came from an Aboriginal legend believed to be associated with the Cave. Mulka was the illegal son of a woman who fell in love with a man with whom marriage was forbidden. It was believed that as a result of breaking these rules she bore a son with crossed eyes. Even though he grew to be an outstandingly strong man of colossal height, his crossed eyes prevented him from aiming a spear accurately and becoming a successful hunter. Out of frustration, Mulka turned to catching and eating human children. Mulka became the terror of the district. It was said that he lived in Mulka’s cave where imprints of his hands can still be seen, much higher than that of an ordinary man. The Sandalwoodeers are believed to be the first white men in the area. The earliest recorded farming was in 1922 and descendants of these settlers still live in Hyden. Wheat production started in 1927. The railway from Lake Grace reached Hyden in 1932.
The State Barrier Fence (previously known as the Rabbit Proof Fence) passes to the east of Hyden. The fence was originally erected between 1901 and 1907 in a desperate bid to hold back the invading rabbits that were spreading across Australia from their place of introduction near Geelong, Victoria in 1859. So destructive were these introduced pests that if left unchecked, agriculture in Australia would not have been possible. The Fence is located between Starvation Bay, west of Esperance on the SouthCoast, to the Ninety Mile Beach, east of Port Hedland, spanning a distance of 1827 kms. It used 8,000 tonnes materials in its construction and in addition to this, posts were cut from the adjoining bush wherever possible.
We keep heading east towards Kalgoorlie where we hope to get a tour of the huge open cut mine in this area.