Hyden

Perth to Wave Rock, 11 day tour 1995, 554 km cumulative distance

The aim of this trip was to reach Wave Rock at Hyden, starting by catching the train to Merredin and returning as far as Midland or Armadale to catch the train the rest of the way back to Cottesloe. Midland was decided upon as the trip progressed.

Charles A. Pierce

Other Days on this Tour:

Daily Locations for this Tour:

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Kondinin to Hyden, day 4, Sunday 29 October 1995. I left Kondinin at 7:32. The first 8 km or so of the road to Hyden are mostly uphill. This is usually the case – inland towns are either near a river or for other reasons on relatively low-lying land. One can usually count on a climb to get out of a town and a downhill run for the last few km into the next one.

The wind was easterly, against me all the way. There was some cloud, but the day was mostly sunny with a maximum of about 29 in the part of the country where I was. The road from Kondinin was at first lined with trees, pleasant on a cool sunny morning.  ... Read more

Hyden to Wave Rock, day 5, Monday 30 October 1995. Rain had fallen during the night and north-westerly winds were blowing strongly. This worried me because having fought easterlies all the way from Kondinin, it looked as though the weather had changed and I was to fight westerlies all the way back. I felt discouraged and frustrated by this, and hoped that the weather would continue to change quickly and that I would have at least lighter southerly side-winds. As it turned out, the low pressure system had got stuck in the bight and I was to have headwinds until Thursday.

Anyway I had a leisurely morning, starting with a big buffet breakfast. Then I set off for Wave Rock, found a real tourist trap with a shop full of the usual hats and stuffed koalas at high prices, and had to pay $2 and go through a turnstile to see the Rock.  ... Read more

Hyden to Kondinin, day 6, Tuesday 31 October 1995. I didn’t have the buffet breakfast, just the usual biscuits and cake and milk before an early start. This was to be a challenge day. The winds were indeed from the WNW, gusting up to 20 knots, the sky was overcast and the morning cool. I left Hyden at 7:21 and took drink breaks at 3063, 3078 and 3093.

Because I had expected a hard time it didn’t seem so bad, I just took it steadily, up and down the gentle slopes and along the long straight stretches of road, where you can see 5 or 10 km ahead. The maps told me that the last 8km into Kondinin were mostly downhill, so when I was 15km out and making good time, realising that I could make it in under 4 hours I started to push hard.  ... Read more

Hippos Yawn is a rock near Wave Rock in Western Australia. The rock’s resemblance to a yawning hippopotamus led to its name. It is about 12.6 meters tall.

The town of Hyden is located 339 km east of Perth, Western Australia in the Shire of Kondinin. Hyden is home to Wave Rock and Mulka’s Cave, both popular local tourist attractions.