Wave Rock – A 4-hour drive from Perth and Albany, you will find the natural rock formation Wave Rock. This rock formation has become famous because of its shape: it looks like a high breaking ocean wave. This wave is about 15 metres high, 110 metres long and attracts thousands of tourists every year. We didn’t want to miss this unique place during our Western Australia trip. Read our experience now!
From Albany to Wave Rock
After 3 days in Albany it was time for us to drive to Wave Rock. We visited this impressive rock formation during our journey to York, which is a 4-hour drive from Albany.
As it is located in the grain region of Western Australia, we also had some delays on the road. Large harvesting machines drove in front of us, which prevented us from passing.
We were also surprised by a Dutch windmill in the landscape. You don’t expect them in Western Australia 😉 .
Tip: try to have a stay nearby Wave Rock (if you have the time), the journey from Albany directly to York is quite long.
The journey was again exceptionally beautiful, with beautiful wide landscapes and little traffic on the road.
Information: to visit the Wave Rock you pay $12 per car (to be paid at the entrance of Wave Rock). An average visit to this beautiful rock formation takes about 20 minutes.
From the car park it’s a short walk to ‘The Wave’. The enormous natural phenomenon can be seen glittering in the sun from a great distance.
When you arrive, you don’t immediately have the feeling that it is 15 metres high. But if you come closer, you can clearly see how enormous this rock formation is. It was not really crowded, that was mainly because of all the borders that were locked. I can imagine that it can be very touristic normally.
The Wave Rock is known as inselberg and used to be an isolated rock hill. This rock mound has been weathered over millions of years by wind and rain. These enormous erosive forces have slowly transformed the rock into the deep grey, red and sand coloured wave that you can admire today.
The surroundings
Apart from the Wave Rock itself, there is a coffee house, a wildlife park, a reconstructed Pioneer Town and a Wildflower shop nearby. This shop serves delicious food and shows how many exotic and rare wildflowers grow in the Wave Rock Area
There is a 3.6-kilometre bush walk trail that takes between 1 and 3 hours to complete, depending on your walking pace and how long you linger at sights along the way. This trail goes around and past Hippos Yawn and salt lakes and ends back at the resort and shops.
Hippos Yawn
In the Wave Rock Area, there are also other unusual rock formations such as Hippos Yawn, The Humps, Camel Peaks and King Rocks. These are the largest and best known and only a few of the hundreds scattered in this central wheat belt area.
Bats Cave Mulka
Nearby, at Bats Cave, are some very interesting Aboriginal artworks painted on the rocks. This cave was also declared taboo by the local Aboriginals due to the terrifying nature of the events that took place in the cave.
The road from Wave Rock to York was also beautiful. If you look around you during the drive, you will also regularly see beautiful salt lakes pass by. It was a very cool sight, especially when the sun shines on them. See the picture below.
Tips
- If you are not doing a road trip and still want to visit this special place, then it is possible to book a tour from Perth.
- This tour will take you to the idyllic town of York and also to beautiful Wave Rock. View the possibilities here
- When the borders are open again, it can be a lot busier. Try to beat the tour buses by visiting Wave Rock as early in the morning as possible.
- It can be quite warm in this place, especially in the middle of the day. There can also be a lot of flies, try to be prepared for this.
