Cairns

I saw another last night as we sat watching the sunset in Purnululu. We've come across cairns along our journey often in remote and unexpected places. I love seeing them.

n the crudest most simple form they have been trail markers guiding us through rocky terrain. In other places they have been large creations built at times and by people unknown seemingly for aesthetic or scientific reasons. They mark summits, beautiful places,  and those rich in natural resources. Some cry out to be further enhanced; incomplete stories looking for further content but with an open ending. Others are complete to be admired and tended until a force of nature (or lack of respect) ends their life.

CC FlickR image by Valerie Kuki - https://www.flickr.com/photos/59807308@N08/11248341614/

Remarkable Rocks

Mount Augustus saw the last, for now at least, of large (granite/quartz) rocks (although not, as often advertised, ONE rock like Uluru).

Mount Augustus

From Hyden, east of Perth, north through the Goldfields and Gascoyne we've clambered over all sorts of remarkable 'big rocks'.

The highlight for me was not Wave Rock as might be expected (interesting but over-rated), but McDermid Rock further east off the Hyden-Norseman road, not far east of the Breakaways described in a previous post, and due south of Coolgardie.

On climbing the rock we discovered amazing rock pools and Japanese-like 'gardens' growing where soil had collected over time. One beautiful spot included a carefully constructed cairn (more on these in a later post). Now in the hard iron-ore rich Pilbara we seem a long way from this!

McDermid Rock treasures