


Today's
blog post is about our 2 day journey from Hyden to Norseman, via the
Granite and Woodlands Discovery Trail. It is a 300 km dirt road but
it is highly maintained so that 2WD cars can go on it. Even after all
of the rain that we had in Western Australia over this winter it was
a wonderful road to drive, smoother than some sealed roads, and
caravaners could easily cross, we even saw a sports car driven by a
wildflower enthusiast, although we recommend talking to
people with information at either Wave Rock or Norseman first because
sometimes it is closed. We took two days to cross as we stopped at all
16 designated stopping places and camped along the way as well. We
also recommend getting the flyer/ brochure which is probably one of
the best informative flyers we have picked up as it gives the exact
distances between stops, how far it is to Hyden and Norsman from
each stop, it has two segmented maps of the Granite and
Woodlands Discovery Trail, tells you where camping is permitted, where picnic
tables are, and also details of the walking trails at McDermid Rock
and Disappointment Rock.

We've
talked about large granite outcrops in some of our recent posts. This
section of WA as well as being in the wheat-belt, is also in an area
with many granite outcrops, is rich with mining ores such as gold and
nickel, and is home to some unique types of forests and woodlands. In
this 300km stretch, the country and scenery changes dramatically
sometimes as quickly as every half hour.

We left
Wave Rock at about midday continuing east on our journey and went
136km, almost half way across the Discovery Trail, to where we camped
at The Breakaways. Between Wave Rock and The Breakaways are 5 other
areas to stop and take a look around, and each has interpretive signs
to read: State Barrier Fence, (also known as the Rabbit Proof Fence),
Holland Track, (a heavy 4WD track), Forrestania Plots, (plots
originally cleared for farm land but left desolate due to the
depression), Shire Boundary (where the the Shires of Kondinin and
Dundas meet), Grevillea Hill (you can look out over the valley and
see flame grevillea far as the eye can see), and finally The
Breakaways, (where the landscape starts to change from sandy
heathland to mallee and eucalypt forests).

The
Breakaways was a lovely area with sandstone cliffs that were a couple
of metres tall. It was about 3 in the afternoon and the sun was
bouncing lots of beautiful colours off the cliff walls. It was a nice
area and after we spent about half an hour just exploring, (no
designated path), we decided to camp for the night as there were a
few drop dunnies, and many camp fire pits around. Honestly the camp
fire pits is what actually made us decide to stay! During the night
we decided to grab the torches and walk around to see if there was
any wildlife about, but it was probably too cold as we only saw a few
spiders.

The next
day we drove the remaining 165 kms to Norseman. Between The
Breakaways and Norseman are 9 sites to stop at, and one final walk at
Norseman: Emily Ann (so memorable I forgot what it was and had to
look up on the internet that told me it was an old mine site, nothing
here except a sign), McDermid Rock (granite outcrop), Lake Johnston
(a salt lake), Lake viewpoint, Disappointment Rock (another granite
outcrop), Woodlands, Gemfields, Lake Cowan Lookout (the lake just out
of Norseman), and the Woodlands Walk at Norseman. There is walks at
McDermid Rock and Disappointment Rock. Still not really sure why it
is called disappointment rock, the view was just as nice as the
other view points, but perhaps because it is another granite outcrop
that looks similar to all the others. We did find a gnome who had
made his home up there though, seeking shelter under a rock, waving
at passers by like us. Just be aware if you are in a 2WD going to
Disappointment Rock because even though it is only about 100 meters
from the road, it is very rough going, be careful not to pop your
tyres. There are also designated free camp spots at McDermid Rock and
Lake Johnston.

Norseman
is a gold mining town, although very small compared to Kalgoorlie. It
is in between Esperance and Kalgoorlie, and the first proper town
you will come across if you have travelled the Nullabor like we did
back in March. It also has one of the holes for the
Nullabor Links golf course.

By the
time we had reached Norseman it was a week since we had left Bunbury
in early September and as the week progressed we spotted more and
more of the colourful wildflowers that Western Australia is famous
for in spring time. Well at least the flowers thought it was spring even
though the weather had been bitterly cold and some mornings there was
negative temperatures! The lookout at Grevillea Hill was coloured
orange. At The Breakaways there was a few sections that had a carpet
of purple. On all of our walks up on the granite were many varieties
of colours.
Happy
Travels
- Jeni
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