Day 44 | Elachbutting rock: not quite as remote as expected

57 km | zzOz total: 2,086 km

People have made recommendations as to what to see on my travels and I guess you have to trust the locals.

Some have been great: Purnululu National Park, a top excursion; Gregory National Park, but I guess I was heading through anyway; the Five Rivers Lookout at Wyndham, a detour certainly better than the main highway; Maguk and Koolpin Gorge, total highlights; Le Grande Beach, 26km of biking heaven; etc, etc.

There’s been less than great: Ivanhoe Crossing, not a crossing for this bike, except on the back of a truck; the slog down Two Peoples Bay Beach; that’s about it on the negative.

My current trajectory, excluding the recent diversion to SX, was based on the suggestion that Elachbutting Rock was “more interesting than Wave Rock”, and heading here suggested a whole itinerary since I left Albany on that wet south coast.

I’ve been rock hopping since and this is the eighth granite lump I’ve lumbered up since Wave Rock two weeks ago.

How does it rate?

I reckon, for me at least, Baladjie Rock is the top pick, predominantly because of the nearby lake and the location right on the edge of the wilderness. There’s something about spending three nights somewhere special and watching the mood change with the light conditions at sunrise and sunset.

Wave Rock is an astonishing experience, all that rock carved away into such a dynamic form and I s’pose that was my initial encounter with this type of granite rock. Number two despite the touristy nature of the experience.

This has to be number 3, it’s a more top heavy wave, more dynamic and threatening, you wouldn’t conceive of surfing this one. But it’s not too easy to get to grips with due to the proximity of the bush, basically it’s bushed in, the aspect which gives it a high score is the curving tunnel created when a humungous slab of granite, 100s, if not 1000s of tons, cracked then slipped away leaving a 2m curving gap to clamber through for 80m.

There’s still a few more rocks to investigate in the next few days before I’m free for a while.

Eventually I’ll hit the biggest daddy of all Australian monoliths, no not Uluru, it’s Mt Augustus.

That was another recommendation that will divert me some considerable distance off the most obvious Cape to Cape route.

And why I’m heading to Exmouth.