Western Australia Bucket List

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Location: 320 km east of Carnarvon, WA
Though Uluru is the largest "free-standing" monolith, Mount Augustus is the world's largest monolith. It is 2.5 times larger than Uluru (Ayers Rock). One of the most spectacular solitary peaks in the world, standing at 1105 metres above sea level, Its summit has a small peak on a plateau, and rises about 717 metres above a stony, red sandplain of arid shrubland dominated by wattles, cassias and eremophilas. The rock is 8 km long and covers an area of 4795 hectares. Because of its immense size, the mountain is clearly visible from the air for more than 160 kilometres.

Location: Hyden, WA
14 metres high, and 110m long, the face of Wave Rock appears ready to crash onto a pre-historic surf, now frozen in time. Believed to have formed over 2700 million years ago, Wave Rock is part of the northern face of Hyden Rock. The shape of the wave is formed by gradual erosion of the softer rock beneath the upper edge, over many centuries. The colours of the Wave are caused by the rain washing chemical deposits (carbonates and iron hydroxide) down the face, forming vertical stripes of greys reds and yellows. 

Location: 48 kilometres west of Cue, WA
This huge granite monolith is 50 metres high, 1.5 kms long and 5 kms around. A large cave contains an impressive gallery of Aboriginal paintings, making the site of deep cultural and spiritual significance to the Aborigines. Most probably painted with ochre from Wilgie Mia, the gallery features motifs that are predominantly non-figurative. One of the more outstanding motifs is that of a ship with two masts, ratlines, rigging and square portholes in the hull, a remarkable occurrence considering the site is over 300 kilometres from the sea. It is believed to depict on of the Dutch ships that visited the region's shores in the 17th century.

Location: Burrowa-Pine Mountain National Park, Walwa, Vic
Pine Mountain is a gigantic granite monolith, said to be 1.5 times bigger than Uluru. Covered with vegetation, the monolith was uplifted to its present height of 1062m more than 2 million years ago. Since then erosion has highlighted the steep eastern side, established several creeks, and in the upper area, created small rock pools. From the west side base there is a scenic walking track which traverses large granite outcrops and leads to the summit of Pine Mountain.

10. Kokerbin Rock, WA

Location: Bruce Rock, WA
Koberbin Rock is the third largest free standing monolith in Australia and is recognised as an interesting unspoilt spot for flora and fauna study. The granite rock covers 9 hectares and towers 122m above ground level. The rock features interesting formations, caves and a deep well on the western side.  Up close it gives the appearance of being a smaller version of Hyden's Wave Rock as it also has a "wave" wall.

Location: Kalbarri National Park, Kalbarri, WA
The river gorges in the Kalbarri National Park are some of the most accessible and spectacular in Western Australia. These gorges were carved over millions of years to form dramatic sandstone cliff faces that plummet into the Murchison River as it meanders towards the township of Kalbarri on the coast. Short walks provide moderately easy access to lookouts along the river gorge at the Loop, Z-Bend, Hawks Head and Ross Graham lookout. The Loop provides different views of the winding gorge below from several lookouts positioned around The Loop. One such vantage point is Nature's Window, a natural rock arch that superbly frames the upstream view.

Location: Sandstone, WA
Up a track from the State Battery near the goldmining ghost town of Sandstone is the region's most interesting natural phenomenon - London Bridge. It is the most spectacular and unusual of the sandstone breakaways in the area and, in the early 1900s, was once wide enough to allow both horse and sulky to cross it. Over the years however, it has been eroded to its present width of one metre. It is now regarded as too dangerous to walk on. The sandstone in this area is estimated to be 350 million years old. The bridge itself is nearly 800 metres long and at the centre is 10 metres high.