Sometime in 2020, after moving to Southern Cross I joined the Tourism Advisory Committee. I don’t think it was a coincidence that the committee was created in the covid tourism downturn as every shire in Australia started to aggressively advertise tourism in their areas. Except…it’s really not that easy in the Shire of Yilgarn, which Southern Cross is part of.
I’m not saying its a terrible place to visit, but information on knowing where to go when visiting is in short supply, and some things that are advertised, are in realms of clutching at straws. Sometimes I wonder if advertising where attractions once WERE, is worthy of the effort taken to visit - Looking at you Mount Palmer Hotel!
Needless to say, my friend Danielle, who runs a package holiday thing, shocked at my cynicism of the Wheatbelt, insisted that I join her for the day with a trip to Hampton Rock and nearby Dulyalbin Rock.
Starting just after lunch, first stop was Hampton Rock in the Mount Hampton Reserve. I had to link the coordinates as the rock isn’t even marked on the map!
If you asked me why you should visit Hampton Rock, that one is much easier. Easy to get to, lots of colour, chance of some smaller waterfalls and plenty of streams on the rock. A rock in the shape of a rhino/hippo/fat horse, and walk to the top to absorb all the views. Like almost every rock in the shire, it has its own set of man-made walls to create the water catchment area for the nearby reservoir.
Because of the rock pools, there was plenty of wildlife and dragonflies mating like crazy.
Our second case study was Dulyalbin Rock. I actually visited a couple of months ago, with the drone, on a scorching 40 degree day and didn’t spend much time there at all. The first thing I noticed was the massive water tank at the base of the rock, and as usual, a number of short concrete walls, designed to direct water towards the intake pipe. The walls here are much shorter than the great wall of Dulyalbin.
This time it was cooler and gave us the opportunity to actually walk over the top and find the formation of a wave rock section, more rock pools and plenty of views.
So, in conclusion, there are things to see, but you won’t likely see any of them unless you know someone locally who is passionate about them like Danielle is! So go and check out her Wheatbelt Getaway Experience, and tell everyone about it.
