Karlgarin Accommodation, Hotels, Tours & Information

Karlgarin

About 320km south-east of Perth, Karlgarin is a service centre for wheat farmers whose crops are constantly hanging out for rain. The area was first settled by sandalwood cutters and serious farming activity didn"t get under way until the 1920s.

Just 22km up the road visitors will discover one of WA's great physical attractions - Wave Rock, outside the town of Hyden. Shaped like a wave about to break, this extraordinary granite formation, streaked with red, grey and white, stands more than 15m high and is about 100m long.

The vivid, distinctive bands of colour running horizontal on the "wave" are the result of millions of years of rain, washing chemical deposits down the sloping face. Located within a 160ha reserve, Wave Rock is estimated to be more than 270 million years old.

There are several other interesting cave and rock formations in this area and in spring the wildflowers are a delight as they transform the landscape with their brilliant forms and colours.

Four-wheel drive enthusiasts enjoy the delights of a bush bash along a route called the Hyden-Johnston Lake road, which figures as a series of dashes on most maps, and passes through the vermin-proof fence on its way to a substantial lakes system 150km or so north-east of Hyden.