Wave Rock
After spending yesterday driving from Bourke up to Blackall, Sam and I were pretty keen to stretch our legs today. So with a fairly short drive up to Winton planned we decided to detour out to Idalia National Park and check things out. Like a lot of these outback national parks in Queensland Idalia National Park is an old pastural station that has been handed over to the national parks people and is now open to the public. To get to this park requires a fair bit of effort so I wasn't overly surprised to arrive at the informal carpark at the Old Idalia Homestead Site and find that we had the place to ourselves this morning.
We got an early start this morning - the light was sensational first up.
The last 40 kilometres to the Wave Rock trail head was a little rougher - stay well away from this black soil if any rain is forecast.
The carpark at the trail head is pretty informal...
... and so is the signage.
Grabbing the camera we locked the ute and set off to check out the Wave Rock Walk. The signposting and track marking in this park is old school compared to most national parks, however I thought that the homemade signs added a bit to the feel of the walk. Initially we passed through some light forest before crossing a ephemeral creek and climbing into some rockier Mulga country. After around ten minutes our track split and we took the left fork as we gently climbed though more open Mulga Forest, passing some big car sized boulders scattered around the forest floor before shortly afterward arriving at Wave Rock.
I didn't even bother with a daypack on this walk.
It is mostly fairly open woodland around here.
Sam was keen for me to take the lead this morning.
The rangers at Idalia National Park use white blazes to mark some of their walks.
We had to climb this short rocky section before our track split up...
... and we took the left fork through the Mulga.
Shortly after these huge boulders started appearing....
... Wave Rock materialised in the distance.
Wave Rock has been sculptured by wind and rain over the years and makes for a pretty sight. The actual 'wave' runs for around 100 metres I guess and the track contours along the base of it for most of the distance. It's not only the rock that is of interest here as there are also glimpses out over the forest canopy in a few spots. After enjoying the ambiance of this place for awhile we left the rock and dropped back down to re-join our outward route, before shuffling our way back down to the ute to finish of this easy stroll.
Wave Rock
The view down over Idalia National Park from Wave Rock.
Wave Rock
Wave Rock
Wave Rock
The Dirt.
According to my GPS we walked around 1.8 kilometres and climbed about 45 metres on this easy walk. While the walk is easy it is also a little rough under foot with a fair bit of rock to negotiate - some of it loose. The track marking and signposting is also fairly agricultural (although the rangers here do sometimes use white painted blazes on the trees and rocks similar to the AT for any walking trainspotters out there!) This spot is a long way from anywhere and even in mid April it was hot, so if visiting come prepared - I'd recommend a high clearance 4wd for the last 40 kilometres on the drive in. I got information on this stroll of the Queensland Parks website as well as Alltrails. I used my Alltrails Map along with my GPS topos on the stroll.
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There is a variety of strange shaped rocks here.
When the wave formation finished I exposed a little bit further...
... and enjoyed one last long range view.
Dropping back down to the ute.
The track is mostly fairly obvious and where it's not there were markers and cairns to help keep us heading the right way.
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