day 14 - From Hyden to Fremantle

From: Hyden (WA)

To: Fremantle, Perth (WA)

Via: Mulka's Cave, Hyden

Distance: 382km

High: Driving through big puddles of water on the road during the huge rain we had. 

Low: Fitting the car in the car lift to park it in the basement of the apartment in Fremantle. 

Quote of the day: Bink "I think I must vomit" while turning green in the car.

Animals: Gala's (at least 50), Cows (many), Sheep (many), Horses (28), Crows (many), Dead Kangaroos (2), Dead fox (1), Lorikeets (8), Birds of prey (2)

Colours: Grey and green and more towards Perth the colours of houses. 

Cars: 7/ hour up to the outskirts of Perth
Weather: morning 11C lots of rain, afternoon 13C lots of rain, end of the afternoon 21C and sunny

 Water everywhere.

 All colours are different. 

 The tribe dry in the car. 

 On the way to Mulka's cave. 

 Windscreen. 

 Drops everywhere. The smell of the forest is fantastic. 

 Mulka's cave is dripping with water.

 Our stop in wheat town Brookton. This is the opshop. 

Stretching legs at the war memorial (and play ground)

Brookton is colourful. 

 Arriving in sunshine in Fremantle. 

The colours are very intens. 

 The evening light. 

 It's getting late in the afternoon.

 Playing table tennis on the square.

Our apartment. The photo art on the walls gives me inspiration. Very arty. But why did they not put them on the wall straight??

It is a restless night with huge thunder storms passing and continuous rain hammering on the roof of the motel. I love the sound of rain, especially if I'm safe and warm in my bed. But the children are less happy. 

Everywhere we look we see smiling and happy faces. Every-one was desperate for the rain and the farmers can't take the huge grin from their face. We meet a farmer's wife and she explained the stages of the dying crops in such emotional detail that I have tears in my eyes. But with today's rain the crops will be surviving so the story has a happy ending. 

After that we visit Mulka's cave and read the legend of the person who once lived there. The cave is full of hand prints. A spiritual and interesting place, especially in the rain with the silence, the smell of the forest and the story in our minds. The hand prints are actually really big.......

Legend of Mulka's Cave
The name Mulka comes from an Aboriginal legend associated with the cave. Mulka was the illegal son of a woman who fell in love with a man with whom marriage was forbidden according to their law.

It was believed that as a result of breaking these rules she bore a son with crossed eyes. Even though he grew to be an outstandingly strong man of colossal height, his crossed eyes prevented him from aiming a spear accurately and becoming a successful hunter.

Out of frustration it is said Mulka turned to catching and eating human children, and he became the terror of the district. He lived in Mulka's cave, where the imprints of his hands can still be seen, much larger and higher than that of an ordinary man.

Apparently, his mother became increasingly concerned about him. When she scolded him for his anti-social behaviour he turned on his own mother and killed her. This disgraced him even further and he fled his cave, heading south.

The Aboriginal people of the area, outraged by Mulka's behaviour, then tracked down this man who had flouted all the rules. They caught him near Dumbleyung, 156km south west of Hyden, where they speared him to death. Because he did not deserve a proper ritual burial, they left his body to the ants: a grim warning to those who break the law.

The highlight of the day's trip is the driving through the big water puddles on the road. We change seats so all the boys can have a seat in the front to see the water sprays. Good fun. 

We pass through Brookton, a town in the heart of the wheat belt and functioning as a logistics center for wheat delivery to the port of Perth. Twice a day big wheat trains pass Brookton in the direction of Perth to deliver to the big ships. 

We arrive in Perth in bright sunshine. We have driven more than 4000km. The same distance as from Madrid in Spain to Moscow, Russia.  I does not feel that far though. 

How we love Perth. It has a tropical look and feel. Fremantle, where we stay, is colourful and breaths atmosphere. After getting the apartment sorted and some groceries for dinner, we play table tennis in the evening light on the square of Fremantle. 

Very much enjoying ourselves. I wish we were not so close to the end of our holiday.