Patroni Road

The road

Patroni Road runs through the WA Wheatbelt fringe country near Merredin, where the cleared agricultural land meets the remnant bush and ancient granite outcrops of the Yilgarn Craton. The Yilgarn Craton underlies much of southern WA and breaks the surface at many points through the Wheatbelt, creating the characteristic breakaways and granite landforms that define this country. The driving is rocky and technical - high clearance and low-range are required for the granite sections. The landscape is a mix of red loam tracks, embedded rock and the open pastoral character of the WA inland. In summer the Wheatbelt reaches 40 degrees regularly and the track is best avoided. Autumn through spring is the reliable window. Wave Rock near Hyden, 170 kilometres south of Merredin, is one of WA s most visited natural features - a 15-metre high granite face curved like a breaking wave by millions of years of weathering. The Merredin military museum documents the extensive wartime use of the district as a defence position. The track itself is accessible from the Great Eastern Highway corridor, making it a viable addition to a Perth-Kalgoorlie trip.

The region

The WA Wheatbelt around Merredin is one of Australia's most productive cereal grain regions. The landscape is a mix of cleared agricultural land and remnant granite outcrops - the ancient Yilgarn Craton granite that underlies much of southern WA breaks the surface at many points in the Wheatbelt, creating the characteristic 'breakaways' and wave rock formations. The track passes through pastoral fringe country between the grain properties.

Before you go

Fuel in Merredin. Good dry-season track. Summer can be extremely hot - 40°C days are common December through February. Standard recovery kit adequate.

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