Sugarloaf Rock, also known as Sugarloaf Rocks [1] and Sugar Loaf Rock, [2] is a large, natural granite island in the Indian Ocean just off the coast situated approximately 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) south of Cape Naturaliste [3] in the South West region of Western Australia.
It is separated from the mainland by a thin channel of treacherous water. The rock is one of the most photographed attractions and it has appeared on the cover of the Australian Geographic magazine. [4] [5] [6] [7]
The rock derives its name from the distinctive conical shape reminiscent of an old-style sugarloaf. [8]
It is designated as a nature reserve and a nesting site for seabirds such as the red-tailed tropicbird. [8]
The Cape to Cape track passes by the lookout to the rock. [3]
Access to the rock was limited with no road down to the shore present until the mid-1930s; [9] the site was not well known in 1932, with visitors having to "scramble through thickets and down the cliff" to access the coast. [2] The first recorded drowning off the rock occurred in 1934 when a man was washed from it. [10] A danger sign was erected near the site later the same year. [11] Two more fishermen drowned when they were washed off the rock in 1940, with a third surviving by clinging to a ledge then raising the alarm. [1] [12]
Sugarloaf Rock, also known as Sugarloaf Rocks [1] and Sugar Loaf Rock, [2] is a large, natural granite island in the Indian Ocean just off the coast situated approximately 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) south of Cape Naturaliste [3] in the South West region of Western Australia.
It is separated from the mainland by a thin channel of treacherous water. The rock is one of the most photographed attractions and it has appeared on the cover of the Australian Geographic magazine. [4] [5] [6] [7]
The rock derives its name from the distinctive conical shape reminiscent of an old-style sugarloaf. [8]
It is designated as a nature reserve and a nesting site for seabirds such as the red-tailed tropicbird. [8]
The Cape to Cape track passes by the lookout to the rock. [3]
Access to the rock was limited with no road down to the shore present until the mid-1930s; [9] the site was not well known in 1932, with visitors having to "scramble through thickets and down the cliff" to access the coast. [2] The first recorded drowning off the rock occurred in 1934 when a man was washed from it. [10] A danger sign was erected near the site later the same year. [11] Two more fishermen drowned when they were washed off the rock in 1940, with a third surviving by clinging to a ledge then raising the alarm. [1] [12]