Rocking craze takes over the wheatbelt

You’re not alone.

The massive game of hide-and-seek using hand painted rocks has taken off worldwide and is now in the wheatbelt.

Wheatbelt Rocks Facebook page creator Emma Smith, from Northam, said she created the page three months ago and it already had 481 members.

Emma said ‘rocking’ is about getting kids and families together, in the outdoors. 

She said the idea is to go to the park to find the rocks, let the online group know they had been found, then re-hide them somewhere else. “It is like looking for treasure,” said Emma. 

She said the movement has picked up recently in the wheatbelt. 

“More people are joining the page and getting involved,” she said. 

Emma said it is about participating with your community. 

“It’s nice to be part of the community and do something beside people that you have never met and may never meet,” she said. 

Jodie Lowen was new to Northam and wanted to connect with the community so she made the Facebook page and website Wheatbelt Kids, which outlined methods and paints to use on rocks and what the movement is about. 

“I didn’t know too many people in Northam and I’m a first time mum,” she said. “We have had a lot of good feedback from parents.”

There are a lot of rocks in Beverley and York – a few ladies do workshops,” she said. 

Northam woman Karen Ducat had been involved with rocking around Northam since it started and said it is about being social and creating connections.

“It is great for kids to get out in the great outdoors,” she said. “I do simple designs on my rocks so kids don’t think they have to do something really extravagant – they can do something simple.

“People who have hid them get the satisfaction of seeing people find them.”

For more information, visit Wheatbelt Rocks or Wheatbelt Kids. Jodie Lowen has written a detailed blog post on www.wheatbeltkids.com.au, that includes the best paints for rocks, and other handy tips.