The Tsunami That Never Moved: Wave Rock

Essay Writing Competition 2026
Category: 8 - 11 years
- Runner-Up -

Runner-up Essay: "The Tsunami That Never Moved"

by Jasmir Singh from Australia

This essay was submitted in the Kids World Travel Guide Writing Competition 2026 in the Junior Category 8 - 11 years.

Wave Rock
The Tsunami That Never Moved

Long ago, nature gave birth to a landmark shaped like a frozen tsunami. Made from granite around 2.7 billion years old, it still stands tall and strong in a corner of the world near the small town of Hyden in Western Australia.

It seems like just a rock for a second, but with closed eyes, it starts melting into a real tsunami. It feels wet and smooth, the exact opposite of what it felt like a second ago. My imagination takes me there every day, and when I stand still under this big wave, I hear families of tumbleweeds laughing loudly and fading into the air. Standing there makes me feel fragile under this big, mighty wave.

Long ago, it was buried in dirt, and then rainwater soaked into the soil, dissolving the rock's lower half and carving a deep curve like an artist. Using wind and rain as a brush, nature cleared away the dirt, exposing the curved masterpiece. Then its colourful stripes were formed by rainwater surfing down the wave. It washed over the granite rock and drank dissolved minerals. The rhythm of the water carried these minerals, while the heat of the sun dried the water, and the minerals left behind gave it those vibrant red, orange, yellow, and brown hues.

Time and moisture gave algae and tiny living organisms new homes on the rock, leaving stark grey and black vertical stripes, like tiger stripes. If you zoom in, you'll see that this isn't just one of the rocks in your backyard. It's a rock that has the whole world painted on a space 110 metres long and 15 metres high, from the beaches and rivers, because if you zoom in, you'll find everything, even civilizations of insects.

This shows that nature has no limits and can create something just for you, just like your imagination. All you have to do is find it, and your eyes will explode from the vibrant colours and the shape of the rock. It's super unique, with nothing even similar.

I hope that one day, humans will learn to unite and live in the same world, just like the hundreds of different-coloured stripes living on Wave Rock.

Wave Rock, or Katter Kich, can make you imagine many things, but it teaches you only one lesson: unity, and this world belongs to all.

Congratulations, Jasmir! Your creative essay has been selected as a runner-up in the 8–11 years age category!

Thank you for your beautiful narrative essay. Your poetic language and imaginative description of a frozen wave were truly original and extraordinary. You brought this landmark to life for us explaining how nature created such a fabulous rock formation and you presented Wave Rock as a unique piece of art to as. Thank you for such a wonderful interpretation of our competition theme!

A very fascinating personal reflection of the beauty and power of nature! Well done, and once again, congratulations!

Jasmir is a 10-year-old student at Avondale Primary School in Australia. English and Punjabi are her home languages. Here is Jasmir's author's note:

"I chose this landmark because I really want to visit this place one day with my family. I love art and creating things, and to me, this is a masterpiece. Art created by nature in its own time and at its own pace. Its shape and its stripes take me into a new world of imagination and make me believe that, like me, God is an artist. So, I want to visit this landmark and admire God's creation."