Christmas TRee Well
WalkGPS Route
Directions - Located an hour east of Perth, head east along Brookton Highway, passing both the Munda Biddi and Bibbulmun Track crossings until you reach the left turn for Christmas Tree Well that is just before Yarra Road. It's not well signed until you're there so you may need to turn around at Yarra Road. Follow the gravel road towards the parking loop where you will find some picnic benches. Christmas Tree Well is located by walking down the sandy track that is not accessible by 2WD cars anymore.
The Hike - After a long summer of hot weather, plenty of cycling and lots of planning for the upcoming hiking season, the return of the cooler weather of Djeran meant it was time to head back out and get stuck into some hiking. For 2022 I had decided the concentrate on hiking more of the WalkGPS routes that Dave has mapped out on his website as the Wandoo Woodlands east of Perth are less dependant on flowing water or epic wildflower displays to provide an enjoyable experience (although it certainly helps). Having already visited the Wundabiniring Walk and loved that walk, I had a few routes to choose from that I didn't mind seeing out of the ideal window.
In the end I chose Christmas Tree Well (not to be confused with Christmas Tree Creek in John Forrest National Park) as my destination for this mid May weekend adventure, mainly because I knew the area contained some lovely mixed forest. I'd driven back from a Great Southern road trip in 2020 through here and it looked enticing, so wanted to explore it a bit more. With some wet weather hitting during the week and some more forecast for the afternoon, I was hoping for a few wildflowers to be out and possibly some early season fungi but a decent walk through the forest alone was going to be enough today. Arriving at the Christmas Tree Well car park after shooting past the turnoff (it's not marked until you're right there), I parked up and wondered where the well or the Christmas Trees were actually located. Getting my gear together and loading up the GPS file on my phone, I knew it was to the north west of the car park so headed along a chewed up sandy track and eventually found it. The Christmas Tree (Nuytsia floribunda) is an iconic sight in early summer as the bright orange flowers light up the areas they are located and are the largest specie of Mistletoe in the world.
To the first nations people the Moodja represents a place for the soul to rest and they are treated with great respect. Traditionally they do not touch the tree or sit in the shade of one so it was particularly disappointing earlier this year when it was discovered that a gin distillery in the South West was using the flowers of the Moodja in one of their products. This website I found to be very good at sorting through the various colonial misrepresentations about the Moodja and it's uses. Reaching the small pocket of trees that seem to only grow in this one area, there is an old well that has since been covered by metal wire. I wandered down the path to take some photos and was impressed by the thickets of Bracken Fern that surround what is a naturally moist area (hence the well). As a whole, this area looks like a bit of a mess with sandy vehicle tracks, rubbish from idiots camping out here and the sight of a scrappy pine plantation in the distance. After walking down a vehicle track for a while, I was thankful to be pointed into the nearby woodland by the GPS and begin what was a much better walk than the first 300m. Heading on a NE bearing for quite a while, I could set my internal compass in one direction and focus on enjoying the lovely atmosphere of an early morning walk through mixed Jarrah and Wandoo woodlands.
Keeping an eye out for anything wildflower or fungi shaped/coloured, I had some good finds early on with an Astraloma variety (red bottle shaped flower), some flowering Parrot Bush and lots of Common Pin Heath (Styphelia tenuiflora). The open forest was a delight to walk through with a mix of Jarrah, Marri and Wandoo providing plenty of variety to photograph as I looked for the first waypoint that was marked as a Granite Tor. I overshot it to the north by about 20m so when I spotted it, I corrected course to pay it a visit. Continuing on, I was impressed with the quality of the forest, even if certain areas showed evidence of previous logging (what part of WA is this not the case though). Being located within a State Forest, this isn't surprising as State Forest in WA just means "to be logged or mined eventually" but at least there were some healthy examples left from a time when forestry activities were carried out in a less heavy handed manner. Starting to descend slightly, I was on the lookout for more wildflowers, especially the early blooming varieties of small red bottlebrushes that can be found in autumn.
Reaching a sandy valley, the woodland opened up a bit more and the emergence of more Grass Trees brightened up the landscape. Always looking to capture the little things that catch my eye, I was loving the green tinge that attaches itself to the base of certain trees and provides them with a look similar to the hallways of the Ministry of Magic. Also catching my eye was a fallen Grass Tree with the golden orange internals of the structure exposed to the elements and looking like an echidna. Leaving the sandy valley and heading into a thicker part of the woodlands, I was loving the cloudy conditions as I was basically walking directly towards the morning sun and the clouds provided more even lighting. Reaching the crossing of Yarra Road, it kind of throws you a bit from the experience of off track walking to be presented with a wide road but a reward was located on the other side. I had been searching for some Bunny Orchids on the first section and was delighted to spot some tiny examples on the edge of the road that looked to be early bloomers. Having seen a lot of them on a recent visit down south to do the Stirling Ridge Walk, I did not expect to see them on this walk.
Pleased with my discovery and keen to see what else I would stumble across, I moved on away from the road and continued into the woodland ahead. There were some fantastic old trees through here, really highlighted by the fairly sparse surroundings as I made my way towards the next waypoint, a section of granite that is a common feature on almost every WalkGPS route. As the golden Wandoo trunks started to appear more, the granite came into view and it provided a nice break from the first section of the day that was all woodland walking. The area was still looking a little dry so my hopes of finding an early season Drosera was not looking good and as expected, there were none around. After a quick break to explore the granite a little, I checked the map and pointed myself towards the Grass Trees to the south west and continued walking. The mixed forest through here felt a bit different as I had reached a sloped area with a bit more pizazz to it thanks to the variation in terrain. Walking along the edge of the slope provided some nice views overlooking the valley below and I was careful not to head too far down the hill as the notes said that the next part was descending down the small ridge line.
This was one of the more enjoyable sections of the route as you had some nice views looking to the south before a gradual descent through some stunning Wandoo woodland. There is a small hill in the distance that provides a feature to walk towards and a little mystery as that's eventually where you will be hiking. Reaching the bottom of the hill, you are presented with this wide valley that is super sparse in places but also contains some of the biggest Wandoo trees you'll see along the hike. It felt very special to walk underneath these mini giants but the further I walked along, the more I started to realise that this perhaps had other land uses before being a state forest thanks to the amount of weeds to be found along this stretch. Now heading north, I tried to pick out the positives here and after crossing a shallow creek bed (empty of course), the hills ahead came into view and it looked to be a return to much nicer looking forest. Walking through a thicket of Grass Trees, I was soon at the top of the hill where there was a mass of what looked like regrowth Wandoo based on their trunk size. Checking the trail notes, the next waypoint was marked as "small rounded hill (like giant "anthill")" and I knew exactly what was meant by that.
The little mound poking up from the surrounding area does indeed look like a little anthill so I wandered up to inspect it closely. With some impressive looking Wandoo rising from the hill, this seemed like a pretty cool place to stop and have a break. Having good fun photographing the thick boi Wandoo and the limited views from up here, I eventually stopped to snack on a Clif Bar and check my progress. I was at the northern most part of the route and would be heading east then south for the next section before looping back to the start. After a lovely snack, I pointed myself towards the next target and the scenery I was heading towards looked pretty nice. The next waypoint was another small laterite capped hill and from there it was a sharp turn to the south. This area is dominated by the Wandoo and felt a little bit special as you are nestled in-between these little hills, unlike the first stretch that was very flat and open. Navigating was easy once I was on the right course and it was a pleasure to be out here walking through an area not many will see. Reaching the edge of a slope, the route follows the edge of the hill as you hop from rock to rock. This provides some lovely views overlooking the forest below but eventually you do have to descend.
As I was negotiating a rocky section, a bit of white caught my eye and I was happy to see another Bunny Orchid poking up from the undergrowth. Continuing on, the route now follows the lower slopes of the hill you were just on, occasionally rising up and over some smaller bumps. The woodland as you can see from the photo galleries was looking a treat in the cloudy conditions with plenty of older Wandoos around to brighten up the landscape. Along this section I found a few flowering Parrot Bush, some Grass Tree spikes and old Zamia Palm seed cones. Spotting a few actual anthills, I briefly thought that perhaps today was the day I saw an echidna out on my hiking travels but given my previous luck on these hikes, I didn't have much hope. Up ahead was a spot I was looking forward to after a fair amount of Wandoo walking, a small granite outcrop. Walking up another small hill, I spotted the granite and rushed over to have a look. Located within a She-Oak grove, this felt different to the previous scenery I had been travelling through and I loved it. The granite extends up the hill, culminating in a little jumble of boulders that provide a nice viewing platform.
Admiring the views and snapping a few photos of the distant hills, I didn't linger very long as I could see the rain were going to arrive soon and I still had about an hour of hiking left. The granite fun didn't stop here with the next waypoint stating there was another low granite outcrop. Descending down the hill, I could see it was much larger but also I bit grim looking. This was confirmed as I arrived with the area looking a bit worse for wear thanks to what looks like a previous burn or perhaps signs that this area didn't do well over the hot summer. Whatever it was, I'm sure it will look much better after a lot of winter rain so I battled through some of the dead shrubbery to reach the stream crossing. Once I'd crossed the stream, the landscape changed back to pleasant forest and this is the point where I would turn and follow a westerly path to return back to the start. Walking near the stream I had just crossed, there were some really nice Wandoos through here and the bird life was being very vocal. It was hard to get a shot of them but I managed a distant photo of what looked like a Rosella. You end up crossing the stream again at a smaller section of granite and this was a good point to get back on track as I'd wandered slightly too much to the south.
Rising up a hill, I took great joy in watching some bees go to town on a plant that had some early season wildflowers. This marked the beginning of a stretch of forest walking through mostly Jarrah and Grass Trees that was really enjoyable. It may have been a bit samey in parts but the mixture of moody skies, the smell of rain on the air and nothing but open forest to walk through was heaven to me. The only thing spoiling it was the accompanying soundtrack of the Brookton Highway Bogan Symphony, a combination of the moronic drone of nearby dirt bikes, the distant baritone of V8 4x4s that I assume were doing donuts given the repetitive high revs and the not so delicate chimes of a chainsaw involved in some illegal firewood collecting. Reaching the sandy expanse just before the Yarra Road crossing, it was apparent that the firewood collector was on Yarra Road but not close enough for me to get a shot of their number plate. Not letting the idiots get me down, I crossed over and set about finishing what had been a lovely walk. As I got closer to Christmas Tree Well, the rains arrived and I was given a refreshing shower to finish. I love walking in the rain and with no more photos to take as I reached the ugly looking area around the pine plantation, I soaked in the experience as it had been quite a while since I had walked in proper rains. Arriving back at the car, I changed into dry clothes and reflected on another excellent WalkGPS route while the rains got heavier and heavier.
Final Thoughts - Dave has done an amazing job putting together these off track walking routes and they explore some lovely areas that do a much better job in filling in the pre-winter rain section of the hiking season than the official trails along the Darling Scarp.
While the walk is named after the old well that is found at the start, it is the least interesting bit of the walk (for me at least). The start has a messy vibe to it that feels like man spoiling nature once again so it was nice to be able to explore the surrounding woodland that have been less spoiled.
I did have a laugh when I searched for Christmas Tree Well in Google for directions and one of the search results was for AllTrails. Some muppet has loaded Dave's route as a public one and the reviews of people heading out there expecting a marked trail was hilarious. Just highlights how silly AllTrails can be as a user driven platform for trail information.
It may not have been the most enjoyable WalkGPS route I've done but for a gloomy Saturday morning, this was a fantastic way to get out and walk a section of WA I'd not seen before. I'm sure in late winter through to spring this place would be alive with wildflowers so perhaps one day I'll return in optimal conditions.
Get out there and experience it!
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