Nyaania Creek Walk Trail
Nyaania Creek Reserve
Directions - The Nyaania Creek Walk Trail starts at the end of Glen Road in the Perth Hills. Take Great Eastern Highway up the hill towards Darlington and then take a right at Scott Street. Turn left at the end and join Clayton Road, following this all the way to a left turn at Victor Road. Keep going for another kilometre and then turn right onto Glen Road, where you'll find a small area to park at the end of the road. Walk through the gates to start the walk.
The Hike - The northern side of the Helena River Valley has always seemed like a fun area to explore but lacking in trails to do so. Although the Railway Reserves Heritage Trail runs through this area, that feels more like an urban trail given how close you are to roads and houses, despite pockets of bushland. Having hiked the Helena Pipehead Walk a few times, you stare up at the forested hills in the distance and wonder why there aren't more trails up there. The reason is Water Corp and not allowing walkers in water catchment areas but further up the hill you have Nyaania Creek, where there are some "unsanctioned" trails.
I'd seen the Nyaania Creek Walk mentioned a lot on the interwebs but had always said to myself that I'd wait until spring when the water was flowing and the wildflowers were in full bloom. With a spare morning in September before leaving for a three week road trip, I decided that today would be the day to check out what Nyaania Creek was all about. Having covered the majority of the Perth hiking trails over the last ten years, it's always fun exploring a new area and adding something new to the website. Having seen lots of photos of the main highlight of this trail, I was keen to see how the rest stacked up. Although I don't like using AllTrails, given the amount of user generated rubbish on there, it was the only option to get a rough route for this walk. Armed with this information, I arrived at the end of Glen Road to start the short loop trail leading you through the hills surrounding Nyaania Creek, and along the watercourse.
As with any loop trail, you can choose to do it any in either direction, and for me today that would be the anti-clockwise path. This meant from the gates leading into the reserve, I would be taking an immediate right and heading down the vehicle track. Enjoying the familiar orange clay of the Darling Scarp as I walked down the wide track, the wildflower display started as soon I looked to the side of the trail. Early finds included a Morning Iris, One-sided Bottlebrush, Golden Wreath Wattle and a favourite of mine, the Woolly-flowered Grevillea. Enjoying the wildflowers for now, the scenery is the distance wasn't exactly stunning, with lots of visible powerlines and weedy paddocks in the distance. Rounding a corner, you get limited views looking off into the distance of the Swan Coastal Plain and a lovely stand of Wandoo, complete with rounded boulders livens up the scenery.
Keeping an eye on the GPS, I knew there was a right turn coming up soon but I was walking so slow that I'm sure I wouldn't miss it. There was so much in the undergrowth to see, with new wildflowers popping up every 20 metres. Exploring an exposed series of granite boulders, they were filled with colour thanks to a mass of Diplopeltis hueglii covering the ground. This is about where you turn to head down the hill but given this is an unmarked trail, the quality of the path differs a lot as you descend. With multiple trails heading off in different directions, caused by both humans and animals, I used my trail instincts to pick the one I thought was the correct path. Walking through some enjoyable Wandoo, I spotted a few kangaroos hiding in the vegetation but they didn't want to be my friend. It was a little overgrown through here but Nyaania Creek soon came into view and I knew that was the general direction I needed to go in.
Emerging from the undergrowth, the landscape opens up as you reach an exposed section of rock that is covered in a thin layer of soil in places. This meant an opportunity to spot different flora, with Sundews and Triggerplants really enjoying this type of terrain along with Winged Stackhousia and the depressingly named Roadside Teatree. With the creek in view, the trail doesn't immediately take you there, instead running parallel a bit up the hill. There are multiple paths leading down to the edge of the water but there are plenty of opportunities later on, so there is no need to be hasty. Given this area is located on the edge of a populated, and has been since the early days of settlement, there are a lot of weeds and invasive plants. This wasn't my favourite aspect of this trail, and through the creek section, it's really noticeable. I'm not sure if there is a "Friends of Nyaania" community group but it would take a lot of effort through here to eliminate a fraction of the weeds.
From this point for the next 700 metres, you follow the course of the creek, with the trail fairly easy to follow for the most part. When I first heard of this trail, I imagined that the creek ran north-south from the hills near Darlington all the way down to the Helena River, but it actually runs east-west. It's also not as steep as what I thought it would be, with some sections requiring you to negotiate some rocks, but most people won't have an issue with this. Upstream, there are gentle rapids where you can have lots of fun exploring the rocky platforms as you find a way through the narrowing valley. Walking past some cool rock faces, it feels like you're lost in your own little world. At times it's not clear which way to go but as a general rule, stick to the southern (left) side of the creek, as close as you can unless it's blocked by slippery rocks or a large tree.
As I was walking through here I felt something on my leg, and sure enough I found a small red tick crawling along my ankle. I can't say I'm the biggest fan of them and would prefer not to be bitten if I had the choice. Luckily this one had not had a chomp yet but I was going to be checking regularly from now on. As I loved further downstream, the valley opened up a little more, with some impressive boulders and exposed rock faces becoming visible. Knowing somewhere along here was a decent sized rapid, I had brought along my tripod and ND filters for some long exposure shots. Finding a smaller rapid that was still decent, I decided to setup above it, to have a practice shoot given it had been a while since using the filters. After a couple of attempts, I was happy with the results and decided to move onto the main event. Climbing down some rocks, I found a good spot where the main falls were visible and framed just right. With on one else around, I could take my time and enjoy this enclosed valley while the camera was capturing the falls.
Content with what I was seeing on the camera screen after a few attempts, I took some regular photos and moved on. This is the spot where you cross over the creek and continue along the northern side to reach the turnaround point in the loop. The trail continues to run along the edge of the creek but the weeds were much more noticeable through here. Reaching Victor Road, you use the road bridge to cross the creek again and start the first and only climb of the trail. There used to be a wooden sign for the Nyaania Creek Reserve but it appears some idiot has souvenired it, as only the lower part remains. The trail leading up the hill was easy to find and initially it had some promise with a flowering Two-leaf Hakea. It does get more exposed as you continue to climb, with evidence of dirt bike riders using it unfortunately.
After a long stretch of little to no wildflowers along the creek thanks to the invasive weeds, it was great to see a return of different shapes, sizes and colours as I continued to climb. The scenery changes as you head up the hill, switching between open sections of orange clay, to a clumping of granite boulders, and some forested sections mixed in. This provided some nice variety to the walk, as there was always something different to see. The first forested section was a big relief after all the weeds, with plenty of Grass Trees around, and the start of a magical run of wildflowers and orchids including the first time I had sighted a Darling Scarp Donkey Orchid. Along with that, I saw a few slightly open Blue Lady Orchids, Blue Leschenaultia and a Pimelea. Enjoying this stretch a lot more than the start of the hike, it was fun to meander around a section of remnant bushland in the middle of spring.
While the views looking back had been alright, after the first forested area, you start climbing up to the best lookout of the trail. Reaching a series of large boulders, it's a nice spot to take a break, search for wildflowers and look to the west for views of the Swan Coastal Plain. Even just looking back down from where you've come is nice, with Grass Trees dotted everywhere, and the canopy of the forest now low in your eyeline. The wildflower finds continued to be amazing through here with Fringe Lillies, flowering Sundews, and the first Verticordia I'd seen all day. Climbing a few rocks to get a better view of the landscape, I eventually moved on for the final stretch of walking back to the start. Now at the top of the hill, the little ridge section meant a more relaxed finish to the trail. Hoping to see something a bit special to end the walk, I was a happy boi when I spotted something familiar poking up from the undergrowth.
The delicate shape of a Spider Orchid was just off trail, I investigated and there were several examples on display. Taking my time to photograph these beautiful orchids, my best guess after pouring over my orchid books is that this was a Splendid Spider Orchid. With that excellent find, there was one last surprise for me as I finally saw a Blue Lady Orchid that was close to fully open. Joining back up with a wide vehicle track, this marks the final part of the trail leading back to the car park. Hoping for something more but already feeling a little spoilt, I scanned the edge of the trail for more wildflowers but "only" found more Blue Leschenaultia and a Geraldton Wax. Arriving back at my car, there were a few birds hanging around the large tree near the gate, delaying my departure as I tried to see what they were.
Final Thoughts - Finally getting out to Nyaania Creek, it was a fun experience. Would I visit outside of late winter and spring? Most likely not given the weeds, and the creek forming the major attraction.
While I wasn't expecting the area to be a pristine nature reserve, it was nice enough. Thankfully the majority of the weedy section occur along the creek, where there is something else to enjoy, and the walk back up the hill more than makes up for that with the variety of species found in spring.
The Nyaania Creek Walk isn't one of Perth's best hikes but it's not a bad option to have in your back pocket if you're in the area, or want something short to enjoy on a weekend afternoon.
Get out there and experience it!
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