Wundabiniring WalkGPS Route
Woottating
Directions - Located an hour east of Perth, head east along Great Eastern Highway towards Mundaring and keep going until you reach the Great Southern Highway turn-off. Turn right and follow this for 20km until you reach Wundabiniring Road, where you turn left and keep going until just before the turn. There is a small gravel area on your right where you can park and the walk starts there.
The Hike - Autumn time in Perth and the return of the hiking season always gets me excited thanks to the possibility of new adventures, new places to discover and of course, lots of photos to take. With one of the hottest summers on record, the start to autumn continued this trend with seemingly no end to the warm weather in sight. This always presents a bit of a conundrum for me as the hikes I plan out over the summer are at their best once the rains have hit and the wildflower display is at its best (springtime).
With a relatively short to-hike list of official trails close to Perth in 2022 and wanting to capture them in the best possible time, I set my sights on the extensive list of off track walks that Dave from WalkGPS has put together. I have several of these long self-navigated loops on the calendar this year, having done a few in previous years, as they explore areas that no one would think to visit. With a wealth of walks to choose from, I started looking at options that were in the Wandoo Woodlands as they tend to have more open walking and look dry for most of the year anyway. Scouring the list, I eventually settled on the Wundabiniring Walk located along the Great Southern Highway that leads towards York. Downloading the route to my phone, along with the track notes, I was excited to be heading out for the first hike of the season. This would be the first proper hike for some new gear I had purchased over the summer, a new Osprey Stratos 34L day pack from Paddy Pallin and replacement trail runners (upgrading from Brooks Caldera 3s to Caldera 5s).
With a spare Saturday on the calendar and some milder weather, I headed out early and made my way towards the hills. This is a drive I've done a few times in the last couple of years to explore nearby Mokine Nature Reserve and two visits to the always pleasant town of York. Arriving at the start of the Wundabiniring Walk, the parking is in a small area just off the road with the woodlands looking like they held a lot of promise. Getting that excited feeling as I gathered all my gear together, I wasn't expecting too much in terms of wildflowers or fungi given it was still early April but I was looking forward to seeing what this landscape was all about. As the walk heads in an easterly direction to start with, photographing the woodlands with the morning sun bursting through the canopy made it look a little bit special. Compared to the Jarrah and Marri forests of the Darling Scarp, the Wandoo Woodlands have a much more photogenic quality to them thanks to the golden colours of their trunks.
Initially you follow a vehicle track as it heads into this grey area of land that's not quite a nature reserve and not part of the nearby Wandoo National Park but has somehow survived without too much interference (although there is evidence it has been logged). This allows you to ease into the walk and get your bearings as the navigation is easy. The local bird population had gathered around in the canopy to welcome me with a morning chorus but getting a photo of any of them proved very difficult. Plodding along and scanning the landscape for anything to photograph, I was constantly drawn to the colours of the Wandoo trunks thanks to the golden to white hue they all have. While there were no wildflowers out, I could see familiar plants that I knew would light up in winter and spring with the Hakea varieties still providing interesting leaf shapes to photograph. Keeping an eye on my phone for where the off track walking starts, the openness of this area meant there was little difference when it did divert off. Reaching that point, I could see the route taking me towards a creek system that was surrounded by some lovely examples of Wandoo.
Even in winter these creeks tend to be dry so it was no surprise to see this one empty but it provided something different to shoot. My big worry doing this walk so early in the season was that the galleries would just be full of shots of Wandoo and nothing else. I think I've struck a nice balance but would love to come back in winter or spring to observe the changes. From here I could see where the route would be taking me without looking at the map as I spotted a slight uphill through lovely woodlands. At the top there were some scenic views looking to the south east with Mount Observation poking up above the rest of the terrain. Heading down the hill, you reach the first patch of granite of the day and as always, it was a lovely spot. Continuing down the hill, there are some really impressive Balgas around the place with some being well over 2m tall (and thus very old). Reaching a raised section of granite, I stopped for a rest here and checked where I was meant to exit as I was surrounded by scrub and grass trees. I worked out I needed to head through the grass tree plain and that was great fun as I'd never seen so many of that size in one spot before.
Navigating between them was easy thanks to the person shaped gaps you can find and soon I was back in woodlands scenery. Popping out of the grass trees, I was presented with my first wildflower of the walk with the early season buds of a type of bottlebrush. I believe this area may have copped some rains during a late summer storm a couple of weeks back so it was a pleasant surprise to find it. the birds were also loving this area with plenty of smaller shrubs to flit between. I tried to stay still long enough to capture one wren but it kept moving around too fast for me. Up ahead was the only challenging section of the walk with thick-ish scrub providing a barrier to progress but with a bit of forward thinking, I could pick out an easier way to get through. Reaching the end of the thick scrub, I was presented with an open plain and granite section that was much easier to navigate. Checking the map again, I headed along the edge of a small granite ridge and towards another stunning stand of Wandoo up the hill. I took another break up here to explore the rocky sections thanks to some more wildflower finds and also to apply some sunscreen as it was getting into burn inducing UV time.
I could see on the map that the route was getting close to Berry Brow Road (makes me think of a millennial style salon) but luckily a small hill provides a barrier so the illusion of unbroken nature isn't ruined. Stopping to photograph a 28 that had taken up residence in a nearby tree, I found the spot where the route turns to the north west and starts to loop back on itself. Heading in a straight line sounds easy but when you're surrounding by different vegetation types and misleading animal tracks, it can be difficult. At certain times I looked at my phone and realised I was not heading in the direction I thought so had to make some course corrections. Eventually I found some granite and knew Dave would want to take the route here. I like linking up these geological features as it provides some variety and there is always some interesting life to be found like a coral looking lichen and some small Triggerplants. Finding a way off the granite without stepping on the dry and crusty moss was a challenge but I eventually entered some woodlands again to continue the journey. Navigating towards a section of vehicle track walking, I came across a local Shingleback Lizard that didn't seem too fussed about moving.
Joining the vehicle track, it was a nice relief to follow a defined path for a while and just concentrate on enjoying the scenery. This was turning out to be a great walk despite not being close to the ideal window for visiting and coming across yet another large patch of Balgas really hammered that point home. Reaching the end of the vehicle track, it intersects another track but the route takes you straight ahead and back into the woodlands. Given I was about halfway, I was on the lookout for a nice spot to enjoy a longer break. Reaching the edge of another creek system, the trees around here were super pleasant and provided a decent amount of shade. Setting up the new addition to my hiking setup, a Helinox hiking chair, I fished out my lunch snack purchased earlier that morning at Big Loaf in O'Connor. Chomping down on a chocolate croissant (they didn't have any cinnamon scrolls for sale yet), I looked around and thought to myself that I really missed this lifestyle. Just me and some wonderful nature on a beautiful Djeran day with the birds chirping all around me. After a relaxing break, I packed up again and set about continuing along what had been a scenic route.
Walking through some of the nicest Wandoo woodland so far, it was a relatively short saunter through the trees until the next section of vehicle track. Reaching the northern end of the walk, the vehicle track walking is brief as you then head on a little loop for good reason. A thicket of She-Oak trees with numerous Balgas growing underneath hides another section of granite that curves around the landscape. While not as impressive as peak winter/spring time thanks to the mossy areas being dry, this was still a fun area to explore. Making my way through the jumble of granite and She-Oak, I stopped in the middle of one section to observe a really colourful Dragonfly that was scooting around. It never quite stayed still long enough to get a photo but the beautiful colours captivated me in the moment. Heading off past the last of the granite, I crossed the vehicle track I was previously on and continued on my off-track adventure. A staple of my previous WalkGPS hikes had been the presence of some cheeky Pink and Grey Galahs and so far I had not seen any until now. They were a little high up and sitting in front of the sun but I got some happy snaps and continued walking.
Now heading in a south west direction, I noticed that the area immediately ahead of me was looking a little smoky. Based on where I was and where I was headed, I deduced that this was from the farm bordering the woodlands and must be a stubble burn-off that farmers love to do at this time of year. The smell wasn't pleasant as the winds were pushing the smoke over where I was but a nice side effect was the place had a golden glow to it, similar to the lighting you get at golden hour and thus why my photos look like I've cranked up the temperature settings. While I would prefer not to be breathing in the smoke, everything was looking a treat as I joined another vehicle track and walked through some of the best scenery of the entire hike. First it was another large area of Balgas and then it transitioned into a seemingly endless array of Zamia Palms extending out from the vehicle track. Add in some impressive trees and you have the recipe for some enjoyable walking (and photography). The vehicle track walking didn't last forever and at a turn in the track I followed Dave's route as it headed downhill through the woodlands towards one of the most impressive trees in the area.
Using this as a marker to turn, you start the final journey back towards the start point as you explore the last of the Wandoo creek systems. I really enjoyed this area and not just because of the golden lighting as there were plenty of thick boi trees, Balgas and the channels carved into the landscape by the seasonal rains. At one point you stare down the hill as two small creeks diverge at the bottom and the woodlands look absolutely stunning. Walking down the hill I took plenty of photos as I came across the only Golden Orb Weaver that was still in its web but it looked to have encountered a stalemate with a bee as both of them were not moving. Coming across some granite boulders that I remembered from Dave's photos, this was a lovely end to the walk. After zig-zagging around for a while as I climbed out of the valley and headed towards the edge of Wundabiniring Road, the finish was an easy downhill through thinner looking woodland. Arriving back at the car, it was pretty obvious that the smoke was coming from stubble burn-off, something confirmed as I began the drive home and passed it along Wundabiniring Road. My first hike of the season finished, it was a lot better than I expected.
Final Thoughts - As I've said many times in this post, it wasn't close to being a good time of the year to visit here but even with that, it was still a really nice walk.
Wandoo walks certainly look a lot nicer out of season mainly because they still look dry during the good times. Without the fungi and wildflowers to liven things up, this was a matter of enjoying what was out there.
The big takeaway I had from this walk was the sheer amount of Grass Trees/Balgas to be found out here, it really was impressive. If I didn't have a long list of WalkGPS routes to do over the winter/spring, I'd consider coming back to see this place in all its glory. Perhaps next year.
Get out there and experience it!
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