Although I lived in Perth ten years ago for over a year, I don’t remember ever making it out to the Perth Hills. This time, I was fortunate enough to experience a lot of places and events that I hadn’t been to before. One beautifully sunny and hot day, Liam and I made it up to the Perth Hills for some hiking and kangaroo spotting.
The Perth Hills are located just about a 45-minute drive east of Perth City. Throughout the wide ranges of the Darling Scarp, charming little communities like Mundaring, Kalamunda and Armadale are simply lovely to visit. The hills surrounding these scenic townships offer fabulous views and lots of hiking opportunities.
We headed straight to the Mundaring Weir, a massive dam and reservoir impounding the Helena River. At the time of the gold rush in 1892, the dam construction was deemed “a scheme of madness” since the task on hand was to build the world’s longest freshwater pipeline. 560 km of steel pipes and eight reservoirs were needed to push the water to Kalgoorlie. The constant skepticism about the project drove the chief engineer C. Y. O’Connor into suicide months before the dam was finished in 1903. The lake is now named Lake C. Y. O’Connor after him.
We only enjoyed the stunning views from the dam over the hills for a brief while since the sun was relentlessly burning down on us. Crossing the dam, we were just seeking a little shade under the trees when we spotted some kangaroos: A mother and a young kangaroo, called a “Joey”. Just like us, they were looking for shade in the heat of the day. Kangaroos aren’t very shy, so we were able to get quite close and take some nice pictures of the funny looking animals with their massive feet that seem over-proportionally large compared to the rest of their body. Then we embarked on our mini hike for the day on the Bibbulmun Track.
The Bibbulmun Track
The Bibbulmun Track is an award-winning long-distance walking trail running from Kalamunda in the east of Perth to Albany. It measures 1,003 kilometres. The trail is signposted by yellow, triangle signs with the Wagyl, or Rainbow Serpent, a snakelike Dreamtime creature stemming from the Noongar culture.
Each section is approximately one day’s walk, except for the northernmost 150 kilometres or so, where the sections consist of half-day walks. At the end of each section is either a town or a purpose-built campsite. Almost the entire trail is through state forest, national parks and other reserves, with only a few small sections of farmland as well as coastal forest and sandy beaches along the south coast. The trail typically takes 6 to 8 weeks to complete for hardy walkers, although Western Australian runner Shane Johnstone set a new record in 2018 by doing the track in under 12 days.
Whilst I had been big mouthing about doing a nice long hike, we only followed the trail for a little while. The heat was almost too much for me although we weren’t even walking fast. Even the tall Eucalyptus marginata trees, commonly known as Jarrah, gave little relief, which is probably why the most popular time to walk the track is during the wildflower season of spring (September – November).
Other things to do in the Perth Hills
- Picnic, swim or canoe at Lake Leschenaultia – a top swimming hole.
- Visit Araluen Botanic Park
- Follow the Perth Hills and Armadale wine trails
- Visit Karakamia Wildlife Sanctuary or ride a camel
- Learn more about the colourful history of the region at the District Museum and other museums around
- Experience one of the many great community events and festivals.
