King Jarrah Track

Region: Shire of Murray, Shire of Waroona
Type:Walking
Length:18kms
Duration:6 hours
Grade:Walk Class 3 - 4
Trail Manager:DEC
Start Point:Lane Pool Reserve

Map and Guide (0.6Mb)
Quick Reference Guide (0.2Mb)

King Jarrah Wander 20th March, 2011
A walk in the park with Dave! 22nd March, 2011

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The King Jarrah Track is located within the Lane Pool Reserve near Dwellingup, 100km south of Perth. A carpark is located at the start of the trail, which contains toilets, BBQs and a picnic area. The highlight of this walk is the "King" jarrah, a 250 year old tree. Much of the track runs along the Murray River and for those wishing to take their time and make a weekend of the walk, there is a campsite roughly midway along the track.

The track begins at the old Nanga Mill townsite, where a campsite is located in a grove of tall pines. The first point of interest on the track is observed by taking a detour of the track to the Stringers, a small picnic and camping site by the Murray River with canoe launching facilities and swimming holes. Some old bridge stringers are visible in the water.

Further along the track is an old logging railway formation with cuttings and old bridge sites. The track then leads to an area where various reference trees can be seen (numbered trees to allow foresters to accurately locate their position in the bush). By following the river course for a while, walkers will come to the remains of an old railway bridge which crosses Dawn Creek.

On the edge of Big Brook is a campsite with barbecue rings and a toilet, which is located approximately 200m off the track to the south. To continue on the track an old log bridge crosses over the Big Brook which leads to the "King" jarrah.

The track then crosses Dawn Creek again which has good water in winter and spring. Further down the track is a very large, old axe and crosscut stump with evidence of board notches which are visible. Not much further is a large burnt out hollow jarrah tree. Further on the track skirts a large dieback-infected area, where some trees along the track have been blown over, exposing the underlying rock, before the track passes through dense prickly thickets of waterbush.

The track then comes to Christmas Creek which is a small seasonal creek, where birdsong and frog calls can be heard at appropriate times of the year. Just over the creek is an even-aged regrowth forest with numerous large stumps and old logging debris. A little further along the track is a very colourful acacia which flowers in spring. Just before returning to Nanga Mill, the trail passes through a very badly affected dieback area.