Lake Pollard Trail

Region: Shire of Waroona
Type:Walking
Length:6kms
Duration:2 hours
Grade:Walk Class 2
Trail Manager:DEC
Start Point:Yalgorup National Park

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Bird Hide 1st February, 2011

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Lake Pollard is renown for its high numbers of black swans betwenn October and March. The walk begins at the entance to Martins Tank campground on Preston Beach Road.

Parrotbush (Dryandra sessilis), a shrub or small tree with prickly fan-shaped leaves and cream to yellow domed flower heads, grows at the start of the trail and in dense thickets across the road from the railhead sign. However, a woodland of jarrah (Eucalyptus marginata), tuart (E.gompheocephala), peppermint (Agonis flexusoa) and bull abnksia (Banksia grandis) predominates through most of the walk> Bull banksia is easily distinguished from other banksias by its larger flowers and leaves, which have deeply cut triangular lobes.
After about 15 minutes, turn left and walk past the gate which prevents vehicles from entering the trail. Here, cockies tongues (Templetonia retusa) flower profusly from May to December. The magnificent red or pinkish-red flower of this species has a long wing petal and distinctivly long, narrow standard petal which is bent abruptly back, gving it the appearance of a cockatoo's head. If you are walking in the morning, watch for signs of animal tracks in the sandy path. You should be able to distinguish tracks of grey kangaroos or bush wallabies as well as bandicoot and posibly echidna diggings. Chuditch, brushtail possums and water rats are also known to occur in the park.
Other plants seen along the track include blackboys, zamia palms, prickly moses (Acacia pulchella) and the somewhat un kempt and usually multi-stemmed christmas tree (Nuytsia florbunda), which most people rarly notice until its brilliant gold blooms apear in December.
On reaching a T junction, a signpost with a yellow pointer indicates that you should tuurn right. The woodland is at first composed mostly of tuart and peppermint, but soon the first paperbarks, cockle shells little the path and water can be seen between the trees.
Turn left when you reach a sign indicating the bird hide, for vistas of Lake Pollard (do not circumnavigate the lake). Black swans live in high numbers here from October to March, whn they graze on extensive growths of stoneworts (musk grasses). Along the lake is a fringe of attractivly gnarled and stunned, white-barked saltwater paperbarks (Melaleuca cuticularis).
Return to the T-junction. From here the adventurous will travel straight ahead (turn left and retrace your steps to return via the flatter route). Follow the trail to the right and before long, there is a low heathland of hakea, parrotbush and cockies tongue on your left and woodland on your right.
When you reach the fence, turn left and climb up the stem firebrak for a magnificent view over Lake Pollard. At the top of the hill, two rare mallees cling to the rocky hill top. The smaller rough-barked Fremantle mallee (Eucalyptus foecunda) has bright orange buds and white flowers, whilst the rarer limestone to follow the fencline back to preston beach road.
As you walk back to the starting point along Preston Beach Road (north) look out for the kangaroo paws along the roadside.