Bungendore Park was gazetted in 1897, originally as a timber reserve. This remnant piece of bushland covers 498 hectares and is used for research purposes and field studies because it is home to 350 plant species and 160 animal species. Access to the park is from Albany Highway or Admiral Road. We parked at Admiral Road as we had just been exploring Wungong Dam, featured in our 3 Very Different Dams blog.
From the carpark a wide fire trail passes behind Southern Hills Christian College – they have wonderful access to nature right on their doorstep! After 350m we passed Wattle Road and could see the trailhead information sign next to the first of many dieback cleaning stations!
We had planned to hike the 3.5km Robin Ramble Trail which joins the 2.3km Whistler Walk and had allowed 90 minutes but decided that as the trail seemed to follow fire trails it wasn’t very exciting so changed our plans to walk the shorter 1.7km Cockatoo Circuit. From the Information sign the trail continues another 500 m along the fire trail before turning left on to another fire trail, Casuarina Road.
300m further along the Cockatoo Circuit trail turns off onto a single file track…..ah much better! Although the fire trail was surrounded by bush this is so much prettier! The next 600m winds through pristine Jarrah Marri woodland. There were no wildflowers out in June but we could see the potential this area has for a stunning display in Spring. We could hear plenty of birds in the bush around us and even spotted a red breasted robin.
The last 200m of the trail was back along a fire trail – Wattle Road.
This ended up being a delightful 40 minute walk and it definitely encouraged us to plan a return visit to hike the longer walks in Spring. It took a year but we returned to hike the 7.7km Honeyeater Hike in September 2023 and we were not disappointed by the wildflowers on display.
Trail markers are clearly located whenever there is a change in direction or an intersecting trail. There are many dieback cleaning stations along the trails as you move from a dieback infested to a dieback free area so it is important to clean boots every time.
Trail maps can be downloaded here.
Date hiked: June 2022. Silver trail marked below.
To read more blogs go to:
Honeyeater Hike - Bungendore Park Bedfordale:
Settlers Common East - Armadale
3 very different dams - Canning Churchman Brook and Wungong.
https://www.outandaboutfnc.com/post/3-very-different-dams-canning-churchman-brook-and-wungong
Roley Pools
In the spirit of reconciliation Out and About- Family Nature Connection acknowledges the traditional owners of the Wadjak boodjar (Perth land) and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.
As always when hiking in the bush please help to reduce the spread of Phytophthora Dieback by sticking to the tracks and paths, staying out of quarantined areas and, if possible, clean your shoes before and after hiking.