Our camp and daily walks are close to Dwellingup, an old timber-cutters’ townsite established in the late 1800s, approximately 85km south of Perth.

We are staying on a private block, home to mobs of kangaroos and emus as well as the magnificent (and endangered) black cockatoos. The owner has kindly offered us access to the site for the duration of our walk. We can expect lots of beautiful flowers and orchids, plus we will be able to cook on our campfire. Surrounded by magnificent tall trees, the block offers many excellent camping areas and a dam. However, access to the dam will be monitored as it is an important waterhole for local birds, including cockatoos and other fauna.

The following itinerary is a draft, as all walks need to be reconnoitred prior to the Camp. There will be fine-tuning of distances and pick-up points, maps provided and the weather (as always) may influence our days.

Monday 28 September – Set up camp

Arrive at our beautiful block located 3.2km south of the Dwellingup township and accessible by 2X drive. We recommend that people arrive around 2pm which allows enough time to set up the marquee, dig fire and toilet pits, organise wash areas etc then set up their own camp. Please send Liz a txt msg (mobile 0429 680 385) if you can bring some tomato pasta sauce which will be combined for Monday night’s dinner.

​Tuesday 29 September – Inglehope Road – Chadoora Hut

Short walk: Walk from Pinjarra Williams Road for 3km then return to bus (distance confirmed at morning circle).

Full walk: Walk to Chadoora Hut along the Nyingam Bidi (NB) track (orange snake symbol), hiking east/north for 6.5 km

Recommend lunch at the hut then walkers need to follow Bib track heading west for 7km, (direction of Dwellingup) towards Inglehope Arboretum. Track crosses over an old railway track then walkers will leave Bib track & walk short distance along Inglehope Rd to Arboretum

Bus will park at Inglehope Rd Arboretum where there is a table and bench seats

​Wednesday 30 September – Swamp Oak Hut

Option One, Day Walk: Cut through camp in top north section for 20m till you hit Munda Bidi track. Turn right and walk along the track for 900m until you see a sign with a horseshoe (indicates a horse-riding track). Turn left and walk along horse track for 50m to where it crosses Bib. Turn right on Bib track and walk ~8km to Swamp Oak Hut

Recommend a lunch break in the hut.

There is now a choice of hiking out to Charlie’s Flats and getting on the bus to return to camp, or walk from Swamp Oak Hut back into camp.

To reach the bus at Charlie’s Flats, walk out of Swamp Oak Hut in a westerly direction for 50m. At the fork in the road, take the right hand track, walk past the gate and on the right, after another 50m, there is the road to Charlies Flats where the bus will be waiting.

The alternative is to walk back to the GWN camp site, retracing your steps along the Bib Track.​

Option Two, Overnight Walk: The bus will drop off Overnight Walkers at the Pinjarra Williams Road point.

Turn right and walk along the BIB NB trail for 11km to Swamp Oak Hut (SOH). This trail will start on the NB (orange snake) until it crosses the Bib Track. At crossing, turn right and continue along Bib track to SOH.

Walkers will need to set up their camp, tents etc for the night

Thursday 1 October – Chuditch Trail

Overnighters return to camp following the Bib track, guided by the red tags left to mark the trail from the previous day. Distance 9km.

Short walk from GWN camp: Walkers can walk out of camp, and walk along Mundibibi trail for 3km, then return to camp. Bus can drop short Walkers off at crossing of Nanga Road and Bib Track (approximately 2.3km).

Bus will drop all other day walkers at Nanga Mill, within the Lane Pool Reserve.

From here there is a choice of 3 walks:

Short Walk: Nanga Brook Walk Trail. This is a 4km return, allowing 1.5 hours. There are some steps and short, steep sections.

Medium Walk: Chuditch Walk Trail. This is a 12.3km return loop and should take approximately 4 hours. This is Class 3 and includes some gentle gradients and trail winds through the jarrah forest.

Long Walk: Big Jarrah Walk Trail. This is a Class 4 18km loop which takes between 6-7 hours. The trail shares the Munda Biddi Trail so there is a need to be aware of cyclists and some vehicles. Trail overlooks the river for approximately 50% of walk.​

Friday 2 October – Walk into Dwellingup and Evening Speaker Program

The main event this evening are our 5 amazing speakers who will outline the impact of the proposed Alcoa mine on the local community as well as Perth’s future drinking water and the extinction of fauna and flora if mining is allowed to proceed. Talks are scheduled from ~5:30-7:30 and will finish with supper before we return to camp. The morning is rest time and we will walk into Dwellingup (4.2km) around lunch time. All walkers will need prep lunch and take their utensils etc for dinner served in Dwellingup. There are several walks and activities around the town centre as well as activities on the oval for the kids. There is also an opportunity to have hot showers at the Dwellingup Information Centre. Volunteers will be needed to prepare salads for the evening meal as well as tea/drinks and snacks for the event at the Dwellingup Community Hall.

​Saturday 3 October – Bus trips to view mining and rehabilitation sites

A volunteer from the Jarrahdale Forest Protectors Inc will take us on a bus trip to evidence landscape damage and Alcoa’s rehabilitation efforts. This tour will tie in with Friday night’s speakers to allow you an overview of how important it is to defend our unique Northern Jarrah Forest and Perth’s drinking water catchment area. First bus will leave approximately 8:30am so people on this bus need to have an early breakfast and prepare for an early departure. It is recommended that Walkers take some snacks for the bus trip which is approximately 2-2.5 hours

The second bus will leave around 1:00pm. People on this bus are expected to have had lunch and be ready for departure.

The owner of the block has requested that we carry out some weeding of Watsonia. For people not on the buses, we would appreciate it if you could do so to show our appreciation of their generosity for allowing us to use their block for the duration of our Spring Walk.

​Sunday 4 October – Old Trail Walk into Dwellingup

The walk will commence at the Inglehope Rd Arboretum where we will meet Mark who will lead the walk. The track will traverse old logging trails and fire breaks, walking through our beautiful Northern Jarrah Forrest to Dwellingup. Distance for the full walk is 15km.

Short Walk: Walk along trail for 2km until you reach a granite outcrop on the right. This will be a great place for the kids to explore before returning to the bus which will be waiting at the Arboretum.

Long Walk: The 15km walk will be mostly through beautiful forests and includes some 5 moderate to steep hills. This track is occasionally shared by both vehicles and motor bikes so walkers need to be aware. After about 1km the track will be within the proposed mining zone which will allow Walkers to imagine what it will look like following mining. Bear in mind that this is extremely close to the town of Dwellingup which will be hugely impactful if the mining proposal is allowed to go ahead. The walk finishes long the Bib track and terminates at the Rotunda in Dwellingup which is near toilets etc

​Monday 5 October – Pack Up

Many helpers will be appreciated to allow the packing to proceed quickly and smoothly. As usual, we will start with breakfast and pack up the camp before packing up our own tents.

It will then be time for goodbyes before returning home, feeling rejuvenated, fit, and inspired.

Remember that joining us for the full camp makes light work of setting up and packing down the communal facilities we all enjoy. We appreciate you planning ahead to share in the communal tasks.

For information about the walk, please contact Nan on 0427 868 689 or Dom on 0415 258 301.

Keen to help?

We ask anyone interested in taking a leadership role on the walk to get in touch.

We would love to hear from you if you would like support in taking on essential roles like camp or transport coordinator. Fee discounts are available for those who take up these roles. Please email admin@greatwalknetwork.org for more information.

Looking forward to walking in nature and community with you!