Gathercole Nature Reserve
Wongan Hills
Directions - Located ten minutes from the centre of Wongan Hills, take Northam Pithara Road south, turning left onto Manmanning Road after 800m. Follow this for six kilometres, eventually reaching the right turn for Moonijin West Road, where after four kilometres you will reach the left turn for Gathercole Nature Reserve. Take the unsealed road (2WD accessible) all the way to the car park, with the large trail head located on the eastern side.
The Hike - August in the South West corner of Western Australia is just about my favourite time of year. It's cold, wet, there are plenty of wildflowers and orchids starting to bloom, along with the UV being limited to a couple of hours in the middle of the day. This is the perfect recipe for exploring the areas around Perth, and having become more of a wildflower and orchid enthusiast in the past couple of years, I wanted to head north at this time, given the Spider Orchids tend to bloom here first.
After a fantastic trip to finally visit Kalbarri and the Kennedy Range, I had booked myself in for an upgrade that had been long overdue. I finally got LASIK surgery on my eye in late July, and this meant no more glasses for long distance and nighttime viewing, but it also meant I would be out of action for a couple of weeks while they recovered. Along with the new eyes, I had purchased a new Garmin watch (Instinct 2X Solar), so a day spent wandering around Wongan Hills was the perfect way to test out the upgrades. After a lovely drive past the bright green and yellow canola fields that this area is known for at this time of year, I arrived at Gathercole Nature Reserve ready to explore. I had selected my walks today in a specific order, so I would minimise travel time, and to hike the trail I most wanted to visit (Mount Matilda) in the afternoon light. Being the southernmost trail I was going to visit, Gathercole was first up, and based on the photo on the Wongan Hills Tourism Group website, I was going to enjoy it.
The day I had picked for my visit was a little cold, wet and windy but that wasn't going to phase me. Getting my gear together in the car park, the surrounding area was low heath and not terribly inspiring but some of my favourite walks in Tasmania have started at nondescript places on the side of the road. Having a read of the large information board, it outlines the history of the area, why Gathercole Reserve was spared from the extensive land clearing that occurred all over the interior of WA, and highlights similar granite outcrops in the area you might want to visit. Pressing start on the new watch, I trundled down the path to begin the walk, open to what experiences and sights may come. The first section was full of head high vegetation that wasn't in flower but was host to a variety of super cool lichen that I love to photograph, along with plenty of Drosera glistening in the morning sun. Popping out into a grassy area, this part of the trail leads towards the edge of the reserve and along the fence line.
The farmland extended up the hill to where a line of trees was located, and looked quite pleasant in the morning light. Climbing slightly, the slightly waterlogged area looked pretty cool, and was home to a few wildflower varieties. Walking along the fence, I came to the first of the granite outcrops that looked to be off-trail. It was too inviting to not have a look around, sticking to the open rock of course, and not stepping on the delicate moss. I soon found a trail marker, checked the map, and yes, this was where the loop section finished. Deciding that I would finish my loop here on a high, I backtracked to the trail near the fence, admiring the Lemon-scented Sun Orchids that were starting to open up as the temperatures climbed into the double digits, along with the Drosera loving life in the moist mosses. Back on the right trail, I continued along wondering if/when I would be seeing my first Spider Orchid of the day, when I looked down and to my left to see a few right on the edge of the path.
Unfortunately there are a lot of different types of Spider Orchid that are found here at this time of year, and some of them pretty much look the same, so without a ruler to measure the leaf, flower height and other details, I'm not sure which one it is. It could have been either a Chameleon Spider Orchid, Dwarf Common Spider Orchid, Yellow Spider Orchid, Drooping Spider Orchid or a Common Spider Orchid. Excited with the find nonetheless, I continued on, rising to the top of the hill where I got some better views of the surrounding area, including patches of distant canola fields. I soon arrived at another granite platform, and encountered the first of many interpretive signs along the route explaining various geological and fauna/flora related occurrences. With an expanse of granite, there were different views, this time to the north, and the moody skies made for a nice scene. The trail doesn't take you over the granite but you'll get a chance for that later on.