1) Walk map - Shows route and waypoint locations

2) Photo from walk  (also see Photo Galleries)

3) 3D map view

4) Google map & Satellite imagery

5) Route profile

6) Walk description

7) Waypoint listing and grid references

Rocky knoll in NW near Kent Road,  Aug. 2004.

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         Route profile

80 kms ESE of Perth.   

18 field kms (95% off-track).

MEDIUM   (What does this mean?)

330m (cumulative ascent)

YES

See Google Map for start point on road map.

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Follow Brookton Highway from Albany Highway for 47 kms, then turn left into Yarra Road (first road on left after Christmas Tree well on left).  After 12.4 kms up Yarra Road (gravel road; usually in good condition but watch for pot-holes) turn right (east) to follow Qualen Road (dirt road; usually fair condition but again watch for pot-holes and occasionally rutted surface). Bear left at the fork after about 1 km and reach the intersection with Darkin Road (dirt road) after 6 kms  (with the NW corner of a strip of private farmland on the right, owned by Gunapin Ridge Pastoral Company).  Continue a further 7 kms along Qualen Road to reach the intersection with Gunapin Ridge Road. Cross the intersection and park near the corner, a short distance along the eastward continuation of Qualen road (which here becomes a more minor dirt road).  

In south, use Qualen Road, Gunapin Ridge and/or Kennel Roads; In north, get to nearest N-S road (Kent, Dog or Gunapin Ridge Road), then south to Qualen Road.

/Highlights:

This walk lies entirely within the 44,000 ha Wandoo National Park.  The Gunapin Ridge area offers mainly easy walking through picturesque, open wandoo woodlands, similar to the Upper Darkin and Qualen Road Walks, about 15 kms to the west and SW.

The terrain along this walk route is again mainly very gentle, with only a few modest climbs to hill-tops. There are some good views both west (toward Mount Dale) and east (toward York) from a large eastern outcrop, and also SE-ward from a smaller southern outcrop, toward an isolated strip of private farmland (Gunapin Ridge Pastoral Co.) which penetrates westward from the nearby wheatbelt into the Wandoo National Park. -But the main attraction is again the beauty of the woodlands combined with the prolific wildflowers in spring. Meney & Brown, 1985 have previously noted, "the character and form of the widely spaced virgin wandoo creates a most unique bush atmosphere which is a delight to any bushwalker".

Be prepared for some possible very short scratchy sections of dryandra scrub (mainly Pingle).

Although this area is more remote, the drive from the Brookton Highway turn-off along 25 kms of gravel and rougher dirt roads through forest to reach the start point of the walk is very worthwhile in itself, and not too challenging provided you drive cautiously to avoid occasional pot-holes and kangaroos crossing. 

WalkGPS walk map for OziExplorer users:  A downloadable OziExplorer format MAP file (*.map) for this walk area is included on the Maps, Waypoints & Track Files page. The zipped folder also includes the associated 'base' topo map image file, plus other attached waypoints, tracks/routes, etc in OxiExplorer file formats.

WalkGPS reconnaissance history: Click here for a map of past WalkGPS test walks in the walk area, plus the final route. The final route was selected only after several visits to the area which aimed to achieve a walk that would be the most rewarding.

Other:  Coolaring & Beverley 1:50,000 DEC Conservation Operations Graphic (COG) map series (current) Sheet 2233-4 & 2233-1;

or Coolaring 1:50,000 Sheet (WA Dept. of Lands & Surveys, 1980).

"Wandoo National Park - Park Guide" by DEC (undated pdf; 248KB).

From the ‘Start’ point (near the corner of Qualen and Gunapin Ridge Roads), head east along Qualen Road for less than 100m (to ‘1’) then turn right to head south and off-track across initially open ground and patches of heath. Cross a gentle ridge through open woodland and after almost 1 km veer SW to cross the valley floor.  Cross Gunapin Ridge Road (at ‘RD-1’) and head WSW up a hillside, initially picking  your way through a belt of heathland before entering wandoo woodland. At ‘4’ the hillside steepens onto a small granite slab. Turn left to follow the outcrop southward for a short distance (to ‘VU-RK’)gaining a view to the SE, then continue uphill through a sheoak thicket to another small outcrop (at about ‘5’). Then veer southward approximately along-slope close to the edge of the laterite-capped hilltop, picking a way through heathland in places. After about 400m, descend the hillside to reach Kennel Road (dirt road).  Turn right (NW) to follow the road for almost 1 km, initially uphill and across a broad saddle . After the road starts downhill and when the heathland to the left gives way to woodland, (at about ‘7’), veer WSW along slope through the woodland (via ‘8’) to ‘9’. Then head westward and  downslope, soon following the NE side of a deep stream gully.  Cross the gully to reach an area of large granite boulders (at ‘ROX’). Then descend NW to soon cross Qualen Road (at ‘RD-3’) and cross the narrow valley floor.  Continue NW to climb a short, steep hillside and reach the local hill-top (at ‘HILL’). Then veer westward, gently downhill through sheoak thickets and across rocky ground to soon reach a granite slab (art ‘SLAB’) with views westward to distant Mt Dale (28 kms WSW).  Explore a bit further around this rocky area by heading NE along slope to ‘14’. Then head NW, initially gently downhill, crossing the sandy floor of a gentle side valley after about 500m. - 'York Road Poison' (Gastrolobium calycinum) shrubs display  their  abundant yellow-orange pea-flowers in this area in springtime. -   Then cross a gentle spur ridge, bypassing thickets of parrot bush upslope. Continue NW-NNW along the slope (via‘15’) soon entering a narrow belt of pleasant wandoo woodlands. After about 1 km you enter very open jarrah forest and cross the floor of another broad side valley. Then climb gently to reach a ridge (at ‘16’). Head north along the ridge to reach a rocky knoll in wandoo woodland. Then continue northward along the ridge (via '18') and climb quite steeply for a short distance through a sheoak thicket to reach a small  laterite-capped knoll (at '19'). -This is at approximately the halfway point on the walk. -  Cross this flat heath-covered hilltop NE-ward (to '20') and descend northward down the escarpment to a small granite slab (at 'SLAB2'). Veer NNE from the slab, skirt a patch of shrubland to cross a small gully and continue downhill to cross a larger gully (at '22'). Veer eastward to climb the opposite slope and up a steeper rocky outcrop. Above the outcrop, the slope flattens.  Head SSE along slope, partly through sheoak thickets (at '23').  After '24' veer southward (to'25'), picking a way along  animal tracks through a thick patch of heath, and then head SE-ward (to '26') to  descend to the valley floor again.  Follow the stream course eastward through the pleasant, very open wandoo woodland of the valley floor. Cross Dog Road (at 'DOGRD2') and continue approximately along the stream course. Veer ESE at '28' to climb uphill and then along  slope below a laterite-capped ridge.  At '29', veer left (ENE) to climb onto the flat ridge top (at 'LAT') which gives a limited view to the SW. Then head NE to soon descend from the small hilltop and cross a shrub-covered valley. At 'GULLY' veer ENE and soon climb increasingly steeply uphill via '32' through woodland. (At this point the slope drops off to a deep stream gully about 100m to the north, possibly still hidden from sight. Another gully lies about 200m to the south.) Skirt the northern edge of the laterite-capped hilltop and at '33' head due north to cross the northern gully and climb steeply up a hillisde to a higher hilltop. (at '34'). Then veer NE. Within 50m meet a minor vehicle track (at 'TRK'). Continue NE on the track and soon reach a granite slab on the ridge (at 'VU-NE'), with a view across forest in the direction of the town of York and Mt Bakewell (30 kms NE). Then head initially southward (via '37 and '38' picking an easy way  through patches of shrubland that cover parts of this outcrop area. Then veer SSE to follow the exposed areas of granite slab as much as possible, with only short sections of shrubland. (The granite slab which slopes to the SW is about 750m long from the northern view point to a gully in the south. There are some good views westward from the outcrop to Mt Dale and SW to the monadnocks area.)  At '39' veer more southward and mainly downslope (via '40' and '41', to 'BLDRS'). The outcrop ends near a group of large boulders (at 'BLDRS') in a gully. Then climb the opposite slope of the gully (to '43') and head approx. SSW, mainly skirting patches of parrot bush on the ridge. Continue southward (via '44') initially through wandoo woodland. Then pick an easy way through a short patch of heathland on the west flank of the ridge and reach a small granite outcrop (at 'SML-RK').  Head due south and soon (near '46') enter an area of sheoaks around a gentle gully.  Head SSW to initially follow the gully downslope for about 200m.  Then veer southwards (via '47' and '48') down the hillside, avoiding denser shrubland to the east. Then head approx. SE (via '49') to reach Qualen Road near the corner with Gunapin Ridge Road ('GUNPRD') and close to the Start point.