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

Pool on Murray River at Murray Campsite

 on Bibbulmun Track, Feb. 2005.

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             Route profile

140 road kms south of Perth. 

23 field kms (5% off-track)

(or approx. 21 kms if short southern return section to visit Murray Campsite is bypassed).

MEDIUM   (What does this mean?)

620m (cumulative ascent)

PREFERABLE (to help locate a few turning points and river crossing points).

Access  :

See Google Map for start point on road map.

(Use zoom ladder for detail. Select 'Hybrid' to add satellite imagery.)

Kwinana Freeway south, then Mundijong Road east to South Western Highway. Follow Highway to North Dandalup, then take Dwellingup turnoff.  At Dwellingup township, turn left onto Pinjarra-Williams Road, and after 1 km turn right into Nanga Road, then after further 6.5 km (on bitumen) turn left at Entry Station (no entry fee) into Park Road. Pass Baden Powell Campground after 2 km (stop here to check the river level and flow over the waterspout, which will be a guide as to whether the river should be safely crossable upriver on the walk route).  Follow Park Road (mainly dirt road), then River Road to cross Murray River at Bobs Crossing.  Then follow Murray Valley Road (dirt road), cross bridge over Nanga Brook (note falls and trout ladder on left) and turn right to reach Nanga Mill camping & picnic area (in pine plantation), 10.9 km from the Entry Station (or total of 18.4 km from Dwellingup).  Park near the Start point on the south side of the picnic  area (Public toilets nearby).

Alternative access: Remain on Nanga Road after passing the Entry Station. Then after 5 km (before reaching the old Nanga townsite picnic area, 13.5 kms from Dwellingup) turn left onto the dirt road into the Nanga Mill picnic area. This cuts 5 kms off the drive from Dwellingup, but bypasses the excellent Murray River scenery. Also, the entry gate to the picnic area road off Nanga Road is usually locked during week days, in which case, you will need to park and walk the extra 0.5 km to the Start point. Check with DEC's Dwellingup office on ph. 08 95381078.

Note: This walk area was temporarily affected by the fires of late January 2006 which swept through the Murray Valley. Access to this area was restored by mid-February 2006. However, by 2007 access was still restricted from some severely burnt areas of the Reserve, such as along parts of DEC's Murray Valley Walk Circuit in the NW, including the Scarp Lookout off Scarp Road.

Escape route/s :

West of Murray River:  Via various tracks (e.g. Coffs Formation road) west to Nanga Road, or east to North Junction Formation road which runs along west bank of Murray River.

East of Murray River : North or south via Fireline Road (closely parallels Bibbulmun Track in south), or SE on Allan Road (which branches off Fireline Road) to meet Murray Road after 8 kms.

Main features

/Highlights:

This walk is in the northern area of the Lane Poole Reserve which covers an area of jarrah, marri and blackbutt (yarri) forest around the Murray River valley.  The Murray River is the largest of the rivers cutting into the Darling Plateau which remain undammed.  The River runs approximately NNW-ward through the northern area of the nearly 55,000 ha Reserve.  There are a number of large and quite deep permanent pools along the River and frequent rapids and small waterfalls. In winter the river can become a raging torrent (see Caution below).

Much of the area was heavily logged from 1902 onward when the Nanga Mill was established. Timber was transported to the mill via several railway 'formations' on both sides of the river.  These are now used in part as walk trails (including sections of this walk route) and as dirt roads. Logging continued at declining levels until the mill burnt down in 1941.  The Reserve was finally declared in 1984.

Over half of the walk (60%) follows portions of two established trails:   half of the 18 km King Jarrah Trail and a short 6 km of the much longer Bibbulmun Track. The remaining 40% of the walk is mainly on existing dirt roads, with only a few very short off-track sections near river crossings, or to take in a view.  

Two-day option: The walk can be done as either a reasonably challenging one day walk (especially if you start early by camping the night before at the Nanga Mill campsite), or at a more leisurely pace over two days with an overnight stay at the Murray Campsite (on the Bibbulmun Track) which is close to the halfway point on the walk and in a very picturesque setting on the bank of the Murray River, next to one of the large pools.

You will not actually see much more of the Murray  River itself on this walk route as it is generally screened from sight by thick vegetation. However, make the most of the many excellent river views during the drive in to the Start point, and include at least a brief stop at the Baden Powell Campground to see the waterspout and picturesque pool.

Caution:  The River changes character dramatically in winter-mid spring when it may be  transformed into a raging torrent along much of its length, becoming very dangerous and uncrossable at crossing points which are often dry in summer-early autumn. (During winter and spring the River is popular with canoeists and rafters.)

In late spring, summer, and very early autumn, provided there has not been recent heavy rainfall, the River can usually be crossed safely and dryly at the two crossing points on this walk, one about 1 km downriver from Murray Campsite and the other near a small camping site off Fireline Road, about 1 km south of the road junction with Yarragil Road.   Do not attempt to cross at these places if the river is still flowing fast, even if it appears narrow or quite shallow. If the first, southern crossing point appears unsafe, you should stay on the western side of the River and rejoin the King Jarrah Trail (shown in green on the map) which then approximately follows the western river bank northward back to Nanga Mill camping & picnic area. (The total walk distance will then be 18.5 km.)

Current river levels and conditions: These can also be checked before you start out, from the Dept of Environment's automatic daily updates (for Station 614006 for Murray River, Baden Powell Waterspout; also see paddleability guide).

Controlled burns:  'Mosaic' burns are currently scheduled for Autumn  2010 and will affect much of the walk area. See DEC's 6-season indicative burn programme.

Additional maps :

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:  Nanga 1:50,000 Sheet 2133-3 (CALM/DOLA, 1999) or Nanga 1:50,000 Sheet (Dept. of Lands & Survey, 1980).

The Bibbulmun Track Foundation's Day Walk Map Packs for locations along the Bibbulmun Track include a pack for the Dwellingup/Lane Poole Reserve area, with suggested walks on the Bibb. Track. The Foundation's 'trip planner' pages also include some additional information on the area, including additional Bibb. Track day and overnight walk possibilities. 

"Guide to Lane Poole Reserve, Dwellingup"  leaflet by CALM (undated). This includes a good 'overview' of the Reserve including a brief summary of trails, and notes on the history, fauna, etc. - Trails described very briefly in the leaflet include the King Jarrah Trail (18km) and the Murray Valley Circuit (46km over 3 days). - The Murray Valley Circuit lies in the NW area of the Reserve and overlaps with the walk described on this page only at the Nanga Mill camping & picnic area. The Murray Valley Circuit also visits Scarp Pool and Scarp Lookout in the NW, both of which were badly affected by the January 2006 bushfires. 

DEC's website also provides a very brief description of the Reserve and the DEC trails.

"Lane Poole Reserve Management Plan 1990-2000", Dec. 1990, by Dept. of Conservation and Land Management (CALM). - See pdf version (1.25Mb file) which also includes all map figures.  This has summaries of the flora & fauna, geology, history, etc.

"Lane Poole Reserve and Proposed Reserve Additions Management Plan", Oct. 2011, by Dept. of Environment and  Conservation (DEC) and Conservation Commission of Western Australia. - See pdf version (9.3Mb file). This proposes an increase in the area of the Reserve size by 47% to 758 sq km. See also WalkGPS GoogleEarth view of the Reserve and proposed additions, plus Bibbulmun Track and campsites and existing and future impact of ALCOA bauxite mining.

"Travellers guide to the Parks & Reserves of Western Australia" by Simon Nevill, 2001, p.62-63 (Simon Nevill Publications), also includes a very brief summary of the Park. 

Hotham Valley Tourist Railway (HVTR) - Today the dedicated HVTR volunteers provide visitors with a great sense of the early saw milling and railway history of the Dwelllingup area with short journeys into the jarrah forest in historic steam and diesel locomotives along 8 km of restored light railway.

Trivia: What does the "Form" or "Formation" in Coffs Form. or South Junction Formation mean? - A 'formation' (or 'form.') comprises the top of embankments and base of cuttings on which a railway or tramway track was laid to take timber to a local mill. The railways themselves have largely disappeared leaving the 'forms' as reminders of the earlier logging days.  They are common in the southwest forests and have often been later converted for 4WD/forestry vehicle use (and partly for easy, levelled walking tracks!). 

Start at the King Jarrah Walk Trail sign at Nanga Mill camping & picnic area.  Head uphill initially through pine trees at the edge of the Nanga Mill plantation, then more steeply through young regenerating jarrah forest and balgas. After waypoint '1' the trail heads SE and soon flattens onto a ridge.  After '2' veer southward and head almost due south over the next 4.5 kms, crossing stream gullies at Christmas Creek and Dawn Creek, and dirt roads at 'JCN-1', 'JCN-2', 'JCN-3' and 'JCN-4'. After Dawn Creek the trail rises steeply to a ridge, then at '3' veers SE and descends initially gently to the site of a King Jarrah tree (at 'KJARA') which survived the logging days. It then descends steeply to cross Big Brook and meets King Jarrah Formation road at '4'.  Turn left to follow the road initially NE, then eastward after the (Dawn) Creek Road turnoff (at '5'). At the fork in the road at 'TRN' follow the right fork (South Junction Formation road) uphill.  Pass a footrack on the left (at 'FTRK'; This is a useful shortcut to connect back on to the King Jarrah Trail if the Murray River is flowing too fast for a safe crossing.) At '7', leave South Junction Form. road to head SE steeply downslope and off-track to reach the Murray River bed at a crossing point at  'CSG-1', where there is usually only a minimal flow in late summer-early autumn.  (If the River is flowing strongly do not attempt a river crossing but instead return to waypoint 'FTRK' and connect back onto King Jarrah Trail/North Junction Form. road at 'ENDTRK' and follow that northward, close to the western bank of the River.)    

After crossing the River bed, follow a dirt road from the eastern bank and turn right onto the Bibbulmun Track where it crosses at 'BIB-1' . Follow the Bibbulmun Track southward (via '8') to reach the Murray Campsite (at 'HUT').  This is close to the halfway point on the walk and a great spot for lunch or an overnight stop. Then return northward along the Bibbulmun Track which heads eastward away from the Murray River at 'BIB-2'.  Continue on the Bibbulmun Trak (via '10', '11' &  '12') and reach Fireline Road at 'BIB-3'. Leave the Track at this point and turn left to follow the Road downhill for less than 200m to '13'. Then head off-track for a 1km diversion (via '13A, '13B', 13D') approximately parallelling Fireline Road. This  provides a view across the Murray Valley (from about '13A').  Rejoin Fireline Road at '13D'. (Alternatively, you may opt to shorten the walk marginally by staying on Fireline Road after '13' and ignore the off-track section.) Follow Fireline Road downhill (via '14' & '15').  At '16' turn left onto a short side road which leads to a campsite on the east bank of the Murray River.  Find a crossing point at  'CSG-2' via the rocky ledge at the upstream end of the permanent pool. (Again, there is usually only a minimal flow here in late summer-early autumn.) Then head NW off-track, finding a way through quite thick understorey and up a steepening slope to reach North Junction Form. road at '17'. Then turn right to follow the Road (via '18', 'JCN-5', '19', '20') past Stringers camping area turnoff (at 'STRGRS'), and turn left at '21' onto the Nanga Mill road which leads back to the Start point.