South West Life

This article was written by Akita Olsen.

Last week I got away to lovely Bridgetown, for a short break in our South West.  

During our stay in the town I wanted to do one of their many bush walks. After visiting their Tourist Information Centre (www.bridgetown.com.au) I was given a free pamphlet of some local bush walks, which was very informative.

Looking through the selection I chose “Fallers Brand Trail”, within the Bridgetown Jarrah Park. This trail is located 25kms west of Bridgetown, along the Brockman Highway – 20 min drive from Bridgetown. The trail commemorates the early days of the timber industry in the South West.

With our map of the area, and armed with the bush walk pamphlet it was quite easy to find the location. We thankfully had a gorgeous day - a cool, cloudy day with no rain… wonderful for bush walking. I love walking in winter, but this trail would also be great during Spring due to all the wildflowers. The car park is situated close to toilets, information panels, and picnic area – with bbq facilities.

The walk is a circuit, well marked out, and can take up to one hour to complete. The 3.2 km trail leads you through and past many Grass Trees, Jarrah, Marri, beautiful Karri, large Blackbutt, Banksias, and more.

There is also the option to do one or two additional sections (attached to the Fallers Brand Trail) if you enjoy the extra exercise. After your walk you return back to the picnic area, which is always tempting to have after a walk to reward yourself, or your family.

I enjoyed my walk here, and if you are ever in Bridgetown can I suggest you take an hour out of your day and do the Fallers Brand Trail.

This trail is featured in the Department of Conservation & Land Management's book “Bushwalks in the South West”, which is a great book to own. It covers 49 walks with a variety of lengths, degrees of effort, and locations. Take this book with you and explore the jarrah, karri and tingle forests, mountains and sea cliffs of the South-West, from Mandurah to Esperance. This book can be purchased from your CALM office or I bought mine from a local Mountain Designs shop (www.mountaindesigns.com). Enjoy.