South West Life

About 10 minutes north of Busselton lies a bush walk designed to do at night. We recently got a group together, and armed with torches, provisions, and warm clothes we set out to find possums, kangaroos, and other wildlife along this 1.5km trail.

We arrived at the Layman picnic area near Wonnerup House carpark around 7:00pm and it was already pitch black. We had all brought some good torches, which we needed right from the beginning. We'd never been here before, and there were no lights or brightly lit signs around, so we weren't quite sure where the beginning of the trail was. It was easily found, however, by simply scanning the landscape with our torches, and two big red reflectors shone out, indicating the start of the Possum Night Spotlighting trail.

Our group consisted of 12 people, including 3 teenage boys and 4 kids under the age of ten (the youngest being 5). The kids were all excited, and the teenage boys were, well, being teenage boys. As we started on the trail, I was convinced that with all the noise going on, the only animals we were going to see where the ones that were too dumb or too slow to get out of our way.

But within the first minute we stumbled across our first group of kangaroos. The roos decided that they didn't want to play with us, but were still close enough to get a good look at. Throughout the night we would often here a boomer or two bouncing around just out of sight.

Very soon after that we found our first possum. The trick to finding these placid creatures is simply to shine your torch up into the trees, back and forth in a sweeping motion, until you see their eyes.  You'll often find one or two in a tree simply staring back at you, and once you catch the reflection in their eyes with your torch, you can see them properly and get a nice close up view.

The trail has the highest density population of brushtail possums in the world, so you should see plenty along the trail. Other possible wildlife you may encounter in the area are boobok owls, tawny frogmouths, and wambengers. Much to the horror of our arachnaphobic friend, we also saw a lot of big spiders, sitting in their big webs, waiting to catch a feed.

There are no lights on the trail, so the "sweeping motion" with the torch comes in handy. At one point we weren't too sure which way to go, but a simple scan of the area with a torch highlighted the next red reflector. It really would be hard to get lost. If in doubt, always head left, as the trail loops around to the left and then back to the beginning.

Along the trail is a number of plaques that keep you informed about possums, their habitat, other wildlife, and the area in general. Fascinating for the kids, and we all learnt some things about our local environment. Even the teenage boys paid an interest (while pretending not too, of course).

Back at the carpark, we sat down in the dark and enjoyed coffee and tea from a thermos flask, plus muffins and other munchies. We just chatted, looked at the stars, and said hello to the ocassional possum that came and checked us out.

The Possum Night Spotlighting Trail is found by turning down Layman Road off the Bussell Highway. Park at the Layman Picnic Area carpark, then cross the road and go through the gate (just follow the red reflectors). It's open all year, its free, and it's a great opportunity to take a stroll with your mates and see some of our local wildlife. Only in the south west.