POSSUM NIGHT SPOTLIGHTING
TRAIL
by Graeme Olsen
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
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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.
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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.
May 2002
