Wandoo Woodlands

The Wandoo Wodlands trek is an easy but fairly extensive tour through the Wandoo Conservation Park which is South-West of York. Wandoo CP is a 44,000 hectare park featuring areas of wandoo forest and granite outcrops. The park was created under the State Government’s Protecting Our Old Growth Forests Policy. It’s a full day's drive, taking an alternative track to the challenging 12.5km 4WD section called Powerline Trek near Sawyers Valley.

There are shaded picnic areas, wood barbecues, toilets and a wildlife viewing hide. This area is situated amongst wandoo woodlands and a short walk trail leads from the picnic area to the animal viewing hide, which is located overlooking a winter flowing creek. During winter a wide variety of birds can be seen and heard in the area, amongst the creek line vegetation.

You can either begin this trek with the 4WD Powerline section or come in from the Great Southern Highway at Talbot Road. The Wandoo section is less affected by wet conditions and is a much easier route for those that prefer to take it easier.

No permits are needed for the Wandoo Woodlands trek.

Bushland, convict ruins, bush camps, St Ronans Well

Preparation for this route should be as for any other relatively remote 4WD track, including carrying sufficient fuel, water, food, supplies, communications gear, safety equipment and first aid, along with emergency backup supplies.

There are numerous tracks in the area and some may be unnamed or not shown on maps. A wise precaution is to get hold of some updated and detailed mud maps of the area. Be well prepared with a GPS, HF radio or Satellite phone as you may not see another vehicle. We advise that you refer to the latest information and advice about outback communications in the Communications Topic.

There may be risks with getting punctures, so please make sure you have adequate recovery gear and puncture repair kits. Travellers should read the 4WDriving Topic for related articles and checklists for vehicle setup and driver awareness.

Sawyers Valley and Mundaring lie in the transitional zone between the Darling Range and the wheat belt and really are the "heart of the hills". The predominant tree species are Wandoo (E. wandoo, a large white barked eucalypt), Jarrah (E. marginata) and Marri (E. calophylla), both of which are large, dark barked eucalypts. Large under storey thickets also occur frequently.

Scattered rocks in the terrain are mostly granite, but laterite cap rock occurs along some ridges, slopes and hill tops.

In summary the terrain is quite variable, mostly undulating, with deeply incised gully systems on the slopes, few tracks, some complex rock sections with the flatter areas being relatively featureless.

The Powerline Track follows an active powerline carrying electricity from Muja power station. Collie supplies much of the South of Western Australia with electricity via Muja Power Station, which came on line 1969 and the newer Collie Power Station that commenced operations in May 1999.

Mundaring - from the Aboriginal word 'Mindah-lung', is the site of one of Australia's greatest engineering feats - the Mundaring Weir and the Golden Pipeline, which carries water all the way to Kalgoorlie.

The first European into the Mundaring area was Ensign Robert Dale who, in 1829, traced the Helena River upstream to a point near the present site of the Mundaring Weir. The nearby town of Sawyers Valley began as a pit sawyers' settlement in the 1860's. Today, many of the original sawpits can still be seen. The first freehold land in the area wasn't granted until 1882 and it wasn't until 1889 that a sawmill opened in the area and timber cutters moved in to exploit the extensive stands of jarrah and karri. The timber trade was the mainstay of the place for many years.