Around Perth: Eastern Region

Mundaring Weir, Mundaring, WA.  Photo credit: Copyright Tourism Western Australia

Around Perth: Eastern Region

This is walking, camping and cycling country. With 10 of Western Australia’s top trails, fine vineyards and gourmet food, pack your rucksack and loosen your belt…

Swan River
28km of foreshore make the Swan River an easy and appealing place to explore by water. The river flows through three communities:

  • Bassendean: worth a stop for the Rail Transport Museum.
  • Bayswater: the ‘Garden City’ with a generous selection of heritage buildings and conservation reserves. A good place to walk and cycle; and
  • Belmont: home to Perth International Airport and Ascot Racecourse.

Perth Hills
Drive 45 minutes east of Perth and you’re in a world of villages, national parks and fertile hills that tumble along the Darling Scarp. The 10 national parks are criss-crossed by 40 walking and cycling trails. You’ll also find the starting point of a number of world famous long distance walks.

  • Bibbulmun Track: Mightiest of all the walks, the Bibbulmun Track starts in Kalamunda and stretches 1000km to Albany in the south-west of the state. You’ll be walking for weeks if you’re ambitious enough to tackle the whole thing, but there are shorter guided trips if you want something a little less epic. Even a day’s exploration is rewarding.
  • Munda Biddi Trail: The first long distance cycle trail in Western Australia stretches from the Mundaring Sculpture Park to Manjimup, 600km away. Plans to extend it further could see it reach Albany, and a distance of 1000km in total. When it does, it will be the longest off-road cycle track in the world. Until then, it’s still one of the best.
  • Railway Reserves Heritage Trail: For cyclists and walkers, the 59km trek from York to Fremantle makes use of the disused Eastern railway.
  • Kep Track trail: A multi-use trail stretching 75km from Mundaring Weir to Northam. On the way you’ll travel through villages, jarrah forests, and farming country.
  • Kalamunda supplements the walking and cycling trails with camel treks. They’ve been producing wine in the area since the 1880s. Several wine trails let you explore the vineyards, and take in plenty of orchards, gourmet cafes and restaurants too.
  • Bickley: Site of Western Australia’s oldest observatory (it’s over 100 years old).

Swan Valley
You could drive here from Perth in just 20 minutes, but for a more leisurely (and scenic) approach take the ferry from Barrack Street Jetty.

This is the oldest wine growing region in Western Australia, with a reputation for quality food and wine, fresh produce and fine dining. Many of the vineyards are still owned by descendants of the early European settlers.

The vineyards dominate the area, but you’ll also find micro-breweries and distilleries too.

  • Guildford: This historic town is the effective gateway to the Swan Valley. It’s been here since the 1830s and is rightly proud of its colonial past. You’ll struggle to walk round without using the words ‘quaint’ or ‘charming’. It seems to consist purely of beautifully maintained heritage buildings, gift shops, pubs, galleries and antique shops – like the Cotswolds with sunshine.
  • Caversham Wildlife Park: Features one of the largest collections of native wildlife in Western Australia, including koalas, kangaroos and wombats.

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Pump It Up

 

The Kep Track trail follows the route of a former railway line. It was built to commemorate the ‘Golden Pipeline’ which first supplied fresh water to Kalgoorlie and the goldfields in the 1890s.

Over the 560km from Mundaring Weir, the water was pumped higher and farther than had ever been achieved. At the time it was an engineering marvel.

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