Fred Jacoby Park, Mundaring

What: Fred Jacoby Park
Where: Mundaring Weir Rd, Mundaring MAP
When: All year - although better in Autum, Winter and Spring.
Who: All ages
Cost: Free
Facilities: Fire pits, Picnic benches, toilets, car park, walk trails.

A lot of the places and parks I take my daughters to are ones that my Mum took me when I was younger. I remember very fondly most weekends (prior to sport taking over our weekends) and on the school holidays we would go to various parks around Perth, always bringing along a picnic. One of the parks I remember going to as a kid is Fred Jacoby Park in Mundaring. I have memories of running around the giant tree, walking along the Kalgoorlie pipeline and finding pinecones to make Christmas crafts out of. So after our visit to Noble Falls, we made a detour on our way home to have a play in the autumn leaves at Fred Jacoby Park.

There is no play equipment here, it is just nature at it's best. It is a great place to make your own nature-based fun.

Fred Jacoby Forest Park is located on Mundaring Weir Road. The access road is sign posted, but the sign is right at the turnoff, so you have no warning that the turn is coming up. If you miss it and reach Mundaring Weir, you've gone too far. There is plenty of parking in the area, both on the street and in an allocated carpark at the top of the park.

The main "attraction" here is the beautiful, large, old English Oak tree. There is a boardwalk built around the base of the tree so that you can truly admire how massive the tree is. The pictures below show the tree in both Winter and Spring. The tree was planted in approximately 1870, making it over 140 years old. There is a path that runs from the top of the park (at the carpark) down to the bottom (where you come in on the access road).

The large English Oak tree in Autumn - full with leaves.

The tree in Winter - no more leaves

Around the base of the tree

The facilities here include toilets, fire pits with barbecue plates, picnic tables and park benches, as well as various walk trails that take you over and along the Mundaring - Kalgoorlie pipeline. There is a creek that runs through the park, which isn't always full of water, but when it is, it provides a fantastic opportunity for the kids to play and explore, as it isn't very deep. Make sure to take along some gum boots!

Fire pit and toilets in the distance

Dried out creek bed full of leaves during Autumn

It hadn't occurred to me before to make use of the fire pits, but many of the families who were picnicking at the park had a roaring fire going - perfect for those Wintery cold days.

All my girls wanted to do was play in the fallen leaves, and boy, were there a lot of them to play in! They had a ball, and it was a struggle to pull them away and continue on our way home.

Playing in the leaves

While I don't think I would specifically make a visit just out to Fred Jacoby Park, there is plenty to see and do in the area, including the Mundaring Weir that is just down the road.

Along the pipeline

Noble Falls, Gidgegannup

What: Noble Falls and picnic area
Where: Toodyay Road, Gidgegannup MAP
When: All year
Who: All ages
Cost: Free
Facilities: BBQs, Picnic benches, toilets, Playground, car park.

There is a bone of contention in our household between my husband and I regarding the seasons. I'm a Summer girl. I love the heat, the long days, the warm nights and all the other great things about Summer. My husband on the other hand loves Winter. He loves the cold, the rain, the thunderstorms, and the chance to light a roaring fire. I have to admit though, there are some fantastic places in Perth (and Western Australia) that are just as nice, if not better, to visit in the cooler months. One of those places is Noble Falls in Gidgegannup.

Noble Falls and picnic area is located off Toodyay road (opposite the Noble Falls Tavern) approximately 40 minutes east of Perth. I seldom get out to this part of the country, and it was my first time to the falls, but I was pleasantly surprised.

Carpark and bridge over the falls and the start of the walk trails

We arrived at the Falls just after 11am, and there were about 3 other cars in the carpark. I couldn't help but think perhaps we had found a secret spot that not many people knew about. I was wrong! 12 o'clock rolled around and the carpark was suddenly full and there were picnickers and bbq'ers everywhere. I'm kind of glad we got there when we did, and got to enjoy the falls and surrounding area in relative peace and quiet. On nice weekends I'd recommend getting there before 12 if you want to have a choice of tables and BBQ's.

Part of the picnic area. Lots of tables, BBQs, bins, shade and space.

The picnic area contains lots of barbecues and picnic tables, as well as a playground and a tree swing. It is also the starting point for a couple of walk trails over and around the falls. There are toilets but they are hidden away and not in the picnic area. To get to the toilets you have to cross the bridge over the falls, and follow one of the walk trails to get to them.

How's the serenity?!

I'm not entirely sure what this is, but we used it to sit on and eat our lunch.

The playground. A little old and run down, but my daughters had fun nonetheless.

The swing on the tree. A little magical and fun for both kids and adults.

We enjoyed taking a short walk around the falls, and it was easy enough for my 3 year old to do. I pointed out some ant nests to her, and she had fun counting and pointing them all out for the entire walk. The falls themselves are nothing spectacular, they are more like rapids or cascades, but the surroundings are beautiful and you can see the Shire has put in a bit of work to make this a great weekend picnic spot.

Part of the Falls

Along the walk trail

  

Upstream of the falls.

Point Fraser, Perth City

What: Point Fraser Reserve
Where: Corner Causeway and Riverside Drive, Perth MAP
When: All year
Who: All ages
Cost: Parking is $2.50 per hour, otherwise the reserve is free to visit.
Facilities: Toilets, benches, information boards, bike hire available, shaded playground area with liberty swing.

Saturdays in our house tends to be housework day. Which means we sit around doing not much and procrastinating. This typically ends with me getting a bit of cabin fever and cursing that I yet again didn't make any plans. Not this time! This Saturday we were going out! 

The plan was to park at Point Fraser Reserve, let the girls have a play, then walk along the river to the Barrack St Jetty, have morning tea, look at the bell tower, have a bounce on Sacrilege (part of the Perth Arts Festival), and then finish off with the walk back to the car. The bad part of my plan was that I didn't check the weather - forecast of 35 degrees!

The playground at Point Fraser Reserve is quite small, but it acts as a great base to go and do other things. About Bike Hire is located here, so you could hire a bike and ride around the river (or bring your own), Heirisson Island is only a short walk to the east, or you can do as we did and head to the Barrack St Jetty/Bell Tower. Most of Riverside drive has two paths - 1 for cyclists, and 1 for walkers.

Path along the river - lots of room.

There is plenty of parking, however it is paid parking and costs $2.50 per hour.

The playground is quite unique as it is shaded by giant metal umbrella like structures. They are a sight to see in themselves. There are swings, a slide, rock climbing wall, large spider net, plank crossings, as well as a liberty swing. I was a bit hesitant at first that maybe the equipment was a bit too grown up for my 2.5 year old, but she jumped straight in, and climbed up the rock wall. I was impressed!

Rock climbing wall and giant shade structures. This part of the playground is covered in softfall.

Another way to get up the mound to the spider net.

Spider net and view of the wetlands and city.

Planks and bridges as part of the playground.

The playground is surrounded by reclaimed wetland, with lots of information boards and boardwalks. Across the road is Ozone Reserve which has more of the same.

Wetlands

Boardwalks around the wetlands - keep a close eye on littlies!

I was exhausted and sweaty after our morning out, but it sure did beat doing the housework at home. Both girls fell asleep in the car on the way home (the big one fell asleep in the pram on the walk back!), which is always an added bonus.

Beckenham Open Space

What: Beckenham Open Space
Where: Horley Rd off Kenwick Link, Beckenham MAP
When: All year round, but Yule Brook only flows in Winter/Spring
Who: All Ages
Facilities: Park benches and picnic tables
Cost: Free

While doing some research on Bannister Creek for my previous blog, I came across the SERCUL (South East Regional Centre for Urban Landcare) website. I was pretty excited to find a list of environmental places to visit around my area. So I decided to choose the first one on the list, Beckenham Open Space, and take my two girls out for a walk and a wander around.

Beckenham Open Space is located off Kenwick Link on Horley Rd in Beckenham. It is relatively easy to find, but keep a look out for the windmill. There is plenty of parking, as well as the SERCUL office being located here.

There are a few walk trails to chose from. The longest one (1.5km) takes you around the outskirts of the property and down by the Canning River. We stayed close by and just wandered around the boardwalks which go over Yule Brook.

Over the boardwalk

Walk track

 The Open Space is old agricultural land which is being restored, so some of the property is pretty unimpressive with dried up pasture. The boardwalks are really nice, but unfortunately we chose the wrong time of year to visit, as Yule Brook doesn't flow in Summer. 

Boardwalk over Yule Brook

We had our morning tea under a lovely shady tree, and the map indicates there are 3 picnic tables as well as 2 park benches scattered around the property.

Our view at morning tea

I was a bit disappointed with our visit, and both my daughters were playing up on the day we visited. Miss 2 was tired of walking and wanted to be carried, while the baby was just hot and cranky. Hopefully we will make it back another time, but in Winter when the brook is flowing. Until then.....

Bannister Creek, Lynwood

What: Bannister Creek
Where: Lynwood between Brampton Way and Ardenia Rd MAP
When: All year round
Who: All ages
Facilities: Park benches, soon to open nature based playground
Cost: Free

One of our regular walking spots is along Bannister Creek in Lynwood. There is a footpath/bicycle path which is suitable for prams, and it follows along the length of the creek with several bridge crossings along the way. 

There are quite often ducks swimming in the creek, and plenty of birds singing in the surrounding trees. It is a great place for some nature based education, as there are signs of the flora and fauna of the area, built into the path. Try to find the animals and plants as you go! My 2 year old loves to point out all of the bottle-brushes, and enjoys going over the bridges to do some duck spotting. 

There are some educational worksheets focusing on waterways on the SERCUL website (http://www.sercul.org.au/incursions.html) if you are so inclined.

Flora and Fauna tiles built into the pathway

Easy pram access

Bridge Crossing

Leaf Race, anyone?

Information on the area

The City of Canning is currently constructing a nature based playground at the intersection of the creek and Iveston Road, which I am looking forward to seeing the completed product. Looks like it will become an even more regular walking route for us! 

Under Construction

There is no designated parking at the creek, but it can be easily accessed by verge side street parking at any of the streets nearby.

Lesmurdie Falls

What: Lesmurdie Falls
Where: Lesmurdie Falls National Park Map off Falls Road
When: All year round
Who: All ages
Facilities: Toilets, 3x Picnic benches
Cost: Free

On a not so lazy Sunday morning, hubby, the kids and I made the short drive out to Lesmurdie Falls located in the the Lesmurdie Falls National Park. I felt as if I was in the karri forests of the southwest, but alas, I was still in the 'burbs of Perth, only a 20 minute drive from the city centre.

There are two car parks to access the falls from, one at the top and one at the base of the falls, both accessible off Falls road. We parked at the top carpark as we were completely oblivious to the fact there was another carpark further down the road. If you have little kids or you are not up for the uphill hike to the falls, I would recommend to park at the top carpark. The carpark was about half full when we arrived at 10am, but was near capacity when we left around midday.

Located at the top car park is toilet facilities and 3 large granite picnic benches with shade. Here you will also find a map with marked walk trails. There are 5 walk trails ranging from 300m to 3km return.

Map of the walk trails

We decided to start with the cascade trail and then continue on to the falls. The cascades were off on a not very well marked track, and really weren't worth the detour to see. Back to the main concrete stone path and it was a short non strenuous walk to the first viewing platform. The viewing platform is well fenced on all sides making it fairly safe for all aged kids to admire the view. There are steps, so it isn't suitable to take the pram down with you (however we did see one family carrying their pram down the steps), so either carry/baby wear small children or supervise them well while they walk. I had my baby daughter in a sling, and the toddler was on daddy's back in the Ergo carrier.

Walk track to the viewing platform

The view from the top of the falls is fantastic and well worth the short walk. If you are up to it, you can continue on to the second platform a bit further down the track. The weather was starting to look a bit iffy so we backtracked to the car to get our morning tea picnic and raincoats. We ate our picnic at one of the tables provided, and we were sheltered from the few drops of rain that did fall. 

Between the two viewing platforms. What a sight!

The fenced in viewing platform

We ventured back to where we left off and continued past the second platform to a dirt track which took us to the base of the falls. We made the right decision having both the girls in carriers, as the terrain is a bit rough and at that time of year very slippery and muddy. Once at the base of the falls we let our daughter out of the carrier, but the area was still a bit too dangerous for her, as there are no railings around, and she refused to hold either of our hands, stating she could "do it herself!"

On the way back up, we had a lot of fun pointing out all the different flowers, and taking the time to "smell the roses" or catch our breath which was the case for me. I managed to make it back to the top in one piece and even enjoyed myself along the way (I usually HATE uphill ascents!). 

Beautiful wildflowers

The perfect time to visit Lesmurdie Falls is in spring when the falls are flowing well and there is an abundance of beautiful wildflowers in bloom.

Our two year old had a blast, and talked about the waterfalls for many days after. We can't wait to return for a not so lazy Sunday again soon!

At the base of the falls