In March 2020, when Europe was already overrun by COVID, it only just started in Western Australia. Amid all the news, which I was blissfully unaware of, I was enjoying myself exploring the Avon Valley.
The Avon Valley National Park itself was closed due to pest control, so I visited the greater Avon Valley region with its small country towns.
I started in Toodyay, a lovely little town at the Avon River. They have a fantastic caravan park in the bush with lots of bird life around. I had amazing company for breakfast – peacocks, parrots and ants.
After brekkie I did the Bilya Walk along the Avon River. From the Caravan Park to the Cemetery its approximately 6km. The water level in the river was pretty low, but it was a beautiful walk and I enjoyed nature and spotting all the birds.
The next day I drove to Bindoon. They only had an ‘emergency’ campground around the oval, to be booked at the Post Office. The post office also acted as the visitor centre, and they provided me with information about the walking trails.
After camp was set up and lunch was eaten, I headed to the homestead ‘Peace be still’ which is open to hikers. It felt a bit strange to turn off the main road onto a private property, park up your car and start walking around.
A bit up the hill I found the labyrinth made out of beer bottles stuck upside down into the ground. From there I started on the Valley View track but got lost and followed the Out and Back track until I was completely lost and ended up on the Pilgrim Trail I’ve come across in Perth before.
Due to getting lost I walked along other property borders and made it back eventually without trespassing. Obviously walked many more kilometers than intended, but it was nice up and down the hills and interesting to ‘spy’ on other peoples houses. According to google maps I did about 30km!
The next day I tackled the ‘Blackboy Ridge Trail’ in Upper Chittering and got lost on the way back because I tried to find an alternate route back instead of following the same way. In the end it was thanks to the Kangaroos that I found a walkable track down the hill.
I headed to Goomalling but the town felt a bit eerie, there was no-one around, just like a Ghost town. I left with the idea to go for a walk in the Oak Park Reserve. Unfortunately, I didn’t feel it’s save to leave the car unattended due to some folks hanging around. I ventured further and ended up in Northam, where I climbed Mt Ommanney, a 2km loop. Rather short but a steadily climbing easy walk with a great view over Northam and beyond.
In the morning I took off on the pushbike and cycled along the Kep Track to Clackline and back (43km). This 75km track from Mundaring, in Perth Hills to Northam, in Avon Valley is a multiuse trail which follows the historic trail line.
The next day I did the Dorntj Koorliny Track, a 18km loop which takes you along the Avon River through the town of Northam. Despite leading more or less right through town the track and river are a bit set back behind trees and it doesn’t feel like you are in a town. The way back leads along the other side of the river. I finally spotted some Spoonbills and one of my first burnt out cars.
A chat with my partner that night brought me back to reality – I tend to NOT read or listen to news in general, especially not when I’m out bush. A COVID lockdown seemed quite possible in Western Australia.
I woke up to a flat tyre on my pushbike. I took the wheel off, loaded it into the ute and tackled the grocery shopping in case of a lockdown. I had to visit three big stores to get everything essential, the shelves were rather empty already. I also purchased jerry cans – we wanted to have enough fuel in case of a lockdown. Last thing on the list was a new tube for my pushbike.
I changed the tube in the parking lot of the shop and when I went back in to ask for a pump they offered me to borrow tools to change the tube! Never needed tools for a pushbike tyre, but very kind of them.
With all the shopping done I drove to York. After a short walk along the Avon River in town I headed to the 24hr stop ‘Gwambygine’ for the night.
In the morning when I was about to pack up, I met the ranger patrolling the place. He said I could easy stay a 2nd night, since the 24hrs count from when he sees me for the first time. Well, that was very handy. Left the tent, chair and table set up and headed back into York to climb Mt Brown.
The view from the top is quite nice. After a coffee stop in town (“Jules”, an absolute gem of a coffee shop) I tackled the Wara Art trail which takes you through town past massive sculptures of native animals made of wheat. Apparently, they do that every year after harvest.
I went back to camp for lunch and did the riverwalk from camp, trying to find the historical site of school ruins. Then I headed to Beverly and inquired about walks. I got told there is County Peak and the Yenyening Lakes Reserve, both not worth the walk apparently, as you can drive up to the peak and the lakes are rather dry.
On the way back to Gwambygine I stopped to take a picture of the ‘Amana’, a Skymaster DC4 plane that crashed in 1950. You can read the story of the Amana and details about the crash in the photo.
I walked up County Peak, which is not a bad walk but yes, there is a road you can drive up if you wish. Next, I visited Yenyening Lakes where I met a farmer who let me in for a walk around the lake on his property. It’s a very nice area but I was lucky I bumped into him, else I would have been met by a shut gate.
I drove to Pingelly and saw a sign to Boyagin Rock on the way. I turned off and wasn’t disappointed – turned out to be a nice bush rock climb of about 2.5km. Later I found out, that this hike is recommended to see what the Wheatbelt in Western Australia looked like before it was cleared for crop. This area is one of only a few places where you can still find the original fauna and flora.
From there I drove to Dryandra before heading back to Perth. Since the blog got a bit long, I will save that for the next one 😉
Although the next blog will include Dryandra, it will mainly be about us heading north before the borders are closed for a Covid lockdown!
Explored in March 2020, written September 2025