Porongurup National Park

Introducing Porongurup National Park

The 24-sq-km, 12km long Porongurup National Park has 1100-million-year-old granite outcrops, panoramic views, beautiful scenery, large karri trees and some excellent bushwalks.

The bushwalks range from the 100m Tree-in-the-Rock stroll (just what it sounds like) to the harder Hayward and Nancy Peaks (four hours). The Devil’s Slide (two hours) is a walk of contrasts that takes you through a pass of karri forest and onto the stumpy vegetation of the granite. These walks start from the main day-use area, and the Castle and Balancing Rocks (two hours) are 2km further north. A 6km scenic drive along the northern edge of the park starts near the ranger’s residence.

There is no camping allowed within the national park but you can camp on its doorstep at pretty Porongurup Range Tourist Park (08-9853 1057; www.poronguruprangetouristpark.com.au; unpowered/powered sites $15/20, cabins $65 ); no credit cards. The Porongurup Shop & Tearooms (08-9853 1110; www.porongurupinn.com.au; d/apt/cottage $25/60/80) has grown higgledy-piggledy over the years to include great home-cooked food (lunches $13) with veggies from the organic garden.

The comfortable A-frame Porongurup Chalets (08-9853 1255; www.porongurup.com; chalets from $70 per night or $350 per week) in their forest setting are great weekly value.

One of the oldest country retreats in WA, Karribank Country Retreat (08-9853 1022; www.karribank.com.au; r $90, chalets from $100, cottages from $164) offers beautifully decorated rooms in the historic house and its surrounding cottages.

If you’re a fan of authentic Thai food, don’t miss Maleeya’s Thai Café (08-9853 1123; 1376 Porongurup Rd; mains $20; Thu-Sun). It’s just before Porongurup township on the Mt Barker road.

Last updated: Feb 17, 2009