John Forrest National Park -

John Forrest National Park, Western Australia

There are various trails and walks available at John Forrest National Park and some great bike trails too. You will need to ensure you have your Annual Parks pass (for those of you with RAC you receive 50% discount). Display it on your dashboard of your car. You can download a guide from the Department Parks and Wildlife Website.

We had researched various walks within close reach of Perth, where we were based for work for a bit and found Eagle View Walk Trail which was roughly 15km. It is approximately 30 minutes from Perth. As we are doing some longer treks in Europe this year we wanted to complete a walk that would challenge Miss B and give her an understanding of pacing.

Check out our Australian explorer John Forrest Worksheet before you go!

Appropriate hiking boots and Sunhat is an absolute MUST.

Learning the art of pacing

Pacing does not include, drinking all your water in the first hour. Eat all your food at morning tea, or taking off at the speed of light at the beginning and then dragging your feet at the end. All of which she would do if we did not provide the proper preparation and training.

John Forrest National Park was the first National Park in Western Australia. It is set in a Jarrah Forest still largely in its natural state.

You will find Jarrah, Marri, gums, paperbarks along with smaller plants Banksia, Sheoak and snottygobble (got to love that name). So much Flora and Fauna to see, you can print off a Flora and Fauna Guide from Parks of the Perth Hills.

If your lucky you may see a grey kangaroo. We saw a couple on the drive in. Be careful they can jump across the road area without warning.

Before we began Eagle View Trail Walk we checked out the Swan View Tunnel. This added 5km return, to our trekking that day.

The park is home to two waterfalls that flow in winter and spring – Hovea and National Park Falls. We did not see them as we visited in March.

What we took

We had a great walk and definitely recommend taking the usual bushwalking supplied;

Water, a minimum 2ltrs per person
Sandwich or something substantial to eat
Nuts, Apples
Torch
First Aid Kit
Handheld UHF Radio (Bonus, we have them so why not use them)

There is a youtube video of our Eagle View walk which you can see here.

We ate our Sandwich at the lookout. If you were only doing this walk it would be too early, but as we started with the Swan View Tunnel it was about lunch when we hit here.

When Miss B started to drop in energy we stopped for an Apple. This proved to be invaluable as a quick pick me up. We would take extra next time.

The track is uneven and rocky in parts. We really enjoyed it and perfect for our training. We always love being in the Bush.

Happy Trekking!