Yardup, Stepping Back in Time

Greetings Everyone,

After our success in finding a Numbat, it was time to continue our journey south to Stirling Range National Park. As we drew closer the rugged mountains of the range came into view. The park encompasses the only major mountain range in the southern half of Western Australia and protects many species of endemic plants. We had booked a cottage on a working sheep farm about 17 km north of the park.

Yardup Cottage

As we arrived, Ellen, one of the owners drove up. She gave us a tour of this enchanted cottage. As we entered, it was like stepping back in time. Yardup Cottage as it was named is around 100 years old! Ellen’s husband Richard’s parents and grandparents once lived in the cottage. Ellen was kind enough to let us share this photo of Yardup Cottage taken in 1925. On the veranda are Richard's grandmother Enid Milne and her sister Barbara Murray.

Yardup Cottage, 1925

It has been lovingly restored complete with antiques from the 1920s and 1930s.

Inside Yardup Cottage

From the front veranda, we had a view of the entire Stirling Range. It would be a fun place to spend a week.

View of Stirling Range from Yardup Cottage

The next day we set off to hike Bluff Knoll. At 3066-feet it is the highest peak in the range. We began the 2000-foot climb in the cool of the morning on a paved path.

The Trail to Bluff Knoll

The paved path ended and we entered the forest where stairs had been built on the steeper sections to prevent erosion. A Wedge-tailed Eagle soared overhead as we broke out of the forest and into bottlebrushes some still in bloom.

Bottlebrush Flowers

Like other parts of Western Australia, Phytophthora dieback disease has hit the Stirling Range hard. It’s caused by a microscopic water mold (Phytophthora cinnamomi) that dwells in the soil and kills plants by rotting their roots. It was probably introduced by early European settlers in the soil of plants they brought with them. I was surprised to learn that a water mold was causing such a problem in an arid region. Unfortunately, it can be spread from one area to another by vehicles and footwear. Near the top, we reached an area that was recovering from a fire caused by an escaped burn. All the Banksia were blackened. Clearly the endemic plants in this park face many challenges. 

Near the summit, a King’s Skink was partially hiding under some bushes.

King's Skink

We took in the sweeping views over the park to the west.

Peggy on the Summit of Bluff Knoll

On some summit rocks, a pile of South-western Crevice Skinks was trying to warm up in the morning sunshine.

South-western Crevice Skinks

Back at Yardup, I took a short walk marveling at the scope of the farm. It was a big operation with many outbuildings and heavy machinery. I couldn’t imagine the amount of work it takes to keep this place going. A man in a pickup drove up with his dog. It was Richard, Ellen’s husband. We chatted a bit. Yardup has been in his family for four generations (more than a century) starting with his great grandparents who came to Australia from Scotland. The farm now consists of 3500 hectares or 8650 acres on which crops like wheat, barley, canola, lupine, and oats are grown and 3800 Merino sheep are grazed! The sheep had already been sheared in January and we were between harvests so this was a quiet time at Yardup.

Driving into Yardup Farm

After dinner, we went for a night drive along the road to the Bluff Knoll carpark. We didn’t see much on the way up but on the return, Marc spotted what he thought was a quoll on his side of the car. When I leaned over, I saw that it wasn’t a quoll but a Quokka! I had read that Quokkas were sometimes found here but they are difficult to spot. Most people go to Rottnest Island off the coast from Perth where Quokka have become a big tourist attraction but mainland Quokka are not often seen.

Quokka near Bluff Knoll Carpark

The next day we decided to climb our second peak, Mt. Magog. It’s located deep in the park off the gravel Stirling Range Road. We had the summit to ourselves as we hiked 2km through a level section lined with yellow flowers and a few banksias still in bloom. Honeyeaters flitted about drinking nectar from the late-blooming flowers.

The Trail to Mt. Magog

The climbing began in earnest straight up a steep gully with loose rocks. I was moving slow, real slow, concentrating with each step. We reached the ridge with Mt. Magog looming above. The climbing moderated a bit before entering a rocky section that required a bit of scrambling. We had a few more scrambles before finally reaching the summit. We admired the view and took a bit of a break before heading back down.

View from Mt. Magog

We reached the steep section where the fun started. We had to climb down on loose rocks and scree without slipping and taking a tumble. Finally, we made it to the flat section, whew!

Descent from Mt. Magog

It was getting hot but a cool breeze kept us comfortable. We made it to the car and drove back to Yardup where farm-fresh eggs awaited us.

Fresh Eggs!

Another day, another peak. Our next objective was Mt. Trio. The morning clouds had cleared and it was another beautiful day. The first part of the hike was very steep until we got to the ridge. We reached the summit in just over an hour. It was vegetated so the views weren’t great. An area had been cleared just below the top so we sat there for views and a snack.

View from Mt. Trio

Back at Yardup Cottage, we had enough energy left to do laundry. There was a washing machine on the back veranda but we had to line dry our clothes. We used a baby carriage-like contraption to wheel our wet clothes out to the line!

Marc Hauling Wet Clothes

That night we did another drive along Bluff Knoll Road. The lower section was a good spot for Western Brush Wallaby. We finally caught one in the open where you can clearly make out the characteristic black gloves.  

Western Brush Wallaby

Further along the road, we saw our first Common Brushtail Possums in the park.

Common Brushtail Possum

The last peak we climbed in Stirling Range National Park was Mt. Hassell. A series of false summits finally led to the real one. 

Marc on the Summit of Mt. Hassell

On the way back down we noticed ripples in some of the rocks. We later read that the range was once covered by a shallow sea. After the sea receded, the layers of sediment were transformed into layers of rock by the pressure created by their own weight. 

Ripples in the Rocks

After spending one week in the area, it was time to move on. We had a great time climbing some of the peaks in Stirling Range National Park and seeing some of the park’s unique flora and fauna. Staying in Yardup Cottage was a real treat. Learning about the history of the farm was fascinating and staying in Yardup Cottage really brought it alive. A heartfelt thanks to Richard and Ellen for sharing their impressive farm with us!

We hope all is well with everyone.

Peggy and Marc

Our route map:

Our Own Nature Reserve

Greetings Everyone,

On January 28 we left Dryandra Woodland and continued south toward Perup: Nature’s Guesthouse. Not far from Narrogin we saw billows of smoke rising from a presumed bush fire. As we got closer, a fire brigade had set up a roadblock and told us we needed to find a different route. We were low on gas and really needed to get to Narrogin so they let us through telling us to be very careful. Fortunately, the fire had not reached the road yet and we were able to pass without incident.

Brush Fire Near Narrogin

Once we arrived in Narrogin we found most businesses closed due to it being Australia Day. Luckily a gas station and grocery store were open and after filling up with gas and food we were finally on our way to Perup. We arrived late afternoon and found the gate to the reserve closed but not locked. We entered and found our way to Kulbardi Cottage where we would spend the next week.

Kulbardi Cottage

Perup: Nature’s Guesthouse has an interesting history of great importance to conservation today. It was once the site of a farm but the land was later allocated as a state forest. In the 1970’s Dr. Per Christensen conducted studies here on the effect of prescribed burns on Tammar Wallabies and fox baiting with the poison 1080 was undertaken at the same time. During these studies, the population of Tammar Wallabies increased dramatically and other rare and presumed extinct species like Numbats, Woylies, Western Ring-tailed Possums, Chuditch and Quenda began to appear. Further research confirmed that reducing the fox population led to an increase in the number of native species. Perup: Nature’s Guesthouse was also the site of one of the first nature-based tourism operations in Australia. Today the site is managed by the Blackwood Basin Group, a non-profit community-based organization with sustainability and environmental protection as well as economic productivity in mind.

Peggy at Perup

After getting settled in we went for a walk around the “village” finding the Per Christensen Classroom, Homestead and Bunkhouse. All were empty and hadn’t been used in a while. During the high season, there will be many students attending classes and workshops here. We found the Bandiny Cottage for the caretakers but no one was around. We turned our search toward animals. We had read that Tammar Wallabies often hang out here but we found only Western Grey Kangaroos so we went to Doornart Cottage to check there. Sure enough, we heard the Wallabies in the Melaleuca thickets. One popped out in the open and Marc got a great photo.

Tammar Wallaby

Tammar Wallabies are fascinating animals. We had learned from our guide Mark at Karakamia Sanctuary that Tammar Wallabies have extremely synchronized reproduction meaning that all offspring are born on or around January 22! Females will mate again right after giving birth and hold this second embryo in a dormant state called embryonic diapause for the next 11 months before development resumes in time for birth around January 22 the following year. Amazing! In fact, Tammar Wallabies have the longest embryonic diapause of any mammal. These unusual biological characteristics have led to the extensive study of Tammar Wallaby genetics and their entire genome was sequenced in 2011. The results have provided insight into the evolution of mammalian reproduction and development! 

As dusk approached, I heard a scratching noise on our roof. When I went out to investigate, I found a Common Brushtail Possum emerging from under the eave to start his nocturnal foraging.

Common Brushtail Possum

We went on a night drive along the road spotting more Common Brushtail Possums, Western Grey Kangaroos and a Chuditch or Western Quoll. We returned to Kulbardi Cottage after a long but rewarding day.

Over the next week, we resumed our search for Numbats. We scanned along the Boyup-Cranbrook Road and many side roads for hours on end. The locals came to know the crazy Americans out looking for Numbats and even offered suggestions like “why don’t you try Numbat Road?” but nothing helped. Were we looking too late in the day or maybe it was too hot? The activity of Numbats is linked to the availability of termites near the surface. If it’s too hot, the termites retreat deeper into the ground and the Numbats go to sleep in their log burrows. We were getting numb from searching every log in the vicinity covering hundreds of kilometers over many hours. Time was running out and Perup was the last place on our itinerary where we had any chance of seeing them.

Cruising for Numbats

Not all was lost though. The nocturnal mammals were proving to be much more accommodating. We spotted our first Western Ringtail Possum along the access road leading to the reserve. These critically endangered marsupials are usually found closer to the coast but we were having no problems finding them in Perup. They are mostly arboreal using their white-tipped prehensile tail when moving about and feeding in the trees. 

Western Ringtail Possum

We were also having very good luck with Chuditch or Western Quoll. Marc spotted one posing nicely in a tree along the Boyup-Cranbrook Road, not far from Perup Nature Reserve.

Chuditch or Western Quoll

These marsupials are carnivorous as we were to witness first hand. During a night walk in the reserve, Marc spotted eyeshine on the road. When we went to investigate, we couldn’t find the source of the eyeshine but found a partially eaten Common Brushtail Possum (we think) on the road. We suspected a Chuditch and turned off our lights to wait for the culprit to return and claim his prize. Such enough a Chuditch emerged cautiously from the bushes and retrieved his precious meal!

Chuditch with Prey

A new mammal for us was the Western Brush Wallaby. Normally these macropods are secretive and it’s difficult getting a good view let alone a photograph. Here in Perup they were more inquisitive sometimes pausing in the open allowing us to see their distinctive black gloves hence their other common name, Black-gloved Wallaby.

Western Brush Wallaby

Having the entire reserve to ourselves meant no noise or light pollution. The night sky was amazing! We shut off our headlamps to stare in awe at the Milky Way and to ponder our existence in the endless universe.

Milky Way View from Perup

Our quest for a Numbat continued. During our search, we were seeing plenty of birds like these Western Corella which amassed in large flocks to drink at dams dug to water domestic stock.

Western Corella

Care had to be taken not to hit a Southern Heath Monitor often seen crossing the road.

Southern Heath Monitor

It was February 2 and we were scheduled to leave Perup on the 4th. Time to find a Numbat was running out. We were cruising down Colbalup Road at 10 kph, our standard Numbat-scanning speed when Marc exclaimed: “I’ve got one!”. It was sitting on a log next to the road but frustratingly I couldn’t see it. I told Marc to “get the picture!”. Finally, I was able to spot it. What an endearing creature! All the long hours spent to find one was well worth the effort. We hadn’t seen anyone all morning when wouldn’t you know it a car pulled up to see if we were alright. I hastily waved them off. The last thing we wanted was for them to scare the Numbat away. It posed perfectly on the log for Marc to get an “absolute cracker” of a photo as the Aussies would say! 

Numbat!

It left the log and we lost it from view on the forest floor. We waited and it re-emerged giving us some views of it digging for termites. We were able to follow it for 12 minutes before it disappeared for good. Considering there are only 800 left on the planet we were extremely lucky to find this one.

Numbat Foraging

I’ve always dreamed of having my own nature reserve and this is as close as I’ll come if only for a week. Sharing a home with so many rare and amazing animals truly was a dream come true. A big thank you to the Blackwood Basin Group for managing the facility so effectively and for providing a safe haven for so many endangered animals! 

We hope all is well with everyone.

Peggy and Marc

Our route map: