Stirling Range National Park

The jagged peaks of the Stirling Range have become somewhat of a mecca for bushwalkers and rock climbers in the Great Southern region of Western Australia. These mountains stretch for 65 kilometres from east to west; all peaks offer excellent views and walkers can discover flowering plants at any time of year.

The Stirling Range and the neighbouring Porongurups Range are some 40km north of Albany and are both part of the Stirling Range National Park. The Park covers 2401ha of diverse land; the most striking feature is the mountain ranges. This chain of high, craggy peaks stands out against rolling hills and forest covered valleys running 65km east to west. The granite formations of the Stirling Range and Porongurups were formed 1100 million years ago.

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Highlights

Ellen Peak

Located at the eastern end of the Stirling Ridge Walk. Apart from the first 5kms of firebreak the track is informal and unmarked and easy to lose. A compass traverse may be necessary. Very strong gusty winds and/or boisterous conditions sometimes occur at short notice. Please contact the Retreat office for information regarding access to Ellen Peak.

Walk: 22km return. 10-12 hours. Altitude 1012 metres


Mt. Magog

The walking trail up Mt Magog commences from a lovely white gum/heath picnic area up through the valley towards the summit. The track is overgrown in some places.

Walk: 7km return. 6 hours. Altitude 856 metres


Mt. Trio

Three separate peaks are linked together by a plateau was originally known as Warrungup. The steep walking trail with some scree beings at the carpark with a tourist boardwalk and continues up the plateau at the summit. Here during spring - on the summits - walkers will be rewarded with beautiful mountain bells and southern cross flowers. The mountain slopes are endowed with wildflowers from mid August to October.

Walk: 2km return. 3 hours. Altitude 856 metres


Talyuberlup Peak

A rock hopper's paradise, with interesting chasms, rocky spires and narrow gullies at the summit. Some scrambling over ledges is required.

Walk: 2km return. 2.5 hours. Altitude 783 metres


Mt. Hassel

This popular hike finishes with a short steep scramble over a dome of rock, forming the summit. This is an "easier" hike, with many wildflowers during spring.

Walk: 2km return. 2.5 hours. Altitude 847 metres


Stirling Ridge Walk

The only alpine walking in Western Australia, the Stirling Ridge Walk involves narrow ledges and very steep ascents and descents and much scrambling over jagged rocks and through sharp bush. Violent weather changes including very strong gusty winds, whiteout, sleet or snow can occur with little notice. It usually involves a two night bivouac which may be in these conditions, so walkers must be appropriately equipped. The trail is unmarked and easy to lose, and a compass course may be necessary.

Walk: 22km return. 10-12 hours. Altitude 1012 metres


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Location: 318 km south east of Perth


Highlights

Bluff Knoll

Listed as one of Australia's 25 best hikes, Bluff Knoll is the highest peak in the Stirling Range and indeed the whole southwest of Western Australia. With 360° views at the summit it offers ocean glimpses on a clear day. It's a moderate climb to the top but well worth the effort.

6km return. 3-4 hours. Altitude 1094.97 metres or 656 metres from car park


Toolbrunup Peak

Looking west from Bluff Knoll, Toolbrunup Peak towers above other mountains. With a summit half the size of a tennis court and magnificent 360° views, this mountain appeals to hikers wanting a "top of the world experience". The trail up the mountain is a wilderness track with loose scree encountered for the last 1/5 of the hike. Toolbrunup was burnt in January 1996, caused by lightning strike.

Walk: 4km return. 4 hours. Altitude 1052 metres


Wildflowers

Wildflowers are profuse in September and October, the well camouflaged orchids bloom from mid August to early. From November to January high country walkers find the higher the altitude the more flowers they will discover. From April, enjoy autumn bush walking which can be magic. In winter, (mid May to mid August) when strong southerly wind and widespread frost occurs, there is an increased likelihood of snow on top of the highest peaks. When snow is forecast, weather conditions on the mountain tops are extreme.


Climate

As the only vertical obstacle to weather in any direction, the range also tends to alter weather patterns around itself. Its upper slopes receive significantly more rainfall than surrounding areas. The branch of the Kalgan River, which forms the southwestern border of the park, is fed in large part from precipitation falling in the western half of the range.

The annual rainfall in the plains around the park is quite low compared with the rainy Porongurups to the south, averaging only 575 millimetres on the southern side and as little as 400 millimetres in Borden on the northern side. However, it is believed that rainfall on the peaks near Bluff Knoll may be as high as 1100 millimetres, a hypothesis supported by the existence of distinctly moist-climate pockets of vegetation in some high valleys. Because no rain gauges have ever been placed on the high peaks we cannot be sure of this. Most rain falls between May and August, with summer being very frequently completely dry around Borden for over a month and having typically very light showers in the south and on the peaks.

Temperatures in the lowlands are generally warm. In the summer, average maxima typically are around 30°C (86°F) in Borden and about 27 °C (80 °F) in the southern plains. Summer minima range from about 16 °C (60 °F) in the south to 18 °C (64 °F) in Borden. In the winter, maximum temperatures typically are a very pleasant 16°C (60°F) and minima are about 8 °C (46.4 °F). On Bluff Knoll, winter temperatures range from maxima of about 11 °C (52 °F) to minima of 3 °C (37 °F). These are the lowest temperatures in Western Australia and consequently the Stirling Range occasionally receives snowfalls - the only place in Western Australia to regularly do so, though usually it is very light. Snow has been reported as early as April and as late as 19 November 1992, but is mostly confined to the period from June to September.


History

The plains in the Stirling Range region were the hunting grounds for small groups of Indigenous Australians for thousands of years before European settlement. At least two tribes frequented the area: the Qaaniyan people in the west, and the Koreng people in the east. The Stirling Range played an important role in their culture, appearing in a number of Dreamtime stories.

The first recorded sighting of the Stirling Ranges by a European explorer was by Matthew Flinders on 5 January 1802. While sailing along the south coast of Australia, just east of King George Sound, he noted at a distance of eight leagues (44km) inland a chain of rugged mountains, the eastern-most of which he named Mount Rugged (now called Bluff Knoll).

The first European to visit the majestic Stirling Ranges was Ensign Dale who, in 1832, passed through the area and climbed Mount Toolbrunup. He was followed three year later by the Surveyor General John Septimus Roe, who named the range after Captain Stirling, the Governor of the Swan River Colony. Roe has left us with impressions of the Range which remain unchanged today. In his journal he was lyrical in his praise of this beautiful range. 'The Stirling Range burst on our view in great magnificence as we rounded the crest...The whole extent of the conical summits were spread before us.'

The Colonial botanist, James Drummond, made a number of visits to the Ranges in the 1840s and began the process of scientific exploration which has revealed that there are over 1000 types of flora in the Park of which 60 are unique to the area. Driving through the area, or better still, exploring the park along the many trails and bushwalks, reveals a richness of flora and fauna set against the breathtaking beauty of the ranges which rise sharply from the surrounding plains.

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