Kingfisher Trail (6km)

Located in Walyunga National Park, this six kilometre easy trail follows the river upstream to Syd’s Rapids before heading up a steep gravel track. This area was burnt a few years ago and now has a thick understory of regrowth with the burnt eucalypt trunks visible above. It intersects with the Echidna and Kangaroo trails.

Walyunga National Park covers 1,800 hectares of the Darling Range, tucked behind the Darling Scarp, covering both sides of a steep valley. Just to the east of the park, in the picturesque Avon Valley, the Avon River joins the Brockman River to form the Swan River which passes through the tree lined valley. Walyunga contains one of the largest known Aboriginal campsites around Perth and was still in use by the Nyoongar people late last century. The area has been used as a meeting place for more than 6000 years. Walyunga is an Aboriginal name, but its meaning is uncertain. Local Nyoongar people believe the Swan River was carved by the Waugal, and greet the dreamtime serpent here by rubbing sand on their bodies and throwing it in the water. The Swan River is the main attraction in the park as it thunders through in winter and meanders by in the drier months, lined with smooth granite boulders. The walk trail starts beside the lower pool in Walyunga and follows the river to Syd's rapids and then ascends into the woodland. The trail markers are blue footprints and are designed to be followed in an anti clockwise direction.