Hi, everyone! This week, I ended up going for a hike at both Trigg Bushland and Gooseberry Hill National Park. It has been somewhat warm out lately, but I went early enough in the day where the heat wasn’t unbearable. Both the hikes were really enjoyable!
Trigg Bushland Reserve
Trigg Bushland Reserve is a spot I’ve passed by a number of times on the bus on my way to go snorkeling along the coast. I’ve been meaning to check it out and finally I did. What a cool hiking spot it was!
The trend of my hiking lately has been that… no one else is out hiking – like when I recently went to Neerabup National Park. Another trend has been – no (large) wildlife!
The hike around Trigg was lovely. The trails inclined high enough at some points where I was getting views of the ocean from the top, which was a major plus. Along the trail were signs for quendas, which are actually the bandicoots that I saw many moons ago back at Lesmurdie Falls. Unfortunately, no quendas. In fact, the only notable wildlife was a golden orb-weaving spider. I was so shocked to spot this guy. He was somewhat large and had a huge abdomen. After looking it up online later, I discover that their webs make for a useful silk and their abdomen is apparently rather yummy and tastes like pâté if cooked! Imagine that.
I must admit, I was on the hunt for snakes. With it being warmer out, it’s the perfect time to spot them along hiking trails as they like to sun themselves… but no such luck. Maybe it was my luck that I hadn’t spotted any. But alas. I don’t want to get bitten, but I’d like the chance to observe them again. The experience at Neil Hawkins Park was rather fleeting, although still magical.
While I didn’t see much wildlife at the park aside from the spider, a cricket, and some birds, it was still really pleasant. The views of the ocean were incredible and the terrain looked quite different compared to many of the other hikes I’ve been on. With it being so close to the water, there were sand dunes along the trail and different vegetation. A great hike!
Gooseberry Hill National Park
Gooseberry Hill National Park is located near Kalamunda, a spot where I’ve gone on a few hikes in the past. It took about an hour and a half to get to by bus but ended up being a really cool spot.
I had to walk down some suburban streets for a while before I got to the park. I was searching for a park entrance, but to no avail. There don’t seem to be many trails at Gooseberry Hill, but there is one thing called the “Zig Zag Scenic Drive,” which I decided to walk down. It is what it sounds like… a route that zigs and zags down the side of the hill. The drive is currently closed down to the public, but the road itself is really narrow. It’s essentially a two-way bike path and when cars are allowed on it, they can only drive downhill.
The trail offered some lovely views of downtown Perth. There were lots of trees, some boulders, and off in the distance there were cackling kookaburras.
But, yet again, no wildlife! This is the third time I’ve been out and about while hiking and hadn’t seen any larger wildlife. When I first got to Australia, I was seeing plenty of large King’s skinks. Then I was seeing bobtail lizards, but no King’s skinks anymore. Then I saw a snake, and now nothing! Haha. But as I know and have said before, wildlife is… wild. And you can’t predict when you’ll see a sighting. I’ve been lucky to have been able to see skinks, lizards, a snake, an echidna, kangaroos, emus, etc. since being here. And that’s only on land. So many amazing creatures! I really love spotting these creatures out in the wild, so I have to admit I am a little disappointed when I don’t see them.
BUT… sometimes a hike is just a hike. There doesn’t have to be wildlife. Taking in the views of the city from afar, of the surrounding trees and flora. That is enough, too. My friend Jason, whom I traveled to Kalbarri with a few months back, told me that people have very positive responses physically and mentally to being in nature. I find that to be true!
Art of the Week
I decided to draw a stinger this week! Not quite the jellyfish that I got stung by recently, this is a bluebottle jellyfish, which are deadly and evil.
Reflections
As of today, I have two weeks left at work. While I’m looking forward to being free from a job, I couldn’t help but feel somewhat melancholy when I received my final roster the other day, realizing “That Monday is my last day working with Putu, Tuesday is my last day with CJ,” etc. These people have been such a special part of my time in Perth and I will be sad to part ways with them. We have a (delayed) Christmas party tomorrow night, so I’m looking forward to dancing and laughing with my coworkers before I go.
About a week ago, a 16 year old girl was killed by a bull shark in the Swan River. I mentioned bull sharks after my Bicton Baths snorkel, but they are allegedly the most aggressive of sharks. The girl was apparently riding jetskis with friends. According to news reports, after perhaps spotting a pod of dolphins, the girl jumped in the water and was attacked not long after that. It’s a very sad story and is crazy to think that something wild like this could happen at any time. She was the first person in a century to be killed by a bull shark in the river.
Some other things to note (this is mostly for myself, when I reread these in the future) – my housemate has taken to calling me “Sunflower,” which is an apt nickname since sunflowers are my favorite flower. AND one of our skippers at work was singing random, goofy songs while we were packing up the other day at the end of the shift. It reminded me of my dad, who is constantly coming up with the most ridiculous songs.
Another interesting new development is that I found out a coworker of mine is planning on heading up north in March as well. We’ll have to see what happens, but we lightly discussed the possibility of me joining her trip which would be amazing. Who knows.
All in all, it has been a good week. Next week, I’m going to go to Rottnest with Kory as a delayed Christmas present for him, but other than that I don’t have too many plans. Stay tuned!
Thank you for reading!