Just an hour outside of Perth, you’ll find the Paruna Wildlife Sanctuary. Open from May 1-October 31 and nestled in the Avon Valley, the sanctuary is home to picturesque trails, and is an essential wildlife corridor that links its two neighbouring national parks. Filled with a dramatic variety of flora across its varied landscapes, there are hikes for just about every ability level. What is it? A wildlife sanctuary, Paruna is managed by Australian Wildlife Conservancy – Australia’s largest private land owners and managers for conservation. With a diverse range of habitats within the 1,941 hectare sanctuary, Book ahead! It may seem counterintuitive, but by booking ahead online, Paruna closely monitors the number of visitors to the Sanctuary. There’s an $11 entry fee, which helps keep trails well-maintained, as well as contributing to the conservation efforts of the organisation  The Quenda is slightly more difficult, taking around 3 to 6 hours to complete the 6.5km trail, and taking in historic monuments and views of the Paruna Gorge. This walk will have to be booked direct with Family Bushwalking club for numbers and registration and to book yourself and pay entry at Paruna Wildlife Sanctuary. BYO, food, including lunch, snacks, 3 litres of water or more,  raincoat for bad weather, warm clothes for wet weather, waterproof pants,  first aid kit, hiking shoes, warm, dry clothes left in the car and spare shoes for the drive back, if the weather is bad. It is an all - day hike, bring enough food to eat all day, please. If the weather has major storms, heavy rain, thunder, this can be proposed to another day in the July holidays or until Sept/Oct school holidays.    

Overnight Hike from Perth Hill Discovery Centre to Helena Campsite and return (Members only). Saturday Morning to Sunday Afternoon. Approximately 24km total over 2 days. Amazing vista from the Helena Shelter and Amazing Sunrise. Real hiking experience. Drop toilet. Rain water is available at shelter - Water needs to be either filtered or treated with chemical/by boiling to be safe for drinking. Parents are responsible for their children at all times. Walk is graded as 'Difficult' due to uneven ground and steep sections. Helena Campsite is 'new' and very comfortable.  Appropriate gear is required for this walk. Please refer Members' Only resource page of the web site for more guidance. The nighttime temperature may be low. Members may be refused participation if the safety of the group or the participant is compromised by inappropriate equipment. I have a PLB for emergency use, for the safety of the group. Interested members should familiarise themselves with The Risk Management Policy published on the WAFBC website and ensure the safety of your family at all times. We are going into remote environemnt and medical evacuation is usually hours away. Potential risks (which may lead to life-threatening event) on this walk for adults and children are, (1) Snake bite, (2) Thermal burns at fire-pit, (3) Gasto-Intestinal upset from oro-feacal contamination, (4) Musculo-skeletal injuries, (5) Dehydration, (6) Falls, (7) Insect bites, (8) Eye injuries from sticks or plants, and (9) Getting lost in the wilderness.     Assemble Point: Perth Hill Discovery Centre Carpark 15mins before departure time. Mobile coverage is unreliable for much of the Bibbulmum Track, so we will not be waiting long if you are late to the assembly point as there is no way of determining if you are coming or not.  There is no Mobile service at Helena campsite for Optus/Vodafone, weak for Telstra (Unsure about Telstra). PHDC should be a reasonable safe to park your car overnight.  Registration is necessary, this event may be cancelled if there is no registered participant.    Hiking equipment must include these: Suitable attire, sturdy shoes and other personal protection equipment. Water (Minimum 2L per person at departure). Food (Lunch, Dinner, breakfast and snacks) Hiking backpack. Warm sleeping gear  - Sleeping bag and mattress. Tent (The shelter may be busy and space may not be available). Personal Hygiene and toilet paper. Basic First Aid kit. Please keep total pack weight below 10-12kg, including water. Children should not carry more than 10% of their body weight.  There may be option for a day walk, or short overnight walk (eg PHDC to Ball Creek, or PHDC to Mundaring Weir etc) if another family is willing to lead. Please contact Michael Lee for further information. Beginners are welcome and email me if you have any question about gear selection. E: mastcell@gmail.com M: 0421 783 083   

Multi-day Bibbulmum Hike from Brookton Highway Access point to Albany Highway (Sullivan Rock Car Park) - Members only. Parents and grown children(?). Due to the logistics involved, we are making this a adult and grown children event. We will be going at a reasoable pace, and approximately 32.3km over 1 nights. The first section is ~24km from Brockton Hwy to Monadnock shelter. The following morning, 7.4km from Monadnock shelter to Sullivan Rock. Abssinia Rock, interesting flora and fauna, Mt Cuthbert, Mt Vincent. Sullivan Rock. Hilltop view.  Real hiking experience. Camping at Monadnock Shelters. Drop toilet. There is Telstra Wifi most of the way. Rain water is available at shelters (Canning and Monadnock) - Water ought to be either filtered or treated with chemical/boiling to be safe for drinking. There are wigglies in the water tanks. Parents (Adults) are responsible for their children at all times. Walk is graded as 'Difficult' due to uneven ground and steep sections. Brookton Highway to Canning Shelter is 8.6km. Canning to Mondanock is 16.3km. Monadnock to Sullivan Rock is 7.4km. Appropriate gear is required for this walk. Please refer 'Members' Only resource page' of the web site for more guidance. The temperature may be low and the wind can be chilly. I cannot vouch for the safety of parking overnignt at either terminals of the walk. These are isolated locations on major highway and break-ins has been known to happened to hiker's vehicles.  Members may be refused participation if the safety of the group or the participant is compromised by inappropriate equipment. I have a PLB for emergency use, for the safety of the group. Interested members should familiarise themselves with The Risk Management Policy published on the WAFBC website and ensure the safety of your family at all times. We are going into remote environemnt and medical evacuation is usually hours away. Potential risks (which may lead to life-threatening event) on this walk for adults and children are, (1) Snake bite, (2) Thermal burns at fire-pit or from boiling water, (3) Gastro-Intestinal upset from oro-feacal contamination, (4) Musculo-skeletal injuries, (5) Dehydration, (6) Falls, (7) Insect bites, including ticks, (8) Eye injuries from sticks or plants, (9) Getting lost in the wilderness. (10) Exacebation of any existing medical condition, (11) Falling tree and branches - crushing injury, (12) Cuts and bruises, and (13) Injuries caused by unexpected weather.    Assemble Point: Brookton Highway Access point, 15mins before departure time. It may take 60mins or more to get to the access point from your Perth home. Mobile coverage is unreliable for much of the Bibbulmum Track, so we will not be waiting long if you are late to the assembly point as there is no way of determining if you are coming or not (eg 15min past hike time). We can still meet at Canning Shelter later. Telstra is not available at Brookton Highway & Canning. Available at Monadnock and Sullivan Rock, apparently.  Registration is necessary, this event may be cancelled if there is no registered participants. Registration may be cancelled if storm is anticipated. We will walk if only shower is anticipated. Hiking equipment may include the following (I can provide a equipment list if requested): Suitable attire, sturdy shoes and quick dry clothes. Warm overnight clothes. Water (Minimum 2L per person at departure). Food (Lunch, Dinner, breakfast and snacks) Hiking backpack. Warm sleeping gear  - Sleeping bag and mattress. Tent (The shelter may be busy and space may not be available). Personal Hygiene: Sanitiser and toilet paper. Basic First Aid kit. Insect repellent.  Mobile phone, powerbank, and something light for quiet moments like a book or toys or puzzles. Please keep total pack weight around 10-12kg, including water. Children should not carry more than 10% of their body weight.  Please contact Michael Lee for further information. E: mastcell@gmail.com M: 0421 783 083 (Evening ok and preferred)