Australasia

Hikes and Walks in Western Australia

March 18, 2026

Returning to Australia after a nine-year hiatus, I chose to base myself in one of the two remaining states that I had not yet visited, Western Australia (WA). Over 7 weeks I did several hikes in the nearby Perth Hills, numerous local bushland walks, as well as three hikes on a road trip excursion to the wine-growing region of Margaret River to the south. Finally, I flew to Adelaide in South Australia to watch some tennis, and enjoy a couple of walks in that city, which I took the liberty to include in this post.

Local Walks

From my base in Queenspark, in the southern suburbs of Perth, I had direct access to some local bushland for walking. Perhaps 4-5 mornings a week when I had no great motivation for hiking would find me walking either here, or in nearby Canning River Park, which had the great advantage of being only a couple of minutes’ drive to either of the supermarkets I frequented.

Bushland balcony view from my apartment in Queenspark

Mr and Mrs Galah from my balcony (zoom), drying their wings on a rare rainy day

Queenspark bushland pond. Note the viewing platform on the far left.

The artistic Queenspark bushland viewing platform

Snakebush in flower, Queenspark bushland

A rather poor photo of Candlestick Banksia. The austral spring would have been much better for wildflowers, most of which by midsummer were but distant memories.

Dawn from my balcony, overlooking the local park adjacent to the bushland

Canning River park view from one of the bridges

Rainbow lorikeets in the early morning at Canning River Park

Compacted feather-flower, Canning River park

Hikes in the Perth Hills

A major advantage of my location in Queenspark was the easy access to numerous trails in the Perth Hills just to the east. The closest was a 20-minute drive, and all the following photos were on hikes no farther than 40 minutes from my apartment. Most were between 8 and 12 km with 300 to 400 m elevation gain — perfect for some morning cardio before the temperature became too excessive.

A rock eating a tree, Helena River loop, Kalamunda & Beelu National Parks

Pink mulla mulla (*Ptilotus exaltatus*), looking a lot like feather dusters to me, Helena River loop

View towards the Ellis Brook Falls. The falls were completely dry by this point in the summer.

Panorama towards Perth in Lesmurdie Falls National Park. Along with the adjacent Mundy Regional Park, this was the nearest park in the Perth Hills and I did several different loop hikes here.

Lesmurdie Falls, actually still flowing a bit in the high summer

Lesmurdie Falls plateau vista with eucalyptus

Landscape with grass-tree gum, Kattamorda Track and Lion’s Lookout loop, Korung National Park

*Fuscia grivellia*, Korung National Park

A typical forest path, Korung National Park

A panorama on the Kattamorda Track and Lion’s Lookout loop

Adelaide, South Australia

Obviously not Western Australia, but the tennis fan in me could not resist three days at the Adelaide tournament. About 2100 km from Perth, Adelaide is the nearest city. (Indeed, Perth is considered the most remote city in the world). Some early morning walks along the Torrens River were definitely in order.

Torrens River heading downstream (East) from my hotel, Adelaide

The Torrens River, upstream (West) from my hotel. I fortunately left early to beat the Saturday 8 AM Park Run crowds.

Margaret River

Seven weeks in Western Australia wouldn’t have been complete without at least one road trip, and a three day excursion to the secluded south-west Australia wine growing region of Margaret River was mine.

Approaching the beach and dunes, Boranup Beach Loop, Leeuwin Naturaliste National Park. Here the Indian Ocean is exhibiting lovely shades of blue.

Boranup Beach with kelp. For the most part I had the entire beach to myself this mid-week day.

Cowarawup Bay, Ngari Capes Marine Park, on the Cape-to-Cape Track. My hike was to and from Wilyabrup Cliffs, 15 km round trip

Ghost trees along the Margaret River. A portion of my walk was in the Wooditjup National Park. Another early morning start allowed me to beat the 8 AM Saturday Park Run.

Well, I made it back to the UK from Malaysia on a 14-hour non-stop flight from Kuala Lumpur. A few days here and then onward to Utah for some warm and dry weather. Enjoy the spring wildflowers,

The Vagabond Hiker

Travels with Clifford

February 23, 2024

As long-time followers of this blog may know, my youngest brother, Clifford, has both graced many photos and been behind the lens for quite a few more. Beginning with Maui in 1990, Clifford and I explored Belize in 1993, Wales with our dad in 2000, and coastal California and the Southwest US numerous times since 2007. More recently we traveled and hiked together in Tasmania and mainland Australia in 2017, Malta in 2018, Ireland in 2019, and Costa Rica in 2022. Clifford’s innate curiosity, far-reaching knowledge, boundless enthusiasm, and child-like sense of wonder for the natural world enriched my travels in so many ways. Here are some recent fond memories. . .

Posing with stringy bark eucalyptus, Franklin River Nature Trail, Tasmania, Australia, 2017

Scratching an alpha male Forester kangaroo, Tasmania

Smiling from inside a hollow eucalyptus, Notley Gorge, Tasmania

Investigating a termite mound, Bed Boyd National Park, New South Wales, Australia, 2017

Admiring the vista at Kalarranga Lookout, Finke Gorge National Park, Northern Territory, Australia, 2017

Enjoying the strata, Kings Canyon, Northern Territory

At a cliff-edge along the south coast of the island of Gozo, Malta, 2018

Admiring the cliffs from his kayak, Dwejra Bay

Looking up into the canopy from under a Dragon tree, San Diego Botanical Garden, 2022

Standing with an impressive yucca, San Diego Botanical Garden

Posing with an endangered Elephant tree at Torote Bowl, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, California, 2022

Under California Fan Palms, Anza-Borrego

At the trailhead of the Domelands Loop, Coyote Mountains Wilderness, California, 2022

Making empanadas with Valerie, Guanacaste, Costa Rica, 2022

At Toroweap Overlook on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, Arizona, 2023

Smiling with our brother, Mark (c), and me, the Dingle Peninsula, Ireland, 2019

Clifford Blizard

1970-2024

Carpe Diem!

Kent Blizard, the Vagabond Hiker

Rapa Nui (aka Easter Island) Archeological walks

February 16, 2019

Easter Island, or Rapa Nui in the native language of the Polynesian people that first settled there, is one of the most remote inhabited islands in the world. (Tristan da Cunha in the southern Atlantic Ocean also lays claim to this title, depending on how one considers the year-round Antarctic base several hundred miles away). It is also not cheap to fly as LATAM airways is the only airline flying the nearly 2500 miles from Santiago (Rapa Nui is legally part of Chile) with between one and three flights per day depending on the season and day of the week. While providing the locals with much-needed income, the limited number of flights has the benefit of keeping the island from being over-run with tourists and their concomitant infrastructure that could easily ruin the whole experience.

Its compact size, interesting topography, and good road access to much of the island make Rapa Nui an ideal place to enjoy nature as well as the archeological remains from the Polynesians. Essential to planning your visit and appreciating the sites is A Companion To Easter Island (Guide To Rapa Nui) by James Grant Peterkin. We spent five night in a small AirBnB cabaña where we were able to rent a small 4×4. While we saw all the main sites, there were several more hikes to do had we more time – and had my gout not flared up!

Pastoral view from the Te Ara O Te Ao trail near its trailhead just west of the airport at *Matarevi*

*Hanga Roa* from the *Te Ara O Te Ao* trail. *Hanga Roa* is the only town on the island and where virtually all visitors stay. The runway is also visible in this photo.

*Rano Kau* crater and wetland. This is the only wetland on *Rapa Nu*i and contains many endemic species.

Three islets off the southwest coast of *Rapa Nui*. The *Tangata manu*, or bird-man, was the winner of the competition to collect the first sooty tern egg of the season from *Moto Nui* (the largest islet shown here), swim back and climb the sea cliff to the village of *Orong*o.

*Rapa Nui* coastline near *Ana Kai Tangata* caves

Bird-man pictographs, *Ana Kai Tangata*.

*Hanga Roa* coastal view of the pebble beach and some restaurants and shops. Everything was expensive on the island, but the local seafood was excellent.

Petroglyphs at *Papa Vaca* (literally “stone canoe.”) Images at this site include fish hooks, tuna, canoes, turtles, and even one shark.

*Rano Raraku* quarry. If you visit one site on Easter, *Rano Raraku* with its over 400 *Moai* at various stages of production should be it. While you can walk the paths in less than an hour, plan on spending a morning here.

*Moai* in profile at *Rano Raraku.* Nearly all of the almost 900 known *Moai* were carved from tuff, compressed volcanic ash.

*Tongariki Moai* and platform (*ahu*) from behind. This is the best example of the skill involved in constructing *ahu* for the *Moai*. Like all *Moai*, these had been toppled over during the civil wars on *Rapa Nui* and only recently restored.

The fifteen *Moai* at *Tongariki*. Note the top knot on the 2nd from the right *Moai.* Several others had similar red scoria (basaltic) head gear, but they have since been destroyed.

The “traveling” *Moai* at *Tongariki*. It was loaned to Japan for the 1970 World’s Fair and returned. In contrast, the British Museum, despite tearful entreaties from the Rapa Nui, has held the Hoa Hakananai’a for 150 years.

*Rano Raraku* quarry site seen from *Tongariki*.

*Anakana* platform (*ahu*) and *Moai,* many showing top knots. *Anakana* is one of only two white sand beaches on the island, popular with locals on the weekend.

*Moai* on its back at *Akahanga*. Very unusual since during the civil wars most *Moai* were toppled onto their faces to destroy their power.

Several top knots at *Vaihu*. Once thought to be hats, they more likely represent the hair style of the time. Only some of the later *Moai* were adorned with these massive basaltic sculptures.

And one final image to leave you with. . .

*Tongariki* and the rugged east coast of *Rapa Nui* from *Rano Raraku*

Right now I am relaxing on my balcony overlooking the Pacific Ocean just north of Viña del Mar in Chile, planning my travels through the summer and will shortly update my calendar accordingly. My next blog post, in a couple of weeks, will be a smorgasbord of different hikes and walks I did on mainland Chile this past month. In the mean time, enjoy the outdoors where ever you happen to be.