Echidna Trail

Hard

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An 11km loop trail through Walyunga National Park above the Avon River, with steep sections and wide valley views — the longest and most demanding of the park's graded walk trails.

☰ Trail details

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Distance

8.49 km

Est. time

2 hr 42 min

Elevation gain

328 m

Route type

Loop

✦ Plan route

Steepest stretch: +61m over ~300m (around the 3.7km mark)

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In an emergency

Call 000 for police, fire or ambulance — Australia's emergency number works even with a weak signal, and without a SIM if any carrier has coverage.

You're in Walyunga National Park, Walyunga, Swan Valley, WA. Mobile reception in this area is not guaranteed — this is exactly why the offline map and GPS position on this page work without signal.

Tell someone your plan and expected return time before you set off. A PLB is the most reliable backup where there's no reception at all.

Tracks & plans

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Species to look for on this trail

Ancient trees and rare flora confirmed in this park. Spot one? Add it as a sighting pin below.

Cinnamon Sun OrchidDocumented on this trail

Thelymitra dedmaniarum

Endangered — AUS: Endangered, WA: CR▾

Endangered — AUS: Endangered, WA: CR

Thelymitra dedmaniarum, commonly called cinnamon sun orchid, is a species of orchid in the family Orchidaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It has a single flat, leathery leaf and up to fifteen cinnamon scented, golden yellow flowers. It is a rare orchid with a restricted distribution.

How to spot it

Thelymitra dedmaniarum is a tuberous, perennial herb with a single flat, leathery, lance-shaped to egg-shaped leaf 70–180 mm (3–7 in) long and 30–50 mm (1–2 in) wide. Between two and fifteen golden yellow flowers often with a reddish brown centre, 40–50 mm (1.6–2.0 in) wide are borne on a flowering stem 250–500 mm (10–20 in) tall. The sepals and petals are 15–25 mm (0.6–1 in) long and 5–8 mm (0.2–0.3 in) wide. The column is yellow or orange, 6–8 mm (0.2–0.3 in) long and 3–5 mm (0.1–0.2 in) wide

Family Orchidaceae · Source: Atlas of Living Australia + Wikipedia: Thelymitra dedmaniarum

Photo via iNaturalist Australia (CC-BY 4.0 (Int)), collected by Felix Nicholls

Purple BeaufortiaDocumented on this trail

Beaufortia purpurea

Data Deficient — WA: Data Deficient▾

Data Deficient — WA: Data Deficient

Beaufortia purpurea, commonly known as purple beaufortia, is a species of flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the southwest of Western Australia. It is an erect or spreading shrub with linear to egg-shaped leaves and purplish-red flowers in dense heads on the ends of branches which continue to grow after flowering.

How to spot it

Beaufortia purpurea is an erect, sometimes open, spreading shrub with long, straight, thin branches and which grows to a height of about 1.5 m (5 ft). The leaves are arranged in alternate pairs (decussate) on the younger branches, so that they make four rows along the stems. The leaves are lance-shaped to egg-shaped while the oldest ones are linear. The leaves are 4–8.5 mm (0.16–0.33 in) long and have 3 or 5 veins. The flowers are purple or purplish red and are arranged in bottlebrush-like spike

Family Myrtaceae · Source: Atlas of Living Australia + Wikipedia: Beaufortia purpurea

Silky EremophilaDocumented on this trail

Eremophila nivea

Endangered — AUS: Endangered, WA: CR▾

Endangered — AUS: Endangered, WA: CR

Eremophila nivea, commonly known as silky eremophila, is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. In nature it is a rare shrub with hairy branches and leaves, and blue, purple or violet flowers.

How to spot it

Eremophila nivea is an erect shrub which grows to a height of between 0.8–1.6 m (3–5 ft). Its branches, leaves and sepals are covered with a layer of soft white to greyish matted hairs giving the plant a silvery-greyish appearance. The leaves are arranged alternately along the branches and are linear in shape, mostly 8–18 mm (0.3–0.7 in) long, 1.5–2.5 mm (0.06–0.1 in) wide and have a covering of woolly hairs. The flowers are borne singly or in pairs in leaf axils on woolly stalks 2–5.5 mm (0.08–

Family Scrophulariaceae · Source: Atlas of Living Australia + Wikipedia: Eremophila nivea

Hibbertia striataDocumented on this trail

Hibbertia striata

Data Deficient — WA: Data Deficient▾

Data Deficient — WA: Data Deficient

Hibbertia striata is a species of flowering plant in the family Dilleniaceae and is endemic to the southwest of Western Australia. It is a spreading shrub with linear leaves and yellow flowers usually with thirty stamens arranged in five bundles around five glabrous carpels.

How to spot it

Hibbertia striata is a spreading shrub that typically grows to a height of 20–50 cm (7.9–19.7 in), its branchlets sometimes covered with pale grey hairs. The leaves are linear, mostly 30–60 mm (1.2–2.4 in) long and 1–2 mm (0.039–0.079 in) wide with the edges rolled under, obscuring the lower surface apart from the midrib. The flowers are arranged singly on the ends of the branches and short side shoots and are sessile with narrowly egg-shaped bracts 6–15 mm (0.24–0.59 in) long at the base. The f

Family Dilleniaceae · Source: Atlas of Living Australia + Wikipedia: Hibbertia striata

Jumping JacksDocumented on this trail

Stylidium longitubum

Near-Threatened — WA: Near-Threatened▾

Near-Threatened — WA: Near-Threatened

Jumping Jacks is a 1952 American semi-musical comedy film starring the comedy team of Martin and Lewis. The film was directed by Norman Taurog, and released by Paramount Pictures. It was one of the military comedies that marked the duo's early career. Brigadier General Frank Dorn, Deputy Chief of the US Army's Information Office praised Jumping Jacks as something that would "contribute to troop morale within the Army."

How to spot it

Real occurrence confirmed near Walyunga National Park (Atlas of Living Australia, 2022) — no separate physical description was available on Wikipedia for this species, see the source link for more.

Family Stylidiaceae · Source: Atlas of Living Australia + Wikipedia: Jumping Jacks

Photo via iNaturalist Australia (CC-BY 4.0 (Int)), collected by Hugo Innes