Hakea Trail

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A rugged 23km coastal walk in Fitzgerald River National Park from Cave Point to Quoin Head, marked with Royal Hakea emblem markers, per DBCA.

☰ Trail details

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Distance

16.38 km

Est. time

4 hr 29 min

Elevation gain

275 m

Route type

Point to point

Steepest stretch: +37m over ~300m (around the 15.3km 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 Fitzgerald River National Park, Fitzgerald River / east of Hopetoun, 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.

Barrens LeschenaultiaDocumented on this trail

Lechenaultia superba

Near-Threatened — WA: Near-Threatened▾

Near-Threatened — WA: Near-Threatened

Lechenaultia superba, commonly known as Barrens leschenaultia, is a species of flowering plant in the family Goodeniaceae and is endemic to near-coastal areas of southern Western Australia. It is an erect, spreading shrub with crowded, narrow, fleshy leaves and yellow, red, or yellow and orange flowers.

How to spot it

Lechenaultia superba is an erect, spreading shrub that typically grows to a height of 30–70 cm (12–28 in) and has rough bark. The leaves are crowded, fleshy, 11.0–22.5 mm (0.43–0.89 in) long and narrow. The flowers are arranged singly on the ends of branchlets and are yellow, red, or yellow and orange. The sepals are 6.0–7.5 mm (0.24–0.30 in) long and the petals 17–23 mm (0.67–0.91 in) long with soft hairs inside the petal tube. The wings on the lower petal lobes are 1.7–2.8 mm (0.067–0.110 in)

Family Goodeniaceae · Source: Atlas of Living Australia + Wikipedia: Lechenaultia superba

East Barrens WattleDocumented on this trail

Acacia argutifolia

Near-Threatened — WA: Near-Threatened▾

Near-Threatened — WA: Near-Threatened

Acacia argutifolia, commonly known as East Barrens wattle, is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is endemic to the south of Western Australia. It is a low, spreading, intricate shrub with linear phyllodes, spherical heads of pale yellow flowers, and narrowly oblong, somewhat papery pods up to 40 mm (1.6 in) long.

How to spot it

Acacia argutifolia is a low, spreading, intricate shrub that typically grows to a height of 20–70 cm (7.9–27.6 in), dividing at ground level into three or four main branches. Its phyllodes are linear, triangular in cross section, 6–13 mm (0.24–0.51 in) long and about 1 mm (0.039 in) wide with a midrib prominent on the lower surface. There are stipules 1.5–2 mm (0.059–0.079 in) long at the base of the phyllodes. The phyllodes are sharply-pointed and glabrous, sometimes with a gland on the upper s

Family Fabaceae · Source: Atlas of Living Australia + Wikipedia: Acacia argutifolia

Conostephium prolatumDocumented on this trail

Conostephium prolatum

Data Deficient — WA: Data Deficient▾

Data Deficient — WA: Data Deficient

Conostephium prolatum is a species of flowering plant in the family Ericaceae and is endemic to the south of Western Australia. It is an erect shrub usually with narrowly egg-shaped or narrowly triangular leaves with the narrower end toward the base, and more or less pendulous, spindle-shaped, cream to straw-coloured and dark purple flowers.

How to spot it

Conostephium prolatum is an erect shrub that typically grows up to 1 m (3 ft 3 in) high and wide, and has many branches from near its base. The leaves are narrowly egg-shaped or narrowly triangular with the narrower end toward the base, sometimes linear, 10–22 mm (0.39–0.87 in) long and 1.8–4.2 mm (0.071–0.165 in) wide on a petiole 0.8–1.3 mm (0.031–0.051 in) long. The upper surface of the leaves is glabrous and shiny, the lower surface more or less glabrous but paler. The flowers are more or le

Family Ericaceae · Source: Atlas of Living Australia + Wikipedia: Conostephium prolatum

Pinelike FeatherflowerDocumented on this trail

Verticordia pityrhops

Endangered — AUS: Endangered, WA: Endangered▾

Endangered — AUS: Endangered, WA: Endangered

Verticordia pityrhops, commonly known as East Mount Barren featherflower or pine-like featherflower, is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a single-stemmed shrub which is densely-branched with crowded narrow linear leaves giving the impression of a miniature pine tree. When it flowers in autumn, the shrub is completely covered with masses of very small, honey-scented, pinkish-purple flowers.

How to spot it

Verticordia pityrhops is a shrub with a single, thick, densely branched main stem and a few side branches and which grows to a height of 20–60 cm (8–20 in) and 15–30 cm (6–10 in) wide, although some specimens grow to as high as 1.5 m (5 ft). Its leaves are dark green and crowded, narrow linear, almost needle-like, 7–14 mm (0.3–0.6 in) long with a pointed tip. The flowers are scented and arranged in corymb-like groups near the ends of the branches, each flower on a stalk 2–4 mm (0.08–0.2 in) long

Family Myrtaceae · Source: Atlas of Living Australia + Wikipedia: Verticordia pityrhops

Leucopogon compactusDocumented on this trail

Leucopogon compactus

Near-Threatened — WA: Near-Threatened▾

Near-Threatened — WA: Near-Threatened

Leucopogon compactus is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae and is endemic to the south of Western Australia. It is an erect shrub with oblong leaves and dense clusters of white, tube-shaped flowers.

How to spot it

Real occurrence confirmed near Fitzgerald River National Park (Atlas of Living Australia, 2015) — no separate physical description was available on Wikipedia for this species, see the source link for more.

Family Ericaceae · Source: Atlas of Living Australia + Wikipedia: Leucopogon compactus

Qualup Bell

Pimelea physodes

Fitzgerald River wildflower icon▾

Fitzgerald River wildflower icon

One of the signature wildflowers of the Fitzgerald River Biosphere, the Qualup bell displays showy red, purple, green and cream bracts around tiny greenish flowers, blooming from July to October.

How to spot it

Small shrub 0.2-1m tall with a single basal stem and opposite, egg-shaped to narrow-elliptical leaves; the pendulous, multicoloured bell-shaped bract clusters are unmistakable. Found on sandplains and hillsides through Fitzgerald River National Park.

Family Thymelaeaceae · Source: Wikipedia — Pimelea physodes

Photo: Melburnian (CC BY 3.0) via Wikimedia Commons

Wildlife you might see on this trail

Animals confirmed in this park. Spot one? Add it as a sighting pin below.

Dibbler

Parantechinus apicalis

Endangered (IUCN)▾

Endangered (IUCN)

A small, mouse-sized carnivorous marsupial thought extinct until it was rediscovered at Cheyne Beach in 1967. It survives in a handful of coastal heath and mallee remnants on WA's south coast and a few translocated island populations.

How to spot it

Grey-brown fur flecked with white, a distinctive white eye-ring, and a short tapering tail (unlike the long brush-tipped tail of similar dunnarts). Strictly nocturnal — most likely detected via camera trap or spotlighting in dense coastal heath-mallee.

Family Dasyuridae · Source: Wikipedia: Dibbler

Greg Schechter, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Western Ground Parrot

Pezoporus flaviventris

Critically Endangered (EPBC Act)▾

Critically Endangered (EPBC Act)

One of Australia's rarest birds, with fewer than 150 individuals surviving, almost entirely within Fitzgerald River National Park and neighbouring Cape Arid National Park. It nests and feeds on the ground in dense coastal heath.

How to spot it

Grass-green plumage with black streaking and pale-yellow wing bars, a red band above the bill, and pale yellow eyes. Almost never flies unless flushed — far more often heard than seen, giving a high, bell-like call at dawn and dusk.

Family Psittaculidae · Source: Wikipedia: Western ground parrot

Brent Barrett, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Western Bristlebird

Dasyornis longirostris

Endangered (IUCN)▾

Endangered (IUCN)

A secretive, near-flightless songbird confined to a handful of coastal heath sites in south-west WA, with Fitzgerald River National Park hosting one of its most closely studied populations. Researchers have tracked how individual birds' home ranges respond to and recover from bushfire here.

How to spot it

Grey-brown, scalloped plumage, a rufous tail shorter than other bristlebirds, and a red eye. Skulks low in dense shrubland and is far easier to hear (a sharp, ringing call) than to spot.

Family Dasyornithidae · Source: Wikipedia: Western bristlebird

JJ Harrison, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons