Nancy Peak Circuit

Moderate

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4.5-mile loop over Nancy Peak and Devils Slide, the longest maintained walking trail in Porongurup National Park with panoramic views over the range.

☰ Trail details

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Distance

3.29 km

Est. time

1 hr 18 min

Elevation gain

256 m

Route type

Loop

Steepest stretch: +82m over ~300m (around the 0.6km 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 Porongurup National Park, Porongurup, near Albany, 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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About this hike

Nancy Peak Circuit is the longest maintained trail in Porongurup National Park, a loop over Nancy Peak and the exposed granite ridge of Devils Slide that showcases some of the oldest rock walkers can stand on anywhere in Australia -- Porongurup granite dates back roughly 1.2 billion years, formed when the ancient Antarctic and Australian landmasses collided. Much of the route runs beneath a remnant stand of karri forest, an unusual outlier hundreds of kilometres from the species' main range in WA's cooler south-west corner. From the granite domes along the ridge, views extend south over farmland to the jagged peaks of the Stirling Range on a clear day. The mix of ancient exposed granite and tall karri forest in the space of a single loop is what makes this one of the most distinctive short walks in the Great Southern region.

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.

Marianthus granulatusDocumented on this trail

Marianthus granulatus

Near-Threatened — WA: Near-Threatened▾

Near-Threatened — WA: Near-Threatened

Marianthus granulatus is a species of flowering plant in the family Pittosporaceae and is endemic to a restricted part of the southwest of Western Australia. It is a twining shrub or climber with often clustered, egg-shaped to heart-shaped leaves and pale blue flowers with darker blue spots and yellow streaks, arranged in groups of three to five.

How to spot it

Marianthus granulatus is a twining shrub or climber with silky-hairy, warty new shoots. Its adult leaves are egg-shaped to heart-shaped and often clustered, 20–45 mm (0.79–1.77 in) long and 8–18 mm (0.31–0.71 in) wide on a petiole up to 3 mm (0.12 in) long. The flowers are borne in groups of three to five on hairy peduncle 30–40 mm (1.2–1.6 in) long with bracts up to 4 mm (0.16 in) long. The sepals are linear, blue and silky-hairy, 4–5 mm (0.16–0.20 in) long. The five petals are pale blue with d

Family Pittosporaceae · Source: Atlas of Living Australia + Wikipedia: Marianthus granulatus

Mountain VillarsiaDocumented on this trail

Ornduffia calthifolia

Endangered — AUS: Endangered, WA: CR▾

Endangered — AUS: Endangered, WA: CR

Ornduffia calthifolia, also known as mountain villarsia, is a species of plant in the Menyanthaceae family of wetland plants that is endemic to Western Australia.

How to spot it

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

Family Menyanthaceae · Source: Atlas of Living Australia + Wikipedia: Ornduffia calthifolia

Karri

Eucalyptus diversicolor

SW WA giant forest tree▾

SW WA giant forest tree

Australia's tallest tree species, karri can exceed 80m in height and forms towering old-growth forest through the Southwest's high-rainfall belt, including the Boranup Forest and the lower slopes of the Porongurup Range.

How to spot it

Smooth light grey to cream bark that sheds annually in plates and ribbons, exposing patches of fresh white bark underneath; lance-shaped leaves on very tall, straight trunks. Look for stands along the Boranup Forest section of Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park and through Porongurup National Park.

Family Myrtaceae · Source: Wikipedia — Eucalyptus diversicolor

Photo: Boyup (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Wikimedia Commons

Wildlife you might see on this trail

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

Brazier's Bothriembryontid Land Snail

Bothriembryon brazieri

Data Deficient — WA: Data Deficient▾

Data Deficient — WA: Data Deficient

Bothriembryon brazieri is a species of tropical air-breathing land snail, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Bothriembryontidae. This species is endemic to Australia.

How to spot it

Real occurrence confirmed near Porongurup National Park (Atlas of Living Australia, 2023) — no separate physical description was available on Wikipedia for this species, see the source link for more.

Family Bothriembryontidae · Source: Atlas of Living Australia + Wikipedia: Bothriembryon brazieri

Photo via iNaturalist Australia (CC-BY-NC 4.0 (Int)), collected by Kevin Bull

Thick-Legged Pygmy Trapdoor Spider

Bertmainius tumidus

Endangered — WA: Endangered▾

Endangered — WA: Endangered

Bertmainius tumidus is a spider in the family Migidae. It was first described in 2015 by Mark Harvey, Barbara York Main, Michael Rix and Steven Cooper, and is endemic to South-western Australia.

How to spot it

Real occurrence confirmed near Porongurup National Park (Atlas of Living Australia, 1993) — no separate physical description was available on Wikipedia for this species, see the source link for more.

Family Migidae · Source: Atlas of Living Australia + Wikipedia: Bertmainius tumidus

Dugite

Pseudonaja affinis

Near-Threatened — WA: Near-Threatened▾

Near-Threatened — WA: Near-Threatened

The dugite is a species of highly venomous, potentially lethal snake endemic to Western Australia, a member of the family Elapidae.

How to spot it

The dugite is a venomous snake, considered dangerous. It is coloured grey, green, or brown. The colours vary widely between individuals and are an unreliable means of identifying the species. Black scales can be scattered over the body; their scales are relatively large with a semi-glossy appearance. The most distinguishing characteristic is the head that can be rather small and indistinct from the neck. A dugite's body is long and slender in build and can grow up to 2 metres (6 ft 7 in) in tota

Family Elapidae · Source: Atlas of Living Australia + Wikipedia: Pseudonaja affinis

Photo via iNaturalist Australia (CC-BY-NC 4.0 (Int)), collected by Kevin Bull

Western Grey Kangaroo

Macropus fuliginosus

IUCN Least Concern▾

IUCN Least Concern

A large, common kangaroo of southern Australia, ranging from south of Shark Bay across coastal Western Australia and South Australia into western Victoria and the Murray-Darling basin; it does not occur in Tasmania or far north Queensland.

How to spot it

Distinguished from the eastern grey kangaroo by darker grey-brown fur, darker colouration around the head, and sometimes a blackish patch near the elbow. Males can be up to twice the size of females; look for them grazing in open woodland, coastal heath and farmland edges across the southern mainland.

Family Macropodidae · Source: Wikipedia

Photo: Charles J. Sharp (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Wikimedia Commons

Baudin's Black-Cockatoo

Zanda baudinii

IUCN Critically Endangered (2021)▾

IUCN Critically Endangered (2021)

Baudin's black-cockatoo is confined to the tall karri and marri forests of far south-western Australia, where it relies on old-growth hollows for nesting and marri seed capsules for food. It is easily confused with the more common Carnaby's black-cockatoo but has a distinctly longer, narrower bill adapted for extracting marri seeds.

How to spot it

About 56cm, dark grey-black with fine pale scalloping, white cheek patches and a white-banded tail - near-identical to Carnaby's black-cockatoo except for its longer, narrower upper mandible. Best told apart by habitat: Baudin's sticks to tall karri/marri forest rather than Wheatbelt woodland. Its wailing call is softer and higher-pitched than Carnaby's.

Family Cacatuidae · Source: Wikipedia; IUCN Red List

Photo: Paul Weber, paulweberphoto.com (CC BY 4.0) via Wikimedia Commons