Mount Frankland National Park

Introduction

Mount Frankland, known as Caldyanup to the local Aboriginal people, rises up out of the karri, tingle and jarrah forests north of Walpole. It is a granite monadnock – a residual hill standing well above the surface of the eroded landscape that surrounds it. At 411 metres above sea level, the views from the summit are worth the climb, offering sweeping panoramas of the surrounding countryside.The understorey of the tall karri trees reveals tassel fl owers, bracken fern, green kangaroo paws, white clematis and the oddly named snottygobble tree. Forest wildflowers bloom in late spring. Birdlife is prolifi c, making this a wonderful location for keen birdwatchers. There are grey shrike-thrushes, golden whistlers, robins, three species of black-cockatoos (red-tailed, short-billed and long-billed), western rosellas, parrots, lorikeets, kingfishers and cuckoos, to name just a few. By day, the brown goshawk and collared sparrowhawk hunt; at night, the tawny frogmouth, southern boobook and the owlet-nightjar emerge from their hiding places.Camping, picnicking, rock-climbing and bushwalking are the national park’s main recreational activities. For walkers, there is Rockwood Trail (1.5-km loop, 30 minutes, easy), which starts at the carpark and traverses the base of Mount Frankland. On the climb to the summit (1 km return, 30 minutes, medium difficulty) walkers have to negotiate concrete steps and a metal ladder. A reasonable level of fitness is required due to the steepness of the climb. On top of Mount Frankland is an operational fire-spotting tower. Rock climbers come to Mount Frankland for the granite style of climbing, which ranges from single to multi-pitch climbs.

Fact file

Camping

Fernhook Falls

Location and access

327 km south of Perth; 29 km north of Walpole via North Walpole and Mount Frankland roads

Park Information

CALM Walpole (08) 9840 1027

Size

30 830 ha

Where to Stay

Walpole (08) 9840 1111

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Explore Australia’s National Parks

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