A few weeks ago we took the opportunity of a milder late summer’s day (technically early Autumn as it was in March) to head out to the Perth Hills to a popular recreational spot called Lake Leschenaultia in the Shire of Mundaring.
It’s actually a man-made lake, originally an old railway dam, and now a pleasant spot for hiking, picnicking and camping. Midweek there was hardly anyone around but at weekends and in the summer months it can get very crowded.
It is another place near our Western Australian home that we had never visited before. Having had it recommended to us by friends, who had spent a few days camping in the area earlier this year, we decided to go and explore more for ourselves. It was about an hour’s drive from our coastal home and reminded us how close to nature we actually are even in the city.
Only a few weeks before the area had been threatened by the terrible bushfires that swept through bushland and settlements in the north east of Perth. Fortunately the Lake Leschenaultia area and nearby Chidlow were spared the devastation of land a little further away.
The name Leschenaultia, which I thought sounded French, actually comes from the colour of the lake which resembles the Blue Leschenaultia flower (or Lechenaultia biloba to give it its scientific name).
We decided to do the lakeside trail that is about 3 kilometres – a very pleasant undulating path through the bushland with plenty of sightings of the local wildlife (fortunately we didn’t see any snakes though!).
At the end of the trail, which took us about an hour with photo stops, we came to the beach by the picnic zone and found some more information about the lake and the resident flora and fauna.
By this stage we had worked up an appetite and the nearby Chidlow Tavern, serving good old fashioned pub food, was just what we needed. We sat in the garden and had the place to ourselves!
I realise that we have been so lucky here in Western Australia with our daily lives rolling along more or less normally.
Wishing everyone all the best this Easter holiday and hope that life will get back to at least a “new normal” soon!
Copyright © 2021 Rosemary Thomas Le Chic En Rose. All rights reserved
Le Chic En Rose 
Very inspiring. 🙂
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Thanks Drake! Hope all is well with you 🙂
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No problems only challenges
– just like rest of the world. 🙂
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Yes it does seem that way at present!
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I skim read this, Rosemay, as I spotted it as I was just about to publish. A tricky weekend here. Will explain more later. Take care 🙂 🙂
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No problem at all Jo – look after yourself. I can add a link to this post to your walk for next time (just thought of that!). I’ll be in touch again soon, take care xx 🙂
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At the hospital now collecting a friend 🤗💕
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Just realised you’ve beaten me to it – thanks so much Jo! xx
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🤣💕
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I was going to ask you about the name Lake Leschenaultia as it doesn’t sound very Australian and then you explained. It is a pretty flower but I can’t see that the lake is that colour, maybe due to the clouds. Always good to have a different destination to visit and it does look like a nice place. We have a few lakes / reservoirs here in Cornwall but so far I have only walked around one of them! Need to improve on that. Hope you had a good Easter weekend, pretty much like any other weekend here and the northern winds have returned making it somewhat wintry!
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Yes I did realise when I looked at the photos that you’d hardly describe the lake as blue! It was quite cloudy that day though and it must be bright blue when the sun is shining. We’re trying to visit a few different places when we get the chance and this was worth the ride (only an hour to get there from home). We had a very nice Easter weekend – do realise how lucky we are. My dad said they had had flurries of snow in Yorkshire and it started to hail when I was Skyping him yesterday! Hope ti brightens up soon and the easing of restrictions, albeit gradual, brings some light at the end of the tunnel for everyone! 🙂 🙂
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No need to apologise Rosemary for having a near normal life, we just have a total idiot for a PM and a cabinet that changes its mind as often as the direction of the wind!
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Alas so true – all I can do is sympathise and hope for better things to come fro you. One thing that has stood out her for us here in WA is having a premier who hasn’t been afraid to make tough decisions. You can’t mess around with this thing – of course our isolation helps too!
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True. The UK is a very busy and crowded island.
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It’s just easier to be in a bubble when you’re a long way from anyone else!
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It does sound very “normal”. Hopefully, we can be normal again soon 🤞🏻.
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Really hope so Anabel – it’s obviously been a really tough time. Hopefully spring helps (though gather it’s really cold again at the moment)! 🙂
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I love the look of that beach – the one pictured after the warning sign – and I can just imagine spending an afternoon there with a picnic and a good book 🙂
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It’s definitely a place to relax and enjoy a slower pace of life. We were lucky as there was no one around when we visited as it was midweek 🙂
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