Main Club, 30 March 2025

It was a blustery morning after a hot spell in Perth. Overnight, we had around 3 mm of rain, but with a strong wind from the east, it was pleasant weather, although not good for bird watching or taking photos of plants or animals.

The excursion was a great success, with two people participating. We came prepared with plastic bags and gloves, and I had brought my camera and binoculars, just in case there was anything to see or photograph. Since there were only the two of us, we decided to do the 2 km loop track over the waterfall and back down along the quarry. We parked at the carpark at the base of 60 Foot Falls and saw a rubbish bin overrun by meat ants, even with a closed lid. On the way up alongside the falls, we met many other people with their child(ren) and/or dog, taking advantage of the partially overcast weather. We collected rubbish on our walk, and the main items were white tissue (toilet?) paper, dog poo in bags, cigarette butts and coffee cups with lids. It wasn’t a huge haul but seeing this along the track where families with young children walk was still disconcerting.

Along the way, we had great views of the dry granite-based waterfall down into the valley and out towards the skyscrapers of Perth CBD. The Wireleaf Mistletoe (Amyema miquelii) was in full flower, and the New Holland Honey Eaters were seen feeding on the nectar produced by the flowers. We could also hear other birds, including Fairy Wrens, possibly a Pardalote, and Australian Ringneck parrots. The only other flowering plants observed were the Marri (Corymbia calophylla), Mouse Ears (Calothamnus rupestris), and the Chocolate Lily (Dichopogon preissii).

We finished our walk around 11 am and went home after a quick drink, satisfied that we had contributed to keeping the track clean of rubbish and hoping other people would start doing so as well. After all, it is no great effort to take your rubbish with you and drop it in the rubbish bin provided in the car parking area.

Jolanda Keeble