Yanchep is a national park in

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

, north of

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

adjacent to the locality of the same name

Yanchep Yanchep is an outer coastal suburb of Perth, Western Australia, north of the Perth CBD. It is a part of the City of Wanneroo local government area. Originally a small crayfishing settlement, it was developed by entrepreneur Alan Bond in the 1 ...

. The park is noted for its caves, native bush and

koala The koala or, inaccurately, koala bear (''Phascolarctos cinereus''), is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial native to Australia. It is the only extant representative of the family Phascolarctidae and its closest living relatives are the womb ...

colonies. It also offers cultural educational programmes offered in partnership with the local

Nyoongar The Noongar (, also spelt Noongah, Nyungar , Nyoongar, Nyoongah, Nyungah, Nyugah, and Yunga ) are Aboriginal Australian peoples who live in the south-west corner of Western Australia, from Geraldton on the west coast to Esperance on the so ...

people.

History

The area was inhabited and was a noted hunting site for thousands of years by

Indigenous Australians Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...

prior to the arrival of Europeans. The tribal name for the park is ''Nyanyi-Yandjip'' named after the reeds and lake which were thought to resemble the hairy mane of the

dreamtime The Dreaming, also referred to as Dreamtime, is a term devised by early anthropologists to refer to a religio-cultural worldview attributed to Australian Aboriginal mythology, Australian Aboriginal beliefs. It was originally used by Francis Ja ...

creature the Waugul. The word Yanchep is derived from ''Yandjip'' or ''Yanget'' which is the aboriginal name for the local

bulrush Bulrush is a vernacular name for several large wetland grass-like plants *Sedge family (Cyperaceae): **''Cyperus'' **''Scirpus'' **'' Blysmus'' **''Bolboschoenus'' **''Scirpoides'' **''Isolepis'' **''Schoenoplectus'' **''Trichophorum'' *Typhacea ...

reed Reed or Reeds may refer to: Science, technology, biology, and medicine * Reed bird (disambiguation) * Reed pen, writing implement in use since ancient times * Reed (plant), one of several tall, grass-like wetland plants of the order Poales * ...

found fringing the lakes in the area. The first

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

an visitor arrived in 1834 when John Butler, a farmer, came in search of his lost cattle and noted the presence of the lakes,

wetlands A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...

and plentiful game. While in the area Butler was greeted by the men of the ''Yellagonga'' peoples who inhabited the area. Lieutenant

George Grey Sir George Grey, KCB (14 April 1812 – 19 September 1898) was a British soldier, explorer, colonial administrator and writer. He served in a succession of governing positions: Governor of South Australia, twice Governor of New Zealand, Go ...

travelled through the area in 1838 and made note of the remarkable caves he found in the area. Surveyor

John Septimus Roe John Septimus Roe (8 May 1797 – 28 May 1878) was the first Surveyor-General of Western Australia. He was a renowned explorer, a member of Western Australia's legislative and executive councils for nearly 40 years, but also a participant in t ...

and Governor John Hutt visited the caves in the park in 1841. A road survey was conducted near Loch McNess in 1862 and later in 1865 a stock route was built through the area that was later used by drovers. The first settler to arrive in the area was Henry White who arrived in 1901 and built his house near the north west shore of

Yonderup Lake The Wanneroo wetlands are a series of wetlands, swamps and lakes that occur on the Swan Coastal Plain of Perth, Western Australia. They are linked very closely to the Gnangara Mound. They are in part, incorporated into the Yellagonga Regional P ...

, he was later appointed as a caretaker and guide in 1903.

Flora and fauna

The park is home to a diverse range of flora and fauna. Trees such as

banksia ''Banksia'' is a genus of around 170 species in the plant family Proteaceae. These Australian wildflowers and popular garden plants are easily recognised by their characteristic flower spikes, and fruiting "cones" and heads. ''Banksias'' range i ...

paperbark ''Melaleuca'' () is a genus of nearly 300 species of plants in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, commonly known as paperbarks, honey-myrtles or tea-trees (although the last name is also applied to species of ''Leptospermum''). They range in size f ...

tuart ''Eucalyptus gomphocephala'', known as tuart, is a species of tree, one of the six forest giants of Southwest Australia. Tuart forest was common on the Swan coastal plain, until the valuable trees were felled for export and displaced by the urb ...

, marri,

she-oak The Casuarinaceae are a family of dicotyledonous flowering plants placed in the order Fagales, consisting of four genera and 91 species of trees and shrubs native to eastern Africa, Australia, Southeast Asia, Malesia, Papuasia, and the Pacific Is ...

and stunted

jarrah ''Eucalyptus marginata'', commonly known as jarrah, djarraly in Noongar language and historically as Swan River mahogany, is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a tree with roug ...

are found in the woodland areas. Wildflowers including

parrot bush ''Banksia sessilis'', commonly known as parrot bush, is a species of shrub or tree in the plant genus ''Banksia'' of the family Proteaceae. It had been known as ''Dryandra sessilis'' until 2007, when the genus '' Dryandra'' was sunk into ''Bank ...

, yanchep rose, catspaw and

kangaroo paw Kangaroo paw is the common name for a number of species, in two genera of the family Haemodoraceae, that are native to the south-west of Western Australia. These rhizomatous perennial plants are noted for their unique bird-attracting flowers. T ...

are also found. The park provides habitat for several species of native mammal, including the

quenda The southern brown bandicoot (''Isoodon obesulus'') is a short-nosed bandicoot, a type of marsupial, found mostly in southern Australia. It is also known as the quenda in South Western Australia (from the Noongar word ''). Taxonomy George Shaw ...

western grey kangaroo The western grey kangaroo (''Macropus fuliginosus''), also referred to as a western grey giant kangaroo, black-faced kangaroo, mallee kangaroo, sooty kangaroo and (when referring to the Kangaroo Island subspecies) Kangaroo Island grey kangaroo, is ...

and

black-glove wallaby The western brush wallaby (''Notamacropus irma''), also known as the black-gloved wallaby, is a species of wallaby found in the southwestern coastal region of Western Australia. The wallaby's main threat is predation by the introduced red fox (' ...

. It lies within the

Northern Swan Coastal Plain Important Bird Area The Northern Swan Coastal Plain Important Bird Area comprises a 2307 km2 tract of land in south-west Western Australia. Description The Important Bird Area (IBA) stretches from the city of Perth northwards along the coast to the town of ...

, so identified by

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding ...

because of its importance in supporting several thousand

short-billed black cockatoo Carnaby's black cockatoo (''Zanda latirostris''), also known as the short-billed black cockatoo, is a large black cockatoo endemic to southwest Australia. It was described in 1948 by naturalist Ivan Carnaby. Measuring in length, it has a sh ...

s during the non-breeding season.BirdLife International (2011) Important Bird Areas factsheet: Northern Swan Coastal Plain. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 3 September 2011.

Activities

Yanchep National Park is open year-round and offers a variety of nature-based activities for visitors. For visitors there is an entry-fee for all vehicles entering the national park that must be paid.

Walking trails

Yanchep National Park has nine marked trail walks that cater for different abilities and levels. Walks range from family-friendly short trails of 500m to challenging trails up to 46.2 km. Each trail showcases the unique biodiversity of the northern Swan Coastal Plain.

Caves

Yanchep National Park has over 400 caves. Among these is Crystal Cave which is the only tourist cave located in Perth. Crystal Cave can be visited on guided tours departing four times daily from the Visitors Center.

Wangi Mia Aboriginal Experience

The Wangi Mia Aboriginal Experience is available as a public tour on Sunday and public holidays. Wangi Mia offers opportunities to explore more about the local Noongar culture.

Koala Boardwalk

Yanchep National Park is home to a colony of Koalas. These can be viewed on the 140-metre-long Koala Park that allows close-up views of the koalas. There are also daily talks providing more information about koalas and their habitat.

Picnic and barbecue areas

Yanchep National Park has many picnic and barbeque areas. There are gas barbeques available free of charge along with wooden tables and benches.

Trees Adventure Yanchep Park

The Trees Adventure Park has seven adventure courses suitable for different abilities. Each course consists of rope and zipline challenges. The adventure park is suitable for children aged 4+.

Restaurant and tea rooms

Chocolate Drops Tea Rooms is located next to the visitor's center and serves simple homemade food, including sandwiches, muffins and homemade chocolate. The Yanchep Inn is a fully licensed restaurant open 7 days a week and serves breakfast, lunch and dinner.

References

External links

Yanchep National Park (official website)
{{authority control National parks of Western Australia Protected areas established in 1957 Wanneroo wetlands Important Bird Areas of Western Australia State Register of Heritage Places in the City of Wanneroo 1957 establishments in Australia Yanchep Koalas