Rocky Pool — Attraction in Piesse Brook

It was a beautiful spring day when we set out for the rocky pool hike. At some parts it was difficult and others easy. It was a great work out but I would not waste your time if you are expecting beautiful scenery. The rocky pool although stated has water year round was quite disappointing. Looked like puddles and smelt pretty bad. I definitely wouldn't want to swim in there.

Second the Kalamunda Shire's website directions are not very well written so make sure you have a map. Although we had an online map we still ended up lost and way off track. Just for the record I am Canadian where hiking is quite an enjoyable pass time for me and I have never been lost on a hike until this one. The trail markers are few and far between. At the end of the trail it wants you to join another trail called the Bibbulum track. These markers are yellow triangles with snakes on them. (they are not just warning you to watch out for them) This was our mistake usually if a trail has been blue markers the whole time you would put blue markers as well as the other trail markers together so you are on the right path. Not the case, the right hand turn is a very small pathway and very easy to miss, so don't! Kalamunda National park should have a legend with all the different trail colours so hikers can be aware or write in your directions that the markers change.

We planned for an hour and a half 5km work out/scenery and instead we got a 4 hour exhausted, frustrating hike. We ran out of water, thankfully I brought a bag with many essentials in it but, didnt plan for 4 hours. We finally ran into some other hikers whom were also lost by the directions. I managed to get reception at the rocky pool and called the shire of Kalamunda. The lady was helpful but had no problem making me feel like an idiot with comments like, should of came here first, the trail has directions for a reason, etc...As I said before never been lost on a hike. I tried to download an interactive map but my phone was not loading and I was starting to feel anxious as it was quite warm and we had run out of water. Calling this lady was my comfort and she didn't know how to talk to a stressed individual. In the end she said she hadn't even done the trail herself.

Lessons learned; pack more water, don't assume a marked trail is actually marked properly, and the rocky pool is nothing to phone home about. Next up Ellis Brooke Reserve. Hoping...

Oh.. my.. god!!! Where were the direction signs ??!!!! Ok, the walk… yes, the downhills are a bit scary. Rocky… yep! Loose… yep! But a great challenge and we had a lot of fun. The pool, amazing :) had a dip, yep, cold but it was 30 degrees so who cares! We took a picnic and had a great time. But, please! Where oh where were the direction signs??!! The city of whatever signs are worn and hard to spot and we o boyishly missed a MAJOR one because after rocky pools we tried to get back , missed it… ended up in a different car park and on the road and then had to do a 4km trek along the roads AROUND the park to get back to the car. Here’s a tip! If you take the trek where the first direction is UP UP UP and then you encounter DOWN DOWN DOWN… if you reach a point where you’re getting echidna I formation and lovely park walk signs about flora and fauna … YOUVE GONE TOO FAR!! Ok, they still get 4 stars… the walk is brilliant. I know some people say they took their kids and dogs but they must have been going from the other tail which is nice and flat because there is no way I could get my kids to do that walk without major whinage ! The down hill on the challenging walk had to be taken very slowly, step by step and while I found it fun and exciting I can’t really imagine a non adventurous kid or a dog doing it (and I’m pretty sure you’re not supposed to have a dog in a national park anyway). But I can’t imagine it would ever be over visited, and it’s so peaceful and pleasant and a great walking challenge. Yep, go the other trail for a more comfortable east picnic and have a wonderful time but for the challenging walk… god! If you hit a car park you don’t recognise, turn around and try again! Just turn around and try again. If you hit road … nope! It’s not easier to keep going. Please put more signage...

Escape the sun with this awesomely shady and easy hike. The rocky pools fill up in the wet season and in the dry season this is one of the absolute best hikes for shade. If you go in summer then finish your hike by sitting on the grass with an apple slushy (or cider tasting board) at core cidery - 14 mins drive away. There is a network of hiking trails that cross Rocky Pools so if you want to explore those the get the All Trails app. The most common one is walking straight to the pools and back (about 40mins, no app needed). It’s relatively flat with only one or two hills and a very wide, clear and well-maintained red dirt path. My favourite hike is 7km and it’s a more scenic variation of this. You start around the car park and go left up the mountain (narrow path), around into Kalamunda national park with beautiful views as you walk around the mountain, and back down where you return back onto the flat and wide rocky pools track. That is my absolute favourite. Also if you want a very very intense hike of approx 18km or a bit more, then do the rocky pool hike but continue walking straight after the pool and it will connect you to the Helena River walk (which is a very hilly loop with no shade). When you hit the small foot bridge about 10 mins after passing the rocky pools, that is roughly when you are about to intersect with the Helena river walk. Get the all trails app so you know where to go. This is such a good network of hikes and a great starting point with lots of shaded parking and restaurants nearby when you finish, I will explore...