We were keen to visit the Stirling Ranges and in particular climb Bluff Knoll, so from Walpole we drove to Moingup Springs Campground which is inside the Stirling Range National Park.  It is a well set out campground not far off the road and has gas bbq’s and flushing toilets, a real bonus.

The day after setting up camp and just relaxing a bit we got up early and prepared ourselves for the climb to the top of Bluff Knoll.  The climb is a Class 4, so hopefully wasn’t going to be to bad.  The start of the climb was quite easy then it started to get a bit harder and after about an hour we were starting to feel every step.  It is only a 3km walk to the top but by halfway we were really starting to see how much we were out of condition.  We ended up having quite a few “rest stops” on the way up and the view was worth the effort.  We had a clear sunny day that ended up getting fairly warm so we felt we earnt our long rest at the top.

The following day after climbing Bluff Knoll was quite warm so we just did an easy day drive along Stirling Range Drive that took you past a few lookouts.  The road also took you along a few high points that let you take in the nice vistas.  I think the best time to visit the Stirling Ranges would be in spring when there would be a lot more flowers out, might be a bit cold though so bring your thermals.

From the Stirling Ranges we travelled down to the Porongurup’s for a couple of days so that we could do a few walks around the area.  This was a massive 40km drive for the day.  We stayed at the Porongurup Range Tourist Park, a small little park but well run with good facilities.  It was also raining when we got there so our planned walks for the afternoon were looking grim.  As luck would have it the weather cleared by about 1:30pm so it was on with the walking shoes and off.

Our first walk took us past the Tree In The Rock, up to Hayward Peak then around to Nancy Peak and Morgan’s View.  It was listed as a Class 4,  5.5km walk but seemed a lot easier than a Class 4.  One thing that really stood out was the difference in landscape between the Stirling Ranges and the Porongurup’s.  From a distance of only 40km between the two the change in flora was very striking.  The Stirling Ranges were a lot drier with low greenery and the Porongurup’s were quite lush, almost tropical with moss on rocks and tall trees. As we got closer to the top of this walk the clouds were coming over again and at the top we did get a little wet as well as on the way down.

Day two in the Porongurup’s and we were going to do the Granite Skywalk.  Apparently at the top of this walk/climb there was a skywalk that you could climb up to.  This was also listed as a Class 5, 4km return walk so we were preparing ourselves for something similar to Bluff Knoll.  If you compare the two walks we both felt that the Bluff Knoll walk was a lot more strenuous with more rock climbing compared to this one.  We weren’t complaining mind you.  The only bit that we thought could have been classed as difficult was the last bit of access to get to the skywalk.  We felt that this last bit was what made it a Class 5.  The Skywalk is very impressive when you get to it and a very clever piece of engineering.  The views are worthwhile to.

Both the Stirling Ranges and Porongurup’s were great trips and we really enjoyed our time at both places. The difference between the both of them when they are only about 40 kilometres apart is amazing.  The Porongurup’s must get a lot more rain that the Stirling’s.  Would definitely come back here again, I think spring would be a good time.