Rockingham Off the Beaten Path Tips by Purpleshade

This macadamia nut orchard is about 15 mins drive east of Rockingham, (about 30 mins south from Perth)
You can stroll around the orchard, and have a guided tour of the processing plant (by arrangment for groups-see website).
The orchard looks east over the coastal plain to the Darling Range, you can see the hills in the distance in the photo.
Free tastes of the nuts with different flavourings are available in the shop, (to encourage you to purchase of course), they are quite delcious. As well as the nuts, you can buy macadamia saplings and products made from the nuts.
The shop also serves very good plunger coffee, and tea in a proper teapot to go with their home-made cookies, and has a pleasant shaded outdoor cafe area.
It's a pleasant drive from Rockingham (see map on website for directions), it's well sign-posted and easy to find. You go through rural areas where you will see the typical 'bush' vegatation of the locality, lots of large gumtrees and native shrubs.
You may even see some wildlife, we saw two bobtailed lizards on our drive there. (see photo). Do not mess with these lizards, they defend themselves with an awesome bite. This one was at least 30cms(12") long from nose to tail. It was slowly crossing the road.

You can combine this outing with a visit to the Baldivis Nature Reserve, only a short distance away the other side of the freeway if you'd like to see more flora and fauna.

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Phone: (08) 9524 2223
Website: www.macnutswa.com.au

This beautiful little patch of bush is situated on the corner of Baldivis Road and Fifty Road, behind Baldivis school.
In spring and early summer it at it's best, full of flowers, and as soon as you're out of sight of the road, it feels as though you are out in the bush miles from anywhere.
At the entry to the reserve there is a wooden box with leaflets telling you about the place, be careful though when you open the box, there was a large wolf spider in there the day we went! (wolf spiders are not poisonous). The leaflet explains the many varieties of native flora and fauna you are likely to see, markers along the way pointing out items of interest. It suggests coming for an evening walk with a torch to spot possums, geckoes and night birds such as Tawny frogmouths and Boobook Owls.

Flaura and fauna are protected here, you are not allowed to pick the flowers! Please stay on the paths to protect the fragile environment. Please take your litter home with you.

It's only a 15 min drive from Rockingham, and not hard to find. Go out of Rockingham along Dixon Road, at the end turn right into the Old Mandurah Road. A couple of kilometres further along, turn left into Fifty road.

There is a footpath to follow but it's not sealed and is rough and overgrown in places. Good walking shoes/boots are recommened. Not suitable for wheelchairs/pushchairs or those who are unsteady on their feet.
There are no toilets and no-where to get a drink here, make sure to bring some water, it gets hot wandering about in the bush.

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