Dwellingup
The village of Dwellingup is situated 100 km south of Perth, the capital of Western Australia. It sits at the heart of the vast hardwood Jarrah forest that defines the region. The uniqueness of this natural environment cannot be overstated; southwest Western Australia has been named as a “global biodiversity hot spot” — one of only 34 hot spots nominated around the world, and the only one in Australia.
As well as offering the seclusion of the natural environment the area also has many outdoor activity opportunities. The Bibbulmun Track, a 900km walk trail between Perth and Albany, and the Munda Biddi, a mountain bike trail covering a similar distance. Both trails converge in Dwellingup and are only metres from the doorstep of the residency. Lane Poole Nature Reserve and the Murray River, only a few kilometres from town, provide access to canoeing, rafting, swimming, bushwalking and bush camping. The Hotham Valley Tourist Railway, located in the centre of Dwellingup, runs midweek and weekend forest tours on their historic steam (winter) and diesel (summer) locomotives.
A mountain bike trail centre is currently being built in the centre of Dwellingup to cater for visitors who will be accessing the 80km of extra mountain bike trails that are also being built in the area. This will make Dwellingup a significant tourist hub and is expected to greatly increase the numbers of tourists that already come to the town for its country charm and myriad leisure activities.
Dwellingup has a population of around 500 people. It is a very quiet and friendly place and you can see the entire town on an evening stroll; of interest is the Marginata Heritage Precinct, based around Marginata Crescent, this is an area of historic timber mill workers cottages that people have as their homes. The local shire council marked this area as a Heritage Precinct to conserve the history and aesthetic atmosphere of the town.
Facilities in Dwellingup include two cafes, a historic pub, general store, post office, roadhouse service station, canoe, raft and mountain bike hire, the Forest Discovery Centre and a number of gallery/gift shops. These are all right near the residency/gallery in the centre of town. Even though the house and gallery are in the centre of town, just metres away you will find the tranquillity of the native forest. There is also a cidery/winery in town and another winery 7km to the west. Caraholly Orchard, down River Rd and a 2 minute drive from town, has an open day every Sunday with fresh fruit and veg on offer, food trucks and activities for the kids. It is quite an attraction and draws people from all over the region to get their fix of country life.
Dwellingup is halfway between Perth and Bunbury which is the gateway to the Margaret River region, an area that is world renowned for its award winning wineries and big surf coast. The nearest town to Dwellingup is Pinjarra, 25 kms to the west. Pinjarra is a sizeable town, one of the oldest in Western Australia, and is a good destination for hardware supplies and items that cannot be accessed in Dwellingup. A further 19km to the west from Pinjarra is Mandurah, a large coastal population centre with all the amenities and retail options that may be needed. Mandurah is one of the fastest growing cities in Australia; it has many restaurants and bars, a vibrant performing arts centre and a magnificent coastline of sandy beaches as well as a large inland estuary famous for its Blue Manna crabs.
The area around Lost Eden Creative is part of an internationally significant region of stunning biodiversity. Western Australia is host to the longest unbroken evolution of plant species on the planet. Eighty per cent of the 8000+ species found in South Western Australia can be found nowhere else on earth. The forest has many species of tree, primarily eucalypts of which Jarrah, Marri and Blackbutt are predominant but there are also Casuarinas and many species of Banksia.
The forest is also home to Kangaroos, Wallabies, possum, and other strangely named marsupials such as the Chuditch, numbat, bandicoot and Mardo. You’ll spot Kangaroos easily at dawn and dusk as they graze in nearby paddocks. Birdlife is abundant, you will see and hear the raucous call of Black Cockatoos, watch for the flash of red from the under feathers of the red tailed variety. Emus are common and if you’re lucky you’ll catch a glimpse of the male with his brood of stripey feathered young. Crows, magpies and currawongs share the canopy with small and colourful parrots as well as tiny birds such as Willy Wagtails and the stunning blue of the male Blue Wren. Snakes are active in the warmer months but are wary of humans and you will rarely, if at all see them.
The topography of the land is low rolling, forest covered hills. The Darling Range is one of the oldest geological landforms on earth. The hills do not reach great heights though some bush tracks can be steep.
