Nancy Peak & Devil's Slide, Porongurup National Park - January 2010

January 2010 saw Sam and I on a bit of a road trip home from Perth, we detoured via the south west corner of Western Australia. On our way to Albany we stopped off at the Porongurup National Park so I could check out the Nancy Peak & Devil's Slide walk. Sam decided to wait at the car and catch up on some reading while I headed up onto the granite covered hills.

The Stirling Ranges in the distance.

Looking towards Marmabup Peak and the Devil's Slide from near Nancy Peak.

After leaving the car park the route quickly heads up towards the top of a ridge that is the Porongurup Range, once on the ridge crest there were constant views in all directions. First up I headed east onto a large granite dome where I took a bit of a breather, getting a few photo's of the Stirling Ranges in the distance. Leaving the eastern most peak I made my way along the ridge, crossing Hayward Peak and Nancy Peak on the way. From the view point just to the west of Nancy Peak I got a look at the pass that I had to descend into before I could climb up the Devil's Slide, most of my hard won metres were going to be lost before I managed to set foot on the Devil's Slide, oh well.

Looking east along the crest of the Porongurup Range.

Devil's Slide looked even more impressive once I reached the pass, The granite slabs looked very smooth and slippery however once I started up a navigable route presented itself. The route up the Devil's Slide to Marmabup Peak twists and turns a bit looking for easier sections of rock to scramble up, but generally the climb was fairly easy. Once on the top of Marmabup Peak I got similar views to which I had on Nancy Peak, the only difference was that I was looking at a mirror image, looking back towards my route over Nancy and Hayward Peak's.

To the north is the Stirling Ranges.

To the south is the Southern Ocean and Albany.

Looking down the Devil's Slide to the pass, you can see the fire track in the karri trees.

Eventually I figured it was time to head back down to Sam, taking care on the descent to the pass over the smooth granite slabs. Once at the pass I headed down the fire track to the car park which provided an easy ramble to finish the walk with the added interest of walking through the most easterly karri forest in Western Australia. Arriving back at the car hot and thirsty we headed off to Albany for shower and a couple of days R&R.

The Dirt.
I used the notes out of the 5th edition of Lonely Planets Walking in Australia, the walk is fairly straight forward so the map and notes in the book are probably all you need. Porongurup National Park is in the south west of Western Australia and is worth a visit if your in the area, the park isn't huge but has enough to keep you occupied for a day. I walked 7 kilometres on this walk, the walk itself is fairly easy although there are a few sections of steep smooth granite slabs that have to be negotiated so if your nervous on rock maybe the walks a medium. Also once out of the karri forest and on the ridges there is no shade so come with a hat in summer.

Looking back along the range towards Nancy Peak.

On Marmabup Peak.