Bushtracks Winter 2025
In this Bushtracks, we invite you to appreciate the importance of long-term monitoring throughout all stages of our adaptive Conservation Management Process (CMP).
I sit with my hands touching the granite beneath me, connecting to a landform estimated to be over 2.5 billion years old. The wind lifts briny-smelling air from the Southern Ocean below. Taking deep breaths, my eyes scan the unique shapes of ancient monoliths jutting from the horizon – a deep sense of calm returns.
My happy place, the Fitzgerald River National Park, is in the south-west corner of the continent between Albany and Esperance, Goreng, Menang and Wudjari Country, Western Australia. When I spend time here, it’s as though nature is nurturing me. As someone who spent most of my professional life nursing, I’m quick to recognise the feeling of care – and once I’m immersed in the bush, I sense it being directed towards me.
It’s particularly special to visit during winter and spring. From lookouts like Point Ann or Cave Point, my husband and I witness Southern Right Whales calving in the crystal-clear bays along the coast, or Humpbacks and orcas passing by. They, too, seem to find the park a place of solace and support.
Phytophthora dieback has meant that what was once a 330,000-hectare park is now split into east and west. So, during our visits, I’m often comforted when I see areas sanctioned off and under management. Some might be frustrated by these slight interruptions, but I see these as reminders of the protection needed to keep the park healthy. I believe this is urgently true for so many of Australia’s landscapes – and it’s part of the reason I decided to leave a gift in my Will to Bush Heritage.
Just as we heal from spending time in the bush, we need to do everything we can to help it heal, so it can be enjoyed and experienced by future generations.
Viktoria King is a lifelong Bush Heritage supporter.
Image Information
Royal Banksia (Hakea Victoria) and Barrens regelia (Regelia velutina) are two of the Fitzgerald River National Park's many remarkable flora species. By Viktoria King
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