Bluff Knoll abuzz for WA Day long weekend

Bluff Knoll was a hive of activity over the WA Day long weekend, with hundreds of hikers flocking to the Stirling Range National Park for the first time since the Boxing Day bushfires forced its closure.

The trail has been closed since December, when the fires tore through almost 40,000ha, cutting off access to one of the Great Southern’s key tourist attractions.

But after months of work, the new “family-friendly” trail was opened to the public on May 22.

Stirling Range Retreat owner Virginia Hammer said the venue was fully booked over the WA Day long weekend.

“To have visitors exploring the area and to have a good number of guests booking in for the weekend was a huge relief for us,” she said.

Ms Hammer said there were queues of cars waiting to get into Bluff Knoll.

“Everyone needs to be commended because there was a lot of patience, they were determined to hike and certainly having to line up to get to the carpark can be frustrating but well worth it in the end,” she said.

She said the support had been overwhelming.

“I just want to thank everyone who did support us over the long weekend and over this whole period since restrictions have been able to be eased,” she said.

“Just coming out to say hello or staying for a night or two — we’ve really appreciated that. We are looking forward from here.”