Bells Rapids
Last time we went to Bells Rapids, there was no water. Not a drop. It’s hard for a Marylander to understand this.
However this visit, where it may not have been as much water as John was expecting, given the amount of rainfall we had been having, I surely got to see another view of the place.
Bells Rapids is situated where the Avon and Swan rivers meet in the Northern reaches of the Swan Valley.
Winter is the best time for adrenaline junkies to get the most out of Bells Rapids. As the rain comes the Avon swells, turning the peaceful rocky trickle into a compressed torrent of white water fun.
It was so hard to believe this was the same place we had visited in summer.
Many of the deep churning pools in the wet season turn into beautiful swimming holes that are absolutely perfect for a refreshing dip.
When we were there these flowers, that John told me were not native to the area, were everywhere.
Native to South Africa, Watsonia species were introduced as garden ornamentals to Australia in the mid-19th century and were widely grown by the 1940s. In the South-West of Western Australia, six species have become naturalised from garden escapes along rivers, wetlands and seasonally wet ground.
Bells Rapids and the surrounding Jumbuck Hill Park are nice places to take a casual walk around quiet native bushland. Sure doesn’t look anything like the woods we have in Maryland.
Without a shadow of a doubt the number one activity in the wet season here is white water kayaking.
