SOMETIMES you don’t see what is right under your nose, and in our case, it was the Swan River. We have walked parts of the river over the years but usually our focus is longer trails in the Perth Hills or further afield. One day we asked ourselves what if we do the whole thing and hike the Swan River, or at least, most of it? Can we even do that?
The much-loved Swan River geographically and culturally divides Perth’s northern and southern suburbs. Therefore, we would hike along the northern and southern banks of the river, making it one big loop.
To the Whadjuk Noongar people Derbarl Yerrigan (meaning Swan River) was and still is important spiritually. Evidence of Indigenous occupation of the Swan River Plain dates back at least 40000 years. According to their Dreaming creation story, the Wagyl Rainbow Serpent moved through the landscape creating the waterway and physical features along the way.
European explorers
In 1696, Dutch explorer Willem De Vlamingh, sailed up the river, naming it after the black swans that
