Karragarup Nature Reserve & Cook’s Point

Karrargup, translated as Place of Crabs by the Wardandi people, is a small peninsula nature reserve overlooking the Leschenault Estuary.

Sheok trees grace the length of this shoreline and along the Swan Coastal Plain. The Wardandi call them Kwella trees or the tree of names, as they are said to hold the voices of all those (people) gone before. They are like a repository of collective spirit.

The reserve has an 1.5km gravel nature trail winds through the reserve and Cook’s Point hugging the Leschenault Estuary. It is perfect for bird spotting and taking in the views of the serene estuary across to the

To the east is the Eaton – Australind Historic Trail, including the paperbark scenic walk.

The reserve also forms part of the Kalgulup Region Park.

History

Europeans named the very tip of Karragarup Nature Reserve, Cook’s Point, after the pioneering Rodgers family of nearby Cook’s Park Farm. The story told is that sons of the Rodgers family were required to learn to cook before they were old enough to join their father with farm duties, hence the name Cook’s Point.