Yanchep National Park

Drop into the visitor centre to get information about the park and browse through the great range of gifts and souvenirs available. See a good selection of local arts and crafts on display or find something uniquely Australian.

Book your Crystal Cave tour or Aboriginal Experience at McNess House Visitor Centre.

You can also purchase an annual park pass for Yanchep National Park for $20. Other park passes are also available.

McNess House was built around the remains of a two-roomed stone hut called the hunting lodge, which dates back as far as 1880s. It was constructed in January 1932 to provide hostel style accommodation. The House also catered for visitors, with afternoon teas and meals being served in the dining room and the grassed area out the front of the building.

Loch McNess is extremely significant to the Aboriginal people of the area. According to Aboriginal tradition, the lake is inhabited by a Waugal (rainbow serpent) and the activities of the Waugal ensure that the springs that feed the lake continue to flow.

The Lake was originally known as Yanchep Lake. Aboriginal people dug the starchy tubers of the yangeti (bulrush) from Yanchep Lake, hence the name, which means 'place of the bulrush'. Yangeti was a very important food for indigenous Australians. Historic records also record the name Mambibby for the area ('mam' means 'father', and 'bibby' means 'breast milk' or 'mother').

It was renamed after philanthropist Sir Charles McNess donated £11,600 to the State in the 1930s to alleviate distress among the large numbers of unemployed. The donation was used by the State Gardens Board to employ sustenance workers on major developments within the park. They extended the sealed road from Wanneroo, connected a single wire telephone, reclaimed and ramped the foreshore of the lake, supplied the park with power and water, built internal roads and paths, fitted Crystal Cave with electric lights and established a children's playground near Caves House.

The two kilometre Wetlands Trail starts at this point and circumnavigates Loch McNess. It takes about 30-40 minutes to complete. Yanjidi is a variation of the word yanget, the Nyoongar Aboriginal word for the native bulrush that is a prominent feature of the walk.

Drop in for a light lunch, refreshment or ice-cream and treat yourself to some award-winning, hand-made chocolate.

Discover the ways of the Nyoongar people, whose tribal land is the south-west region of Western Australia.

Stay at the new lakeside motel rooms (some with spas), or the original motel rooms.

The motel units to the south of the Yanchep Inn are a comfortable place to have a break. All are air conditioned and contain a television, bar fridge and ensuite. Tea and coffee facilities are provided along with a toaster.

Open daily from 8am til late, historic Yanchep Inn offers breakfast, lunch, dinner, drinks and accommodation. Function room facilities are also available.

Construction of the Yanchep Inn began in 1936. The original plans called for a two storey structure with 16 bedrooms, two lounges, a dining room and a verandah around most of the building. Local limestone was used for the walls and pillars, and every attempt was made to reproduce the character of an English Tudor Style Inn.

After World War II, extensions to the first floors of the north and south wings were begun, but this work was not completed until 1953. In 1976 four motel units were added south of the Inn.

The Yanchep Inn is one of several buildings within the park, that have been classified by the National Trust of WA. The Inn is recognised by the Heritage Council of WA and was accepted as an Australian Heritage Commission Nomination in 1988.

Stroll along the 240 metre koala boardwalk to view one of Australia's favourite native animals in a natural environment and learn more about these fascinating creatures.

Koalas are not native to Western Australia. A colony of koalas (originally from Victoria) was relocated to Yanchep in 1938 from Perth Zoo, who were unable to maintain the animals due to insufficient food supplies. They quickly became a major attraction but perished prior to 1940. A new colony of koalas was established at Yanchep in 1948, and they have remained an enduring attraction ever since. Thousands of eucalypt trees, representing 10 species have been planted in the park to provide the koalas with suitable food. By the late 1980s, the park�s entire koala colony had become infected with Clamydia and was therefore infertile. In 1992 a number of koalas were airlifted from Kangaroo Island, in South Australia, to establish a disease-free colony at Yanchep. They began to breed in 1994.

Gloucester Lodge offers a safe accommodation facility for school groups, offering dormitory and camping accommodation plus a variety of catering options. Find out about the range of ecological, heritage, cultural and recreation activity programs also available.

Construction of the Lodge began in 1932, and was completed in 1933. The Lodge was built by sustenance workers as a pavilion for the Crystal Swimming Pool and to provide accommodation for tourists. When it first opened the building was known as either 'The Lodge' or 'Yanchep Lodge'. Its name was changed to Gloucester Lodge, to commemorate the visit by the Duke of Gloucester in October 1934.

Cabaret Cave is a wonderfully unique and stunning venue. Discovered by Henry White in 1902, Cabaret Cave consists of two chambers developed as a supper room and a ballroom opened in 1932.

It was used extensively as a venue for dances, debutante balls and as a tourist cave until it was closed in the early 1970s for repairs. It reopened in 1983/84 with a reception to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Duke's visit hosted by the City of Wanneroo.

2006 saw Cabaret Cave closed for six months for upgrades and significant improvements by the Department of Environment and Conservation who spent in excess of $260,000. During this relatively short period, a 52 bay coach/car park was constructed, additional water supply and power provided to run the ovens was installed in the second chamber of the cave. New lighting as well as a powder room and toilet facilities were built just near the cave entry.

For a unique stunning event, book the Cabaret Cave for your next function. The cave is available for weddings, social functions or corporate events and can house to 200 people at a time. Exquisite menus have been arranged to suit all tastes. Contact the Marketing Coordinator for more information.

There are daily tours of Crystal Cave. Tickets can be purchased at McNess House Visitor Centre.

Crystal Cave was discovered by Yanchep's first settler, Henry White. Here, you can see active stalactites, stalagmites, helictites, flowstone, shawls and other formations. An underground stream occupies most of the floor in this section but the level of water varies with climatic conditions. Crystal Cave is a 'stream cave' and has a horizontal, tubular shape caused by flowing groundwater removing the calcium carbonate. The park also has some 'solution tube' caves, which have resulted from erosion and solution downwards through cracks in the rock, or along tree roots. This type of cave development results in almost vertical pipes, some examples of which can be seen in the Crystal Cave entrance chamber.

Seven-legged crustaceans known as isopods, many smaller than white ants, may be seen in the Crystal Cave pools. Beside one of these pools, the root of a tuart can be seen - about 15 metres below the surface. But perhaps the most enchanting sight is that of 'the jewelled city'. With the help of discreet lighting, it can be viewed sparkling as if in early morning daylight, again in the full sunlight of noon, and last of all under the winking, blinking lights of night time.