Yalgorups Lake Clifton and the Living Rocks

Yalgorups Lake Clifton and the Living Rocks

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Posted 2011-09-26 by Retired Writerfollow
Yalgorup’s Lake Clifton and the Living Rocks



If you would like to experience the ultimate phenomena in nature then Yalgorup National Park's, Lake Clifton is just up your alley. There is something spiritually wonderful about this area and one can zone into the universe and absorb energies or just feel the silent energies of this unique experience as it tingles through your soul.

You feel you dare not breathe lest you stir the stillness of the area. Sounds are only broken by the naturalness of the environment, like the keen shrill of a bird in flight or the gentle movements of the water whilst graced by the beauty of a black swan. Wind blows softly and flusters the sand on the shore whilst the Thrombolites lie in eerie silence, absorbing the calcium carbonates of the water in their closed knit community that lie just clearly below the surface of the water. Sometimes they are partially exposed when the water subsides in tide. On a clear day you can see forever through this waterway but when strong winds develop the Thrombolites are hidden below the troubled and churning waters.



This natural untouched paradise is just over an hour's drive from Perth and approximately 32 kilometres from Mandurah. This is the hidden paradise where Lake Clifton can be found far from the maddening crowd and the hustle and bustle of city life. It is one of the few places in the world where thrombolites grow quietly on the eastern shores in the gentle surroundings and where you can stand in silent awe at the miracle that lies before you.

You more than possibly have not heard of Thrombolites which are 'living rocks' and are an extremely primitive life form consisting of single-celled bacteria which deposit layers of silt and calcium that slowly grow into rounded rocks. It's hard to believe that these rock like structures are actually a living form of life and are built by micro-organisisms.

These tiny organisms lived in water and produced oxygen. They are an algae, which is a plant found in water that actually miraculously create Thrombolites and Stromatolites. Thrombolites form when the micro-organisms photosynthesise. It's during this process they precipitate calcium carbonate from the lime rich waters and form their 'rock-like' structures.

Oxygen began to enter our atmoshpere which was created by the Thrombolites and made the earth what it is today as life was a culmination from this early form of life with its natural manufacture of oxygen as there was no oxygen on earth and no protective ozone layer but things began to change when these tiny organisms began to appear. This is a mystery within itself as no one knows where they came from. Their close cousins are the Stromatolites, which are similar but are found in Shark Bay and difficult to access. Stromatolites are also classified as 'prehistoric living rocks'.

All of these forms are almost extinct but exist as fossils. Just when you thought a 'rock was a rock' you realised how amazing nature is and that earth is indeed a living planet.



However none of the phenomena attached to the Thrombolites happened overnight as it took a very long time before earth had sufficient oxygen to sustain life. As a matter of fact it took over 350 million years to materialise.

Lake Clifton is one of the lakes found in Yalgorup and contains the largest lake-bound microbialite reef, which is over 6kms long and is the largest in the southern hemispherse. Some of the thrombolites reach heights of up to 1.3m and this phenomena is a must, especially if you are drawn to the miracle of nature and the birth of life forms but one needs to be disciplined as you cannot touch them or walk amongst them as they can die. You need to remember this is a living form and needs to be respected.

However, Lake Clifton is set in the beautiful Yalgorup National Park which is a protected 'Wetland', and there are a great deal of fauna and flora, which can also be appreciated especially for those of you who are bird lovers. All this can be easily absorbed and enjoyed in a day's outing over the weekend, as its just over an hour's drive from Perth.



For the bird lovers the Ramsar wetlands of the Yalgorup Lakes System are also the breeding, moulting and feeding grounds for thousands of endemic and migratory birds each year. This is where the birds gain weight to enable them to make the long flight to the northern hemisphere where they breed. If they did not have this sustenance they would not have the energy to make the gruelling flight and would die on route.

Some of the migratory birds are:
• Common Greenshanks
• Curlew Sandpipers
• Greater Sand Plover
• Grey Plovers
• Red-necked stints

Over 60 indigenous birds also gather in Yalgorup each year to feed and breed, some of which include:
• Australian Crakes
• Australian Reed-Warblers,
• Australian Shelducks,
• Banded Stilts,
• Bar-Tailed Godwit
• Black Ducks
• Black Swans
• Black-Winged Stilts
• Coot
• Crakes
• Emus
• Greenshank
• Hooded Dotterel
• Hooded Plovers (these are globally threatended species and breed along the shores of most of the lakes at Yalgorup.)
• Horny Grebe
• Musk Ducks (use the lakes as drought refuge)
• Pacific Black Ducks
• Pelican
• Red Capped Dotterel
• Red Kneed Dotterel
• Red Knot
• Red-Billed Stilts
• Red-Capped Plovers
• Red-Necked Avocet
• Red-Necked Stint
• Rock Parrot
• Sacred Kingfisher
• Sandpipers (3 species)
• Shelducks
• Whimbrel
• Whistling Kite

FROGS (8 Species)
• Quacking Frog
• Slender Tree Fron

Other Fauna within the park includes:
• Grey Kangaroo
• Brush Wallaby
• Long Necked Oblong Tortoise

The Flora includes:
Coastal Heaths
Tuart Woodlands
Paperbark Swamps
Mixed Eucalypt Woodlands
Sedge Swamps

Yalgorup is a 12,888 hectare National Park, which is situated between Mandurah and Bunbury which is a narrow coastal strip of land that includes Lake Clifton and Lake Preston and seven other minor lakes.

DIRECTION
You can reach Lake Clifton's thrombolites from either of two roads – Mount John Rd or Clifton Downs Rd. Both of these roads are turn-offs from the Old Coast Road, which is south of Mandurah and south of the Dawesville Channel, but north of where the new John Forrest Highway branches off towards Perth.

You'll drive for a few minutes and then arrive at a parking area with toilets. There are sign, which enlighten you about the thrombolites and their environment. A boardwalk will take you over the shallow lake to where the thrombolites can be viewed from many angles.

This article was inspired by some of the information on this website.

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141788 - 2023-06-13 18:15:11

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