When Hidden Treasures started over a year ago, the idea was to explore suburbs and find ways to do more than just drive past them or through them.

This year we’ve enjoyed expanding the program to explore topics like our lakes, movie location sites and rites of passage.

Now we’re getting back to our roots.  I was sent out to a suburb that is well known for its searing summer heat and a road that is probably our most spectacular.

Heading up to the hills from Perth is always spectacular, not just to explore the bush around you, but to look out across the escarpment and see our little city hanging on to the edge of this big, wide, mysterious land.

We have a lot of suburbs in the hills that are worth exploring and with our recent run of 40+ days, there is a suburb that was hotter than most and decided it was worthy of a family day trip … Gooseberry Hill!

Here’s just a few of the reasons to get you up to Gooseberry Hill:

• Zig Zag Scenic Drive: Bit like the bumper cars, it’s one-way drivers, one way only!
• Lookouts: Lots of safe places to pull over to stare out as far as the eye can see.
• The Quarry: When you fly into Perth you’ve probably noticed the old quarry but do you know what the stone was used for and what the quarry is used for now?
• Rocky Pool: 5km walking trail that is harder than easy and is a beautiful swimming hole.
• Walking Trails in Gooseberry Hill National Parks: Lots of looping walks through jarrah and redgum and granite boulders bigger than your house.  Comfortable walks and uncomfortable walks.  Check the Trails WA website.
• The Railway Heritage Trail and memorial to the Blue Goose, an aircraft that crashed in 1945.
• Driveways – Gooseberry Hill has the most number of steep driveways in Western Australia.
• Patsy Durack’s Rose Gardens in Archbishops Holiday House – March, April, May and Devonshire Tea, wheelchair accessible. Part entry fee goes to the Cancer Council.
• Restaurants and pubs and a cake shop serving … Neapolitan Cheesecake!
• Little signs selling stuff in the driveways and backyards.  Right now it’s fig season!

Gooseberry Hill is a Hidden Treasure because it reminds us that hidden treasures we’ve explored before, where you’ve got a little suburb next to bigger, better known suburbs, like Highgate sandwiched between the city and Mount Lawley.  Gooseberry Hill’s next door neighbour is Kalamunda with its art galleries, cultural centre, even a main street!  But Gooseberry Hill has the attractions we’ve spoken about and a feeling we haven’t.  A feeling of being away from it all but being part of something. 

There’s a song called ‘Good Light in Broome’ but there’s also good light in Gooseberry Hill, and you might not be up there to stare at the moon but you’ll find lots to do and lots of opportunities to stare out at our little city from the best views the hills have to offer.