Tuart Forest National Park, about 30 km south of Bunbury near Ludlow, protects the largest remaining stand of tuart woodland on earth. Tuart trees are a species of eucalyptus found only on coastal limestone in southwestern Australia, and almost all of the original forest was cleared long ago. What remains here — 20 square kilometres of old, gnarled trees with massive trunks — gives some sense of what the coast looked like before European settlement.
The park has a 15 km scenic drive (Tuart Drive) that winds through the forest, passing the largest specimens. A 2 km Possum Spotlighting Trail offers guided evening walks to find Western Ringtail Possums and Brushtail Possums in the canopy — the ringtail possum is endangered and the forest is one of its remaining strongholds. The park is also habitat for glossy black cockatoos, which feed on tuart seeds.
Access is easy from the Bussell Highway; there's a carpark on Layman Road. No facilities, but the drive alone through the ancient trees is worth the detour.