WESTERN WILDFLOWERS

Follow our journey through a colourful wonderland from north of Perth to Kununurra and witness the world’s largest collection of wildflowers

WORDS AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY IAN ROBERTSON

“Yellow River, Yellow River, it’s in my mind and in my eyes… it’s in my blood… it’s the place I love”. How appropriate these words become as we journey the length of WA from Perth along the Indian Ocean Drive, Brand Highway to join the North West Coastal Highway, to enter Kalbarri, and further north on the Great Northern Highway passing Fitzroy Crossing and Halls Creek to Kununurra and return – all to experience the beautiful wildflowers of Western Australia.

There are more than 12,000 species of wildflowers in WA, making it the world’s largest collection. It’s a staggering sight to behold, especially when you consider that 60% of Western Australian wildflowers are found nowhere else on Earth. What’s more, you can enjoy the glorious carpets of colour and curious bloom for six months of the year, as the season begins in June in the north, and sweeps down the state to finish with a flurry on the south coast in November.

Our State of WA is large, extending north-south and creating zones of climatic conditions. Hence we see vegetation change dramatically virtually every 50km we travel. Areas of low scrub, pockets of trees, especially along river courses, sparse plains, breakaways and hills take turns to occupy our view as the broad brushstroke vista unfolds. Silvery smoke bushes provide another layer to the palette. When the wildflower season bursts on the scene the varied colours of smaller wildflowers intersperse the vegetation like aboriginal dot patterns.

Wildflower season is very much dependent on the time of year with the required rain and sun in the right balance. This year provided exceptional rain followed by sunshine for a burst of colour estimated to be the best show of flowers for the last twenty-five years. We travelled northwards towards the end of July with the roadside covered by fifty shades of grey and green. Only a few weeks later in August on our southward return we had rivers of yellow flowing  either side of the highways .

The broad patches of colour, yellow wattle and yellow and white pom-pom everlastings, attract our attention as we drive along, but it’s when we stop and step onto the red dirt that we encounter a myriad of small flowers that pop into view. Being careful where we walk is important as some of these flowers are mere dots the size of a thumbnail. Look closely and spots of yellow, pink, blue appear. As an example, the parking area just 25km north of Minilya produced a dozen different flower species in only a few paces from the motorhome. All these would not be spotted from the road, so you do have to do yourself a favour and stop, walk and look sometimes. We took turns on wildflower watch as the other drove to maximise our chances of seeing a spot of colour – this adds extra interest to our travels, helping the time tick by.

Some flowers are part of a shrub or tree, like our impressive banksia, visible from afar, but even these large specimens are worth a close look as they are made up of hundreds of smaller flowerets. The Calytrix exstipulata, part of the eucalypt family, appear as a bouquet of pink flowers with little of the fine foliage visible. Others are a single flower at the end of a slender stalk such as the Mulla Mulla – again worth a closer inspection.

A worthy stopover for the casual ornithologist is De Grey River Rest Area, with its Bean tree of slender red flowers visited by white-breasted woodswallows and alive with darting Rainbow bee-eaters catching insects on the wing, but also nectar lovers. Not to mention the resident drought-master cattle looking for a feed of fallen flowers as well as any caravanners’ offerings.

A few worthwhile areas to visit with an abundance of wildflowers in close proximity are Kalbarri National Park, South Eneabba Nature Reserve and Coalseam National Park. But any roadside from Albany in the south to Kununurra in the north offers its wildflower wonderland.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Aside from its natural beauty and visual appeal, wildflowers and leaves provide a food source. Aboriginals especially with their nomadic lifestyle had to be able to forage for local ingredients as carting large food stores was not possible or practical. They needed good knowledge of what plant or part of the plant was useful, but also avoid what was dangerous. This was passed on through the generations. Thankfully, we can quickly learn some of this from various indigenous guided tours run in the region or at a great little known national park, Mirima National Park, two kilometres north of Kununurra.

There are four designated short walks from the carpark at the end of a sealed entry road. They range from 10 minutes to an hour and rated from Class 2 to 4, though we would classify none as overly taxing with only uneven rocks causing the higher rating – this does depend on your agility and fitness. The shortest of the walks – only 400m return – runs along a formed wooden boardwalk with  signposted trees highlighting various flowering and fruiting plants, explains their traditional usage. Goonjang - Kapok tree, Cochlospermum fraseri  - is a good fire starter, the bark makes string, the roots mixed with boab tree seeds for food and the flowers are edible, says guide Josh.

Gerdewoon - Boab, Adansonia gregorii - popular for the sale of carved elliptical nuts, but its pith is also edible and the seeds ground for flour. Also rope is a by-product. Large white flowers appear in ‘the wet’ (December-March) providing food for the bats.

Wirriling - Wattle, acacia richardsii - while the attractive yellow flowers aren’t for eating, the wood makes small spears and throwers.

Mangadang - Turkey Bush, Calytrix exstipulata - the wood for spear thrower pegs and spear heads belies the sheer beauty when it flowers in pink profusion.

Other walks meander between mini- Bungle Bungle like rock formations some 300 million years old. Another hidden gem nearby is Hidden Valley Tourist Park if you wish to stay longer.

Samphire is a low seaside shrub with soft greenish leaves edged in red. We first learnt about this tasty ingredient from a chef in the South-West a few years ago and found it again at Port Gregory. Locate this on your next forage and add the younger leaves to your stir-fry or steak dinner. A quick sauté and it’s done.

So time your next West Australian visit from August to October to enjoy the colour display this state offers. Watch the weather report and call the local shire office or visitor centre for up to date wildflower locations and times. Remembering to stop and walk around as this is when you will find those hidden gems.