At least once a year, someone from my family says “Let’s go see the wildflowers!”. Then we start googling “wildflowers perth” and making a half-hearted plan of what to see and when. Despite all this, August rolls around and we somehow just forget or decide it’s all too hard.
But after 10 years of making do with mum’s overgrown daisy garden and the occasional trip to the local park, we finally did it! Whether it was an after-effect of COVID-19 that taught us to just “seize the day”, or that I could justify it as “research” for my business, but we finally took a trip to WA’s Wildflower Country. In fact, I made two separate trips back-to-back, visiting almost the exact same spots twice just to make up for all that lost time.
And let me tell you, it was worth it.
So, if you haven’t yet been, here are my personal recommendations for where to fill your brain and camera roll with WA’s most brilliant floral landscapes! (Hay-fever beware.)
These locations are on the lands of the Wajarri/Southern Yamatji people.
They work in ascending order when driving from the Perth metro area towards Geraldton.
Coalseam Conservation Park
Just north of Mingenew, Coalseam Conservation Park is covered in lush carpets of yellow, white and pink after the winter rains. It has sites for camping and caravans, and even a little picnic-barbeque area at the base of the cliff.
You could spend all day there, but if you’re short for time, I’d head straight to Irwin Lookout. From the top of the cliff, you’ll see fields of daisies and a host of other wildflowers like Fringe Lillies, Acacias and Podolepis. The winding trails lead you through tall stalks of bobbing “pom-pom head” everlastings in an almost-obnoxious highlighter-yellow as far as the eye can see!
(PS - I highly recommend stopping by Mingenew Bakery on the way there. Their apple turnovers are to. die. for.)
Wildflower Trails in Mullewa
We were lucky enough to catch the last day of Outback Bloom, an annual Wildflower Festival in Mullewa. Our lovely Kings Park Guide took us along the Mullewa Bushland Trail, which started and finished from the Mullewa Scenic Lookout. Our guide had so many golden tidbits of knowledge, like how Donkey Orchids have learnt to imitate the Egg & Bacon pea plants to attract pollinators! Even though the orchid season had just gone, we were able to find some tiny Donkey Orchids at the base of an Egg & Bacon bush.
The trail was windy and rocky, taking us over hills and through valleys. At one point, the wind blew a gust of Acacia blossoms past, showering us with a gentle golden haze. We also spotted a Dainty Blue Orchid, which might’ve become my new favourite!
We also trekked along the Wildflower Walk which started just across from Mullewa Caravan Park (where we stayed). Here we were treated to caves, fields and a selection of metalwork sculptures by different artists nestled among the long grass.
Speaking of artists, we paid a visit to Helen Ansell in her new Mullewa gallery. A welcome break from dirt roads, it felt like entering a cafe/gallery/gift shop back in the city. It was wonderful to meet Helen and hear her stories, especially of how Mullewa’s landscape and wildlife inspire her work. It’s also the only place in Mullewa that makes barista coffee!
Wreath Flowers at Pindar
A year ago, I was sitting at lunch with my colleague at my old job. We were chatting about flowers (as you do), when her eyes light up and she asked, “Have you seen the wreath flowers? You have to go there!”. I spent the next half hour scrolling through Visit Mullewa’s Instagram page, in awe of the incredibly unique plants that grow there.
The wreath flowers, or Lechenaultia macrantha, are red, pink, white and yellow flowers that grow in a wreath-like formation up to about 500mm across. As we walked through them on the side of a long red-dirt road, I felt as though I had gone snorkelling, gazing at these otherworldly, coral-like flowers. If you’d told me a team of florists had come by the night before to lay wreaths on the ground, I might’ve believed you!
We spotted them in Pindar, half an hour east of Mullewa. Thanks to the internet, all we had to do was search ‘wreath flowers’ on Google Maps and it took us straight there.
PS - Spot the bonus native cornflower!
All in all, the drive up north took about 5 hours. On both trips, we stayed 3 days & 2 nights, one in Mullewa Caravan Park and the other at an Airbnb in Leeman. We even took our paints and watercolours along, but seeing these flowers in person was so mesmerizing we ended up dedicating all of our attention to them.
That being said, there are plenty of other places in Perth’s Metro area to get your wildflower fix too, minus the 5-hour drive. Some examples are Star Swamp (NOR), King’s Park (Central) and Wireless Hill (SOR); all beautiful walks to enjoy nature’s goodness. If you live outside of WA, I hope you enjoyed coming on a virtual tour and even be encouraged to find wildflowers wherever you are. But also, save this as something to look forward to when travel becomes a thing again!
There should always be enough time to ‘stop and smell the roses’, and ‘consider the lilies of the field’. I can see myself returning to Wildflower country every year, or at least pay more attention to the tiny wonders in my backyard.