PhotoTour Wildflowers of Western Australia Volume 2
This volume continues our journey through the wildflower regions of Western Australia. In Volume One we crossed the
Nullarbor and went inland through Kalgoorlie and Mount Magnet. The Everlastings started before Yalgoo and Coalseam was
a solid mass of colour across the entire valley. The Wreath Flowers at Pindar were unbelievable, as were the Kangaroo Paws
at Kalbarri and the Lesueur National Park.
At Canna we discovered a wonderful display of Orchids, and there was a huge variety of everything at Western Flora.
By the time we reached Perth it was becoming apparent that 2016 was producing an exceptional wildflower display. Many
experts reckoned the best season in a couple of decades. This was no doubt helped by a lot of rain and it really bucketed
down for our excellent tour at the Stirling Range Retreat. You can even see my re ection in the water droplets on some of the
flowers.
This volume starts at Kings Park in Perth. The park provides immediate access to wildflower displays for locals and visitors in
an urban environment with spectacular views. We then drove south to Albany and stayed at our favourite Middleton Beach
with Torndirrup National Park close by, before heading north again to the Stirling Range followed by Wave Rock and the
nearby Humps which had some amazing plant life growing on a huge rock.
We then based ourselves at Hopetoun on the coast which is close to the Fitzgerald National Park as well as Ravensthorpe and
its annual Wildflower Show. Unfortunately the foundations for the bridge into the NP had been undermined, the road to the
park was closed and we missed out on the spectacular views along the coastline. We were able to explore the eastern edge of
the park with stunning results.
We finished at Esperance with the Holms Arboretum and a wetlands area as well as the superb Cape Le Grand National Park,
famous for mobs of kangaroos on the beach.
Home again and how to describe what we had seen to our friends? A kaleidoscope of colour was the best description we
could think of, but the reality is that photographs describe better than words what we had seen.
The next problem was to choose from over 11,000 photographs with every flower looking at you on the computer screen and
saying “Choose me!”
This is of course what each flower is saying to its propagators and the unbelievable beauty is a direct result of each variety
trying to ensure its survival. We saw many different propagators with bees and ants the most prevalent. I’d never seen a bee’s
pollen sack before. There is a red example in this volume and both yellow and red in volume one.
We have made no attempt to name the flowers. A number of wildflowers have yet to be named, and other names are being
changed as a result of more accurate classification using techniques such as DNA testing. Some beautiful flowers are also
classified as weeds, and we have made no distinction with our only criteria being the natural beauty of each.
Our book captures moments in time in a memorable year. Come back tomorrow or the day after and each flower will be
different.
Hopefully you will find in these pages the inspiration to explore this incredible world for yourself!
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