Western Australia's Coral Coast is home to some of the most stunning seasonal displays of wildflowers in the State.
Western Australian wildflowers bloom on the Coral Coast year round, but between late July and early October you’ll see some of Western Australia's most stunning displays as blankets of brilliant wildflowers colour the outback landscape and unique individual species can be found.
Places such as Lesueur National Park, Cape Range National Park and the Shark Bay World Heritage Area have wildflowers blooming all year. The flowers are more seasonal in some regions such as Wildflower Country with biodiverse hotspot Coalseam Conservation Park bursting into carpets of pink, gold, cream and white Everlasting flowers covering a dramatic terrain of rugged cliffs, rocky outcrops and red soil.
Here are some tips to plan your next wildflower escape.
These are the recommended hotspots for flower sightings in our region:
Nambung National Park
Located just over 2 hours drive or 200 kilometres northwest of Perth, Nambung National Park is famous for the iconic limestone pillars known as The Pinnacles. The Park is also known for its beautiful beaches at Kangaroo Point and Hangover Bay, coastal dune systems and low heathland rich in flowering plants.
Made up of 17,000 hectares of coastal heathland, the Park is home to a variety of native plants and animals. Wildflowers commonly found during late winter and spring include wattles, quandong, yellowtail flower, thick-leaved fan flower, white clematis, cockies tongues, parrot bush and banksia species.
Whilst driving around this park, please be careful for wildlife including kangaroos and emus. The Pinnacles Desert Discovery Centre is open from 9.30am to 4.30pm on every day of the year except Christmas Day. National Park entry fees apply.
Lesueur National Park
Lesueur National Park is 30 minutes drive from Green Head (220kms from Perth) and is one of the most diverse and rich floral areas in the world. The park is home to over 900 species, including many plants found nowhere else in the world. This biodiverse hotspot represents approximately 10% of the state’s known flora. Some 111 species are endemic to the region, of which 10 species are declared rare and nine of them are only found in Lesueur National Park.
Try the loop road to explore the park with plenty of places to stop and enjoy the views. A two-wheel drive car or campervan is suitable, roads are mostly sealed with only one gravel (compacted road). When driving in the park, please pull over at designated locations to find the flowers. The park has picnic sites, bush toilets and interpretative signage to better understand the landscape's features and plants.
There are three recommended walk trails. Two of them are near the Drummond Recreation area and are: The Gairdner Walk trail, a 2.5km loop; and, The Lesueur Walk Trail, a 4km loop to the top of Mt Lesueur (wheelchair friendly for the first 250m offering views of Mt Lesueur). The third trail is the Yued Ponar Walk Trail, a 7.1km loop located at the Cockleshell Gully picnic area. All the trails are Grade 3, suitable for most ages and levels of fitness with some steep hill sections and rough services. National Park entry fees apply.
Coalseam Conservation Park
Located between Mingenew and Mullewa, the Coalseam Conservation Park is one of Western Australia’s top wildflower hotspots with a vast array of Mother Nature's finest offerings on display. Many varieties of wildflowers are found in abundance here, with the everlasting carpets transforming the usually sparse understorey of wattle scrub during the wildflower season.
Everlastings, Banksias, Hakeas and Grevilleas will ensure an explosion of colour to delight your senses. Keep the camera handy to capture the diversity of wildlife that lives in the park including kangaroos, emus, echidnas, eagles and cockatoos. For the nature lover, this is truly paradise.
Coalseam Conservation Park is a peaceful location for a picnic on the banks of the river under the gum trees. Camping is available at two designated sites within the park, Breakaway or Miners. However, it is important to note that drinking water is not available so bring plenty with you. For more information and to book your camping experience online please visit here. Toilet facilities are located within the park.
Two key locations around this area:
Depot Hill is 12kms and an easy 5 minute drive to the northeast of Mingenew. Here you will find an abundance of wildflowers and native animals. From August to October as you walk along you will be surrounded by a sea of pink everlastings and then as the terrain changes you will be able to see a mix of flowering shrubs and orchids on mass. In particular snail, donkey, spider, cowslips and purple tassels.
Mingenew Hill is a short stroll from the centre of Mingenew, or drive over the railway line on the Mingenew – Mullewa Road to this stunning formation with incredible endless views across Mingenew’s beautiful breakaway country. From all vantage points, it’s a lot like overlooking a quilt of beautiful yellows and greens, with the hill itself abundant with a swathe of wildflower species. ‘The Hill’ is the perfect spot for a picnic lunch or a champagne sunset finish to a lovely mid-west day. Great spot to check out the sunset. Be mindful of the stone steps leading up the hill.
Pindar and the rare Wreath Flower
Inland from Geraldton, the towns of Pindar and Mullewa are renowned for stunning wildflowers, including the rare Wreath Leschenaultia flower that blooms along the road and in park lands between August and October.
Exquisite rings laid neatly over the gravelled surface of the roadside, each made up of dozens of flowers with frilled petals of red, white and pink. These flowers only grow where the soil has been disturbed, such as gravel roads.
Please park thoughtfully and exercise caution on this road as trucks do use the road. Ask for sightings and wildflower maps during the season at a local Visitor Centre.
Kalbarri National Park
From July until November, approximately 800 species of native flora progressively burst into bloom around Kalbarri and within the Kalbarri National Park. Many of these are endemic to the region, including the Kalbarri Spider Orchid.
Bush flowers such as Banksias, Hakea, Pink Pokers and Flannel Bush and orchids such as Pink Fairies and Snail orchids as well as native flowers like Grevillea, Wattle, Murchison Rose and Thryptomene can be found. Look out for wildflowers on the coastal cliff tops and in the gorge country and ask for sightings at the local Visitor Centre.
Excellent viewing locations at inland sites include Ross Graham and Hawks Head, along the road and carpark, Nature’s Window and The Loop, and Z-Bend lookout. The Loop Trail is 9kms and provides stunning views of the Murchison River gorge. It is a Grade 4 trail.
Coastal site viewing locations include Rainbow Valley and Mushroom Rock, with orchids often found at Natural Bridge and Red Bluff sites. The Rainbow Valley Trail links Mushroom Rock with the Rainbow Valley car park, and is a Grade 4, 3km return loop along clifftops above the ocean.
National Park entry fees apply.
Shark Bay World Heritage Area
Shark Bay has the longest wildflower season in Western Australia with over 700 species of flowering plants from May to October. Of these, more than 150 species are of special scientific interest - several are exclusive to the area. Species include Shark Bay Daisies, Tamala Rose, Dune Wattle, Kurara and Wurmbea Odorata, and Everlasting paper daisies.
The aromatic Tamala rose is one of the region’s most well-known and showy species. The Shark Bay daisy, Royce’s Gum, Rogerson’s grevillea and golden lamb’s tail are also confined to the Shark Bay region. The sceptre banksia features large flower-spikes in summer and, after good winter rains, everlastings often grow in massive drifts of colour.
Ningaloo Coast World Heritage Area
The Ningaloo Coast runs from Carnarvon in the south to Exmouth in the north and these areas see the first of the wildflowers in bloom, usually from late May onwards.
The Cape Range National Park is home to 630 species of flowering plants - the Quobba coastline out of Carnarvon has some very unusual looking flowers. The brilliant Red Sturt Desert Pea, which flowers in late winter (June to August) is a particularly popular flora species in the Cape Range along with the purple Mulla Mulla flower. The brilliant Red Sturt Desert Pea and the even rarer White Sturt Desert Pea populate the area. The Green Bird Flower, shaped just like a hummingbird, is found within the Cape Range National Park and in Carnarvon town. National Park entry fees apply.
Each year, the town of Carnarvon and its surrounds are flooded with everlasting flowers, just like those found at Coalseam Conservation Park near Mingenew. Carnarvon's everlastings can be found in patches and fields along the North West Coastal Highway and sometimes at Rocky Pool. Carnarvon's everlastings generally start in late July going into September - with everlasting carpets intertwining with purple Dampier Pea, thriving in the red Pindan dirt – very colourful!
