For many years I had heard the praises of Western Australia’s Spring blooms sung loud and long. I had also seen endless ads for Spring Flower tours up the coast above Perth. Not quite the green-fingered gardener or botanist to warrant a bus tour dedicated just to flower spotting, I took a long stroll instead on the Bibbulmun Track.
This is what I saw…
The Bibbulmun Track is a 1,005km trail which extends from the East Perth suburb of Kalamunda, southwards to the coast and then eastwards to Albany. The landscape varies from endless steep hills and thick forest, before eventually arriving at the Indian ocean and, from there, hugging the coastline for around two weeks.
As you can imagine, the landscape and its flora varied dramatically along the walk and also varied in proliferation. The walk started in early Spring and I was dazzled on a daily basis by the colour, shape and sheer number of different native flowers. These did start to peter out as we got closer to our destination. By that stage it was nearing the end of October and we had experienced constant hot to very hot weather, and no rain. Even the most hardy bloom (and hiker) will not thrive under those conditions.
I wish I knew more about flowers and I wish I could retain their names in my brain. Someone can tell me the name of a plant and I gratefully receive that information only to have it evaporate from my brain seconds later. The names just don’t seem to want to stick.
If I had more time during each walking day, I would have liked to use one of those What-flower-is-that apps to identify all the blooms appearing right on the edge of the path. The only trouble with that plan would have been the complete absence of mobile service on large sections of the path andthere were so many flowers, I would still be stuck at Kalamunda trying to identify the myriad of blooms, such was their number.
Orchids are a real feature of this track and they come in every shape, size and colour. Some hikers were passionate orchid hunters and would tick them off their list, cross-referencing them in their guidebooks, and describe them in detail in the shelter log books at the end of each day. They would also kindly scratch large arrows on the dirt path, pointing me to each orchid located adjacent to the track. I have no idea how they saw so many of them as some of the orchids were miniscule and/or incredibly well camouflaged.
For those who really want to understand what they are seeing, the Visitor Information Centres in each trail town sell small books about native flowers of Western Australia, including a book dedicated just to orchids of this region. I was thinking I should have bought these books so that I could be better informed, but it would mean extra weight in my backpack and the flower names would flee my brain anyway. Much easier to stroll along, acknowledge the beauty and remain ignorant! 😊
For those with a passion for flowers or who are more curious than moi, you may like to check out these websites:
- A-Z Guide of Western Australia Native Plants – HERE
- Australian Geographic – HERE
- Kings Park & Botanic Garden – HERE
- Geographe Community Landcare Nursery – HERE
Happy Gardening Everyone!
#WesternAustralia #travelinspo #shortwalks #nativeflora #nativeblooms #bloomingbeautiful #MotherNature #greatoutdoors #heartstarter #nationalparks #bibbulmuntrack #orchids #australianflora #DiscoverWesternAustralia #gardeninspo
Life...one big adventure 
“My cup runneth over…”
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Every day, all day…🌻🌻💐
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Yes, we spent time around Western Australia during the wildflower season. Spectacular as are your images. Nice.
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Many thanks. They are beautiful blooms, that’s for sure.
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And beautiful photos too. I shall come back to this post on my computer so I can enjoy them on a BIG screen.
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🙂 – I thought it might appeal!
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What a fabulous collection – and photographs
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They knocked our socks off every single day!
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I’m pretty much the same, Mel, in that retaining names is a fleeting business. I’m more than happy to admire each thingumibob- it doesn’t really matter what they’re called. My husband ‘likes to know’ and uses the App, with varying degrees of success and frustration. I leave him to it! But it is useful if I want to know too. My usual method is ‘ask Jude’.
Funnily enough we’re going out orchid spotting this morning- we hope!- with a group of enthusiasts. It may take some time!
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We may not know our botany, but man, can we walk!? 🙂
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We try, Mel. We try!
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And simply turning up is half the battle! And success! 🙂
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These are excellent flower photos given that you were walking and trying to make miles at the same time! I’ve only been to Australia twice but I’d go again just to see all these amazing flowers.
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Thanks for your kind words. I can’t take credit for some of the photos as my walking mate, H, had a much better/stronger/smarter phone camera. She deserves all the accolades. 🙂
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These flowers are so exotic to me. I’ve never seen any of them before, living in the US. Thanks.
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My pleasure. We are all lucky that our countries have so many different blooms depending on the climate and location. Have a good weekend.
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Yes, so many geographic regions and species of plants.
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The absolute cleverness of Mother Nature.
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Yes, without a doubt more complex than we can imagine.
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Agreed.
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I am in awe! With a diverse range of plants, wildflowers, forests and animals contributing to the rare and unique nature of this forest-meets-ocean location, Australia’s southwest looks like the perfect place to embrace nature. Thanks for sharing, and have a good day 🙂 Aiva xx
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Thanks Aiva, Yep, this walk definitely ticks all the boxes.
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🥰🥰🥰
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What a huge variety of beautiful flowers on the trek. Like you I would never know all of their names, or even species of many, but I do enjoy seeing them. 😊 Maggie
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Yep, acknowledge their beauty and move on! Maggie, you and me have places to go! 🙂
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Exactly! 🙂
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And your long ‘stroll’ was rewarded with the most beautiful flowers! Many of the flowers are unfamiliar to me, but they are so lovely and colourful. I’m not good with flowers’ names either, so I can only tell you that I really like you pink/purple flower photos 😊.
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Thank you. I love them all! 🙂
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Ha! We’re the same. By the end of every gardening season I can easily name every flower in my garden, but come spring it’s all gone and I have to relearn them all. And this has been going on for years – it won’t stick! Pretty flowers in your part of the world, by the way.
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Not my part of the World as you will soon find out. It is way, way, way on the other side of the country! 🙂
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Absolutely lovely, really like you captured these along the trail. I’m a keen gardener though no idea what all the plants are called, and still get weeds and flowers confused haha! But that doesn’t stop us appreciating lovely colours in bloom 🙂
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True. Mother Nature at her best.
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Wow some really stunning and unusual flowers.
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Definitely. It’s hard to believe that Nature can be just so diverse.
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That’s so true!!! So many varieties.
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Fabulous photos Mel. We in Australia are spoilt with some of the best flowers in the world aren’t we.
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Between our blooms and our birdlife, we are truly blessed!
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Great capture with a lot of beautiful flowers.
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It is a wonderful place to walk, especially in Spring.
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Very nice place.
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It is that!
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Thank you for sharing your adventure on the Bibbulmun Track! I agree that Western Australia’s native flowers are truly mesmerizing, especially in spring. It’s interesting how even non-botanists can enjoy the beauty without needing to know every flower’s name. The idea of fellow hikers marking orchid spots is such a thoughtful touch! 🌸
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Walking through the bush makes me much more observant and I can really appreciate the beauty of Mother Nature. We are very lucky to be able to do this. Have a good weekend. Mel
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