Mid West wildflowers: Why you shouldn’t delay making a trip to see the most vibrant season in five years

The region’s wildflower season is expected to thrive for at least another month. While some species begin to dry and go to seed as the weather warms, others are blooming late due to heavy winter rain. From vibrant fields of yellow and white pompoms and golden billy buttons to stunning wreath flowers and pink paper daisies, there’s still an abundance of colour to discover across the Mid West. As a first-time wildflower enthusiast, I set out to explore the Mullewa area on Sunday, September 8, after the region’s record-breaking winter rainfall promised a bumper wildflower season. Kalbarri, Tenindewa and Morawa experienced their wettest winter on record, with 548.1mm, 328.6mm and 288.6mm of rain consecutively. Geraldton saw its heaviest rainfall in 20 years (386.8mm). This has created the most vibrant wildflower display in the past five years, according to wildflower expert Kath Park. The drive towards Coalseam Conservation Park confirmed there was much to see. I arrived at Miners Campground to find campers packing up as day-time visitors slowly began to trickle in. Walking the 3.2km trail, bright yellow pompoms and billy buttons contrasted with rugged bushland, increasing the freshness and beauty of the landscape. The air was sweet with the scent of blooming flowers as I stopped to admire patches of everlastings, as well as orchids and other annuals. After pausing at the Irwin Lookout to take in the colour among the rolling valleys, my journey continued to Mullewa’s Railway Hotel for lunch. Fellow travellers filled into the local pub, enjoying well-priced lunch specials, to which the fish burger did not disappoint. A 5km drive north of Mullewa led me to Perkins Well 2 — the first stop on the Old Stock Route Trail. Here I was greeted by endless carpets of white velleia rosea and yellow goodenia, commonly known as “scrambled eggs” by locals. And no wildflower hunt is complete without seeing the famous wreath flower, so the next stop was Pindar, where signs led me to a small patch along the road. The sight was a bit underwhelming for the added travel time, but it was still a rare and unique experience. However, according to Ms Park, the wreath flowers are just beginning to bloom. The wildflower enthusiast said while the dry summer and abundant winter rain caused some species to bloom later, the warmer weather will soon cause certain flowers, like orchids, to wither. “Because we had no summer rain at all this year and then we had late winter rain, and lots of it, our wreath flowers were late. They’re still virtually coming into their full bloom,” she said. “The next few days is going to be quite warm, but hopefully we will get at least another month of nice flowers.” Ms Park said paper daisies were taller than average this year, climbing fringe lilies were more prominent and purple daisies had been discovered in places never seen before. ”It’s just starting to heat up and so we’re starting to lose the orchids, which is usually the first species to disappear ... some of the paper daisies might start fading, but there’s bush flowers and wattles and all the rest that are still coming along,” she said. She estimated at least 200 people were coming through Mullewa each day. If you haven’t taken the opportunity to venture out, let this be your sign to go and experience the rainbow of colour in the Mid West before the sun sets on a wildflower season to remember.