Salt lakes are another natural wonder in the Wheatbelt. When there is a lot of rainfall, the salt lakes become fully alive with many of lying dormant seeds and eggs waking up to the right conditions. In dryer seasons, many salt lakes dry up and harden so much that you can walk on their surface. There is so much salt in them, that the dry salt resembles ice and for someone who has never seen ice, it is a real delight. Lake Brown is one such place of wonder. Kids had a lot of fun walking on the salty crust and playing with it. While I was busy photographing beautiful landscape.
Atriplex holocarpaLake Brown
Lake Brown and Eaglestone Rock overlooking it are located 20km north east of Nungarin in the Wheatbelt region of WA and are accessed viaLake Brown South Road.We did not camp there, as we only stopped to check out this place and saw a few caravans and vans there. It did look like a fantastic spot for exploration, as well as camping, especially in the cooler months. This place will be our next adventure in the near future!
Beringbooding Rock, 65km north east of Mukinbudin in the Eastern Wheatbelt is an interesting place to visit. It is known for having the largest rock water catchment tank in Australia. Built in 1937, the water tank holds over two million gallons of water. There is a low wall around the perimeter of mostly flat rock that catches rain water and directs it to the tank.
The largest water catchment tank in Australia
Apart from this water tank, there are other interesting things to see along 2.3km circuit route around and over the rock. I found the sight of an enormous balancing boulder very fascinating.
Balancing Boulder at Beringbooding Rock
While I was busy taking pictures of the boulder, our kids spent time near the tall cairn. The youngest, Ilusha said that everyone who passed by, put a small rock to add to this tower. Logical thinking!
Cairn
Among other attractions, there are some smaller rocky outcrops, a cave, a gnamma hole (natural water hole) and beautiful views of the surrounding country from the top of the rock. The walk over the rock is relatively easy. Shire of Mukinbudin has also provided picnic and free camping facilities with tables and flushing (!) toilet at the base of the rock.
Billiburning Rock was our favourite out of the 4 rocks in Wheatbelt area that we visited during our 9 day holiday through the Wildflower Country and Wheatbelt. Being 35km north of Beacon (the closest town), it is a bit out of the way and thus less popular than other rocks. We were happy to have a lot of space for ourselves with fantastic views.
Camping
The view of the campground from Billiburning Rock
Billiburning Reserve has 3 camping sites, located at the base of the Billiburning Rock. The first one (Gecko Grounds) is an open space, suitable for large vans and caravans. To get to the second (Echidna Expanse) and third ones (Kangaroo Corner), you would need to drive around the rock, crossing a small section of the rock (10 meter section).
Driving to our camping spot
Each of the other two sites are rather small, enough for 4-5 campers each, offering the views of the rock on the left and the views of the bush with abundant wildflowers on the right. There is a drop toilet and a water tank next to it with non-drinking water between sites 2 and 3.
We stopped at Echindna Expanse site (number 2) which we shared with another camper for the first night and had it all to ourselves for the second night. The place being so serene, pristine and inviting that we did stay 2 nights there.
Enjoying our time at Billiburning Rock during the day and night
We climbed over the rock to take the pictures of the sunrise.
Sunrise viewed from Billiburning Rock
Then we climbed it again during the day. Later we marvelled at the way the rock looked when the setting sun was casting its last rays onto it, making the colours of the rock look warm and orange. When the sun set, the colours turned cold and blue.
Can you find wildflowers along the road as you drive in the Wheatbelt? Yes! Sometimes there is no need to go and look for wildflowers specifically. As we drove from one rock to another in the Wheatbelt, we stopped frequently, each time spotting some wonderful and unusual wildflowers. Below is just a small selection of the wildflowers we have seen.
If you are looking for a place to see wildflowers around Perth, Wireless Hill Park in Ardross is one such place. It is a bushland that has been reserved for the communication station (operated between 1912 and 1968), thus not open for housing development and this is what made the bushland thrive. The Park has a dedicated wildflower walk with informative signs (thanks to the Friends of Wireless Hill volunteers for looking after the park and the plants). park also has a picnic area, a nature-based playground and Telecommunications Museum. The kids enjoyed their play, while I admired wildflowers. Perfect afternoon!
There are a lot of kangaroo and cat’s paw flowers in the park.
Cats PawKangaroo Paw
A variety of different orchids is another highlight of Wireless Hill Park. Wild orchids are delicate, quite small and easy to miss. But when you spot one, kneel down and take time to look, you will see intricate beauty and uniqueness of nature’s creation.
Jug orchids
Pansy Donkey orchids are quite common while Jug Orchids (above) are more difficult to find.
Ellis Brook Valley Reserve is recognised as the richest wildflower location in Perth Metropolitan area. It is home to over 550 varieties of spring flowers.
Wildflowers at Ellis Brook Valley Reserve
The best time to visit the park is during spring when most of the widlflowers are blooming. It can be very hot in summer and sometimes the park is closed during hottest time.
One of the most fascinating wildflowers in Ellis Brook Valley Reserve for me was Drosera. It is the plant that loves insects and insects love this plant :). Drosera (or Sundews) capture and digest insects using their long tentacles with a sticky gland on top. These droplets look like dew glistening in the sun (hence the name Sundew). They are very pretty to human eye, and attractive to insects. The glands also produce enzymes to digest the insects. How creative nature can be!
The reserve is home to a lof of birds, including splendid fairy wrens, cockatoos and honeyeaters.
Walking trails
Ellis Brook Valley Reserve is also an excellent hiking place. There are four hiking trails of various length and difficulty. Reserve also has picnic facilities with bbqs, picnic tables and toilets.
Sixty Foot Falls trail is the most challenging but definitely worth the view. It looked quite magnificent in September with the water flowing at the waterfall.
Location
Ellis Brook Valley is located on Rushton Road in the suburb of Martin, in the Gosnells region and is half an hour drive from Perth.
Wreath flowers (the scientific name is Lechenaultia Macrantha) are very rare and unique flowers which only grow in the Mid-West region of Western Australia. They flower between August and October, depending on seasonal rainfall. These circular shape low lying plants grow on sandy soils, often on the side of the road. One of the biggest displays of wreath flowers can be found near Pindar, east of Mullewa (mainly along Pindar-Beringarra Road). Tourists go there in big numbers, cars lining up, just to see these beautiful flowers, which grow there on the side of the road.
It was my dream to see these unique and unusually shaped flowers. So, I planned a trip around the Wildflower Country, which included visiting Coalseam Conservation Park,Depot Hill near Mingenew and Mullewa. We parked our car on one side of Pindar-Beringarra Road, following the directions from the Mullewa Visitor Centre and then walked across, through a small patch of bush to the parallel road to find the wreath flowers. The track was very picturesque by itself – especially the combination of blue Native Cornflower (Brunonia australis), yellow Waitzia acuminata (Orange immortelle) and orange Bush Pomegrante (Cheyniana microphylla). That place is full of colours, shapes and is just pure delight.
A 12km drive northwest of Mingenew in the Mid West region of WA is a magnificent reserve of Depot Hill. It is a wonderful place to spot many wildflowers all year around, but especially during wildflower season. Pink, orange, yellow, white, purple, violet – this place was full of colour when we visited it at the end of September. A stunning display of wildflowers in their natural environment.
Depot Hill is also a place of historical s significance. Following the bush trail all the way up through the reserve, you will find World War II Army Rifle Range with one remaining bunker there.
The bush walk was easy and very pleasant. Allow minimum 30 minutes for a return walk, but if you are a wildflower or photography enthusiast, you’ll probably spend a lot more time in this beautiful reserve – tranquil, yet very alive and vibrant.
If you are wondering where you can stay while visiting Depot Hill, we recommend camping at Coalseam Conservation Park, which is also another stunning place to view wildflowers.
Located 33km north of Mingenew, Coalseam Conservation Park is best known for its stunning display of wildflowers, especially everlastings, which are best seen in August-September. Even though we missed the prime time of the wildflowers blooming by about 3 weeks, due to work and study commitments, we still enjoyed what was left of them. In fact, there is a certain beauty in the dried everlastings – maturity combined with beauty of gold.
Cephalipterum drummondii Pompom head Podolepis aristata with insectOrange immortelle Waitzia acuminataRhodante chlorocephala Pink white everlasting Rhodanthe chlorocephala Pink white everlastingWaitzia suaveolensThysanotus tuberosus Fringed LilyYork gumYork gum with ants
Coalseam is also rich in history and geology. It is the site of the first mined coal deposit in Western Australia, and exposed bands of coal seams can still be seen. The coal there turned out to be of not high enough quality to mine profitably, so the mines was eventually closed and the reserve became Coalseam Conservation Park. The part of the reverse near Johnson Shaft was turned into Miner’s camp ground.
Old Mine Shaft site
Camping at Coalseam Conservation Park
There are two campgrounds at Coalseam Conservation Park. We stayed at Miner’s camp which was very popular when we arrived on 25 of September, just at the beginning of school holidays. We were lucky to get one last out of 25 spots at around 4pm in the afternoon. Our lovely and friendly camphosts collected our money ($11 per adult, $3 per child – prices back in 2021), car registration and other necessary information. For those fees we enjoyed a spacious site to park our 4WD and caravan, beautiful views all around, clean drop toilet, company of the neighbours and communal fire every night. I would imagine this place looks absolutely stunning during the peak of wildflower season but it still looked very pretty even at the end of the season.
Miner’s Camp at Coalseam Conservation Park
Not just the wildflowers
With 3 days to stay at Coalseam, we had plenty of time to go for numerous walks around. Going for a walk is not only a relaxation, exercise and leisure, it is also an opportunity to explore the area and see the beauty and extraordinary around us…. like the beautiful tapestry of the spider web .
Tapestry of the spider web
Kids found their own entertainments during our stay at Coalseam. One of the new fun games they discovered was building and shooting paper rockets. Some of the rockets flew as high as 60 meters up! What a thrill! Thank you, Daddy Brian for teaching the kids this fun activity.
Can you fly a paper rocket 60 meters high?
Kids also played with freesbie and….. a shoe! Can you spot a flying shoe? 🙂
Have you found where the shoe has gone? 🙂
The night skies in the outback are dark and full of stars. It is such a relaxing and rewarding experience to look at the Milky Way and spot occasional stars falling.
Night skies at Coalseam Conservation Park
Lookouts and walking trails in Coalseam
There are a few other things to see and places to visit apart from wildflowers in Coalseam Conservation park. 2km away from the Miner’s camp, there is Irwin River Lookout. An easy 500 meter loop walk to the cliff edge provides spectacular views over the Irwin River.
Irwin River Lookout
Below it (you would need to drive back and around to reach it) is River Bend, where you can view the banded layers in the cliff above. It is a nice picnic spot with bbq and toilets.
River Bend
Seeing a snake is always a little bit terrifying but also exciting! After all, it is an opportunity to see it in their natural environment. We saw this Stimson’s python (also known as Children’s python) on our way to Irwin River Lookout, about 2km away from the Miner’s campground.
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