Tag: where to see wildflowers in the Wheatbelt

Boyagin nature reserve

Start of Boyagin Rock trail

Boyagin nature reserve in the Wheatbelt area is an example of how the natural bushland looked like before the land was cleared for farming. It is a great place to observe wildlife and native wildflowers. Actually, you can drive through the reserve. Although the track gets steep and uneven at some places, so you would need a 4WD for that.

The heart of the reserve is Boyagin Rock, that rises 50 m above the land. There is a 1,1km moderately challenging and steep walk to the top of the rock. In spring and winter it is a nice place to enjoy the wildflowers.

Native wild flowers

Fringed Mantis Orchid Caladenia falcata (above left), Cowslip Orchid Caladenia Flava (above middle), Patersonia Occidentalis Purple Flag (above right).

Facilites at Boyagin nature reserve

Near the Boyagin Rock carpark there is a picnic area with tables, gas bbq, toilets and an excellent information display. The posters depict rich information about the reserve and its history. You can also learn there how the Rock plays an important role for Noongar people. We didn’t actually climb the rock as we ran out of time driving through the reserve itself.

Information display under shelter

Additional information:

Byoagin Rock is 175km south east of Perth and 26km north west of Pingelly. Camping and dogs are not allowed at the reserve.

Yornaning Dam

Yornaning Dam, 24km  north of Narrogin in the Wheatbelt, turned out to be a nice surprise for us. The dam was originally built to provide water for steam locomotives on the railway line between Perth and Albany and fresh water for Narrogin. Nowadays the dam is used for recreational swimming and as a picnic spot. We stopped at Yornaning Dam on our way home after camping at Dryandra Woodland. Being it close to home, we decided to spend a bit of time at this place.

What’s on offer at Yornaning Dam

First,there are a couple of easy walk and cycling trails around the dam, which are quite picturesque.

Map of Yornaning Dam

If you are into photography, this is a great place to spend some time. Second, the dam also attracts many native birds and animals. Third, the area around Yornaning Dam is actually a reserve, which means you will find great flora and fauna. Late winter and spring is particulaly a good time for viewing wildflowers, including a few types of orchids.

Custard Orchid Thelymitra villosa (above left), Green Spider Orchid Caladenia falcata (above middle), Prasophyllum cyphochilum Pouched Leek Orchid (above right).

Calytrix breviseta (above left), Fringed Lily (above middle), Orthrosanthus multiflorus Morning Iris (above right).

Facilities at Yornaning Dam

Picnic spot near dam

Yornaing Dam has excellent facilities, which include picnic tables, bbq, toilets and children’s playground. The view on the dam is awesome, especially if it is a nice slightly cloudy day or, perhaps, at sunset. While we had our lunch at the dam, we saw a number of people camping there. Apparently, according to the Cuballing shire website, if you are self-sufficient, you can camp there for free, for a maximum of 3 nights. Dogs are welcome on the leash.

To sum up, Yornaning Dam is a great place to visit. We’ll probably be back one day camping there.

Foxes Lair and Narrogin

Foxes Lair is a bushland reserve, on the edge of Narrogin town in the Wheatbelt area. It is well known to wildflower enthusiasts and lovers of bird and wildlife. We visited it as part of our trip to Dryandra Woodland, searching for wildflowers, late September. It was a wonderful addition to our camping trip, as we took our time to take it slow and enjoy the outdoors.

Valley Loop Trail

What to do in Foxes Lair

Foxes Lair is a great place to enjoy nature, go hiking, cycling or picnicing. There are 5 walking trails within the reserve, all quite easy. In addition, there is also a cycle trail and 3 picnic grounds within the reserve. Facilities include shelter and picnic tables but no toilets (you can find public toilets a short drive away in Narrogin).

Boy sitting on a stone with a fox picture

Marri picnic ground

Wildflowers at Foxes Lair

These are the flowers spotted late September along Valley Loop trail.

Yellow orchid with red stripes

Cowslip Orchid Caladenia Flava (above left), Holly-leaved Mirbelia Mirbelia dilatata (above middle), Glischrocaryon aureum Common Popflower (above right).

Blue fan flower
White everlasting

Lechenaultia biloba (above left), Podolepis gracilis Slender Podolepis (above middle), Rhodanthe citrina (above right).

White stalk flowers
pink trigger plant

Stackhousia monogyna Creamy candles (above left), Stylidium ecorne Foot Triggerplant (above middle), Stark White Spider Orchid Caladenia longicauda eminens (above right).

White Banjine Pimelea ciliata (above left), Stypandra glauca Blind Grass (above middle), Stylidium caricifolium (above right).

Narrogin

While you visit Foxes Lair nature reserve, it is worthwhile to drop at nearby Narrogin visitor centre. We were pleasantly surprised with this nice little information centre, run by friendly volunteers. The centre is well stocked with lots of information on the surrounding parks, reserves and other attractions.


Furthermore, Dryandra Country Visitor Centre in Narrogin has an interesting interactive display – diorama of Narrogin back in 1960s. Apparently, it is still work in progress, so next time you visit it, there might be a bigger and more detailed display on offer.

Diorama of Narrogin

Apart from the visitor centre, Narrogin is quite a nice town by itself. It is relatively large, which means you can easily stock up on food and fuel. Also, there are also a number of pretty and interesting parks within the town.

Memorial park in Narrogin

So, next time you are passing by, we recommend you stop by at Narrogin! And, of course, Foxes Lair is a must if you are searching for wildflowers.

Everlastings, coal, paper planes and other attractions at Coalseam Conservation Park

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 insect
Orange immortelle Waitzia acuminata
Rhodante chlorocephala Pink white everlasting
Rhodanthe chlorocephala Pink white everlasting
Waitzia suaveolens
Thysanotus tuberosus Fringed Lily
York gum
York 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.

Stimson’s python