On St Mary’s Beach at Point Ann, the powdery white sand squeaks beneath our hiking boots as the dazzling turquoise of the Southern Ocean gently laps the shore. About 50 metres out from the beach a dark, grey fin waves to us. Then another. We are all excited at the sighting. Whales!
The water is not always this calm. Sometimes the southerly wind is icy and the ocean wild, the wind strong behind us walking eastwards along the beach.
About a kilometre along St Mary’s Beach we turn off the beach, and walk up a dune and into the bush.
We are on the Mamang trail (Mamang is a Noongar word for whale), we will see more whales once we are back near the ocean. Now, we wade through a pink carpet of melaleucas and verticortias.
The Mamang Trail - in the Fitzgerald River National Park…
Blue Leschenaultia claw flowers sway in the low coastal heath and red grevillea nudiflora flowers reach out onto the rocky sandy path, alone on their stems.
Exposed hakea seed pods range in sizes as the end of the curly white tendrils start to brown and come to the end of their bloom.
Low on the ground Honey Pot Banksias and Petrophile Longifolia give texture to the path, softened by the pastel blue of a subtle smoke bush.
This year, probably due to the plentiful rainfall they have experienced after almost 3 years of drought, the Banksia lemanniana shrubs are heavy with yellowing flowers, in various stages of growth. Like lanterns these textured banksias illuminate the bush.
Banksia lemanniana - Fitzgerald River National Park
Not much later, I shriek when we find the Western Tiny Blue orchids in the same spot they were last year.
On the way to the Ravensthorpe Range we stop for a short stroll through the Kukenarup Memorial. Like sweet surprises, Purple Enamel and Lemon-Scented Sun orchids appear throughout the low heath. Scattered in small groups, colonies of Spider Orchids, sway peacefully in the breeze.
On the Ravensthorpe Range the pink Kunzea flowers spill out onto the rugged red of the four-wheel track where we walk, oohing and wowing at the floral spectacle. The views of the mine below us do not detract from the sheer enjoyment of being immersed in a diversity of wildflowers that is hard to match.
Kunzea sp. on the Ravensthorpe Range
Yellow Grevillea Shuttleworthiannas and Acacia opheolithica hug the edges of the trail.
There are Purple Dampiera and white Goodenias, Grevillea coccinea (toothbrush), Grevillea pectinata, Grevillea tripartite, Grevillea fulgens, and two different species of Boronia. The Ravensthorpe Bottlebrush is also flowering early and the Acacia glaucoptera is full of yellow blooms.
Tennis Ball Banksia - Banksia laevigata
The Hake Trail - Fitzgerald River National Park
Further south, we walk on the west side of the FRNP where the Hakea trail follows the coastline from Quoin Head to Cave Point. Our walk from Hammersley Inlet to West Beach is about 13 km. There are plenty of Melaleucas in flower; more pink. Royal Hakeas sway and rattle above red spiky claw flowers (Calathamnus sp), light pink boronias, and Banksia lemannias are plentiful.
We sight purple enamel orchids and cowslips too. Trigger plants litter the edges of the trail as we approach West Beach - tall pink ones and creamy cow-kicks; here also the yellow of Eucalyptus preissiana flowers shine to the brackdrop of the breathtaking coastline.
All over the biosphere, we see Qualup Bells, but nowhere are they more colourful and abundant than at the Barren’s Lookout. Several bushes there are heavy with scoops of pink-yellow blooms.
And, this year, also flowering early, the Barren’s Regalia or Regelia velutina, lines the track all the way up to the magnificent views from East Mt Barren
Barren’s Regalia on top of East Mt Barren, Fitzgerald River National Park