Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Moments
Tiptoeing Through the Wildflowers
Every year from August to mid-November, the southern half of West-
ern Australia is blessed with a carpet of 12,000 species of white, yellow,
mauve, pink, red, and blue
wildflowers
.
Wildflower shows and festivals in country towns throughout the
state accompany this annual blossoming, and coach- and rail-tour com-
panies ferry enthusiasts from all around Australia and the globe on
wildflower tours. You can check out the wildflowers on day trips from
Perth, or on longer jaunts of up to 5 days or so. September and Octo-
ber are the peak months.
If time is short, you can go to Perth's Kings Park & Botanic Garden,
which conducts free guided walks through its 2,000 species during its
10-day Wildflower Festival every September.
Because Australian flora is adapted to desert conditions, it tends to
sprout on dry, sunny days following a rain shower. The Western Aus-
tralian Tourism Commission's Perth Visitor Centre (see “Visitor Infor-
mation,” above) can keep you up to speed on whatever spot is
blooming brightest that week, and they can book you on one of the
coach and rail wildflower tours. The Commission produces a 32-page
Wildflower Holiday Guide
brochure that describes self-drive wild-
flower routes, accommodations houses and events en route, and wild-
flower tour operators. It is downloadable from the Commission's
website (www.westernaustralia.net).
Interstate buses, trains, and hotels fill up fast in wildflower season,
so book ahead.
08/9417 5555; www.pinnacletours.com.au) and
Feature Tours
(
&
1800/999
819
in Australia, or 08/9475 2900; www.ft.com.au) visit Perth, the Southwest,
Monkey Mia, the Northwest Cape, and attractions about a day's drive away,
such as Wave Rock (a large wave-shaped rock; see the box “Catching a Silent
Wave”) and the Pinnacles (weird limestone formations in the desert). Australian
Pinnacle Tours also does four-wheel-drive tours.
Overland 4WD Safaris
(
&
08/
9524 7122
) runs four-wheel-drive safaris from Perth throughout the state with
an off-the-beaten-track bent.
Aerial tours make sense in Western Australia. Look into the personalized or pre-
set tours offered by
Complete Aviation Services
(
&
1800/632 221
in Australia,
or 08/9478 2749; www.casair.com.au) or
Kookaburra Air
(
&
08/9354 1158;
www.kookaburra.iinet.net.au). Their tours from Perth can take you throughout
Western Australia, including the Kimberley, the Top End, and the Red Centre.
Landscope Expeditions
is an excellent tour program run by the state
Conservation and Land Management Department, or
CALM.
The University
of Western Australia handles books (
&
08/9380 2433;
fax 08/9380 1066 for a
free schedule; www.calm.wa.gov.au). You'll be helping CALM scientists on
research projects, such as monitoring endangered loggerhead turtles on Dirk
Hartog Island, traveling through the evocative landscapes of the Gascoyne
Region's rugged hinterland with an artist and a botanist, or sailing the remote
islands of the Pilbara coast.
