By Colin and Prue Kerr

They’ve been talked about, sung about, written about, photographed, filmed, and admired by thousands of locals and visitors alike for as long as anyone can remember. Indeed, Western Australia’s wildflowers are world-renowned, with over 12,000 different species, mostly flowering from late winter in WA’s Kimberley region through to early summer along the south coast. Travellers are, in fact, spoilt for choice, and regardless of where they roam in the state, there is always something new and colourful to discover, even at other times of the year.

Throughout WA, there are quite a number of well-publicised wildflower trails that range from short two-to three-day outings up to quite extensive adventures lasting several weeks through some of the more remote parts of the state.

Living in WA, we have been fortunate to have experienced a number of these trails in the past, and last year, with a couple of weeks free to get away in spring, it was time to hit the road again and see some more. This time, however, we decided to add other dimensions to our travels: granite rocks and outback history.

While on the subject of rocks, we have previously visited a few of WA’s fascinating huge granite monoliths, but on studying a detailed map, we recently learned of at least six or eight more large outcrops spread out through some of the state’s best wildflower country in an arc between 200 km and 300 km north-east of Perth. Armed with this knowledge, we needed no more incentives to hit the trail!

Heading out of the city, we commenced our latest adventure with a caravan in tow at Meckering, the site of a large earthquake back in October 1968, on the Great Eastern Highway some 130 km east of Perth, where some evidence of the destruction caused all those years ago can still be seen, including one old farmhouse that has been left exactly as it was after the earthquake—a sobering reminder of nature’s powerful forces.

Our travels from here turned north-east through Wheatbelt country to our first granite outcrop, Yorkrakine Rock, and what a beauty to start our trail of discovery. In the bush around its base, small wild flowers were starting to emerge from their winter recess, and up on the rock itself, we found colourful sundews in some of the small, still moist depressions in the rock. Our aim on this trip was to climb as many of these rocks as we could, and this one gave us a good workout before coming back down for an early lunch. There’s a day-use-only picnic area here, with toilets being the only facility provided.

Another interesting and quite handy aspect of the many rocks we encountered on this trip is that, with mobile service generally quite patchy out here, quite good reception was often obtained up there on top of the rocks! So, if you are ever travelling through this part of the country, carry your mobile in your pocket or backpack on your climbs and enjoy keeping in touch with family and friends with a feeling of ‘sitting on top of the world!

Further east on our travels, amongst some colourful daisies, grevilleas, and hakeas, Danberrin Hill (named by explorer C.C. Hunt in 1864) has a beaut campsite with a picnic table, toilets and a fire pit. A short walk of about 200 metres takes visitors to a collection of colourful boulders with a huge granite rock at least 100 m high and several kilometres in circumference towering behind them and a tall monument standing on top in recognition of the pioneers of Nungarin Civil Service Settlement from 1909–1919.

After enjoying a nice, peaceful camp that night, which we had completely to ourselves, we moved on northwards the next morning again, past wheat crops and a series of brilliant yellow paddocks full of canola. While most roads out here are gravel, they were all in excellent condition, and with crops lining both sides of the road and sections of natural bush with colourful daisies, pink pokers, hakeas, and bottlebrush to be seen along the way (and very little traffic), it was a most pleasant driving experience. Near the small town of Trayning, we stopped off at several more rocks, including Tangplang Rock (many colourful daisies found here), and the nearby Trayning Well, dating back to 1869, was also worth a visit. Curiously, as a sign here pointed out, the Aboriginal name for this area is “snake crawling in the grass near a campsite!”

Whiteman’s Rock, a tall, stand-alone white-coloured rock, was our next discovery before reaching quite a broad, low-lying rocky outcrop—the Trayning gnamma holes on the road to Bencubbin. These depressions in the rocks, some only 10 cm to 20 cm deep and others a lot deeper, often contain water for many months after rainfall. These sources of water have been well known to Indigenous Australians in the area for thousands of years, and for early explorers, gnamma holes were a welcome source of water as they travelled through many parts of outback Australia well over 100 years ago.

As we headed towards our next campsite at Marshall Rock, we called into the historic Pergande sheep yards and the ruins of the old Pergande Homestead (dating back to 1913). The intriguing thing about the sheep yards here is that instead of being made of timber, they were constructed with rocks. From nearby local granite outcrops, thin slabs of rock were peeled off the rock face and carted back to the farm. Quite creatively, using these slabs standing on edge, the early settlers here then made fences/runs to contain, draft, and separate sheep instead of using any form of suitable timber, which must have been in short supply. A curious and quite strange sight indeed!

At Marshall Rock, we found another well-spread-out camping area with toilets and plenty of shade. On the climb to the top of this large rock, we found a number of smaller, strangely shaped boulders balancing on the main rock face, and to our surprise, right up on top, there is a table and chairs placed here to enjoy the panoramic view over the rural countryside. We have made a mental note for next time to carry a drink and happy hour nibbles up to this spot to enjoy as we watch the sun go down. During our travels, we, in fact, enjoyed a number of great sunsets from both our bush campsites and on top of rocky outcrops.

Another unexpected sight we encountered on our trip (near Bencubbin) was a farm fence extending several hundred metres, created from old bicycles! To collect and then put together so many old bikes and turn them into such an eye-catching sight was indeed quite an achievement!

As the days went by, we passed quite a number of interesting, mostly dry, salt lakes as well as plenty more wildflowers, including grevilleas, daisies, small orchids, and cassias. We also continued to seek out and climb several more rocks, including Datjoin Rocks (another historic well located near here), Billiburning Rock, the Yellari gnamma holes, and Crimpey’s Tank near Beacon, before turning west to Mollerin Rock.

Here, like most of the others, we were presented with another nice, level, well-spread-out campsite with a picnic shelter, fire pits, and an immaculately clean and modern eco-friendly toilet with tank water, all conveniently located at the base of yet another interesting granite rock with plenty more secluded camping spots around its base. With another couple around a campfire that night, we enjoyed a damper cooked in the coals and then topped with jam and cream, all washed down with a few cold drinks during ‘happy hour’! Tough stuff, this camping! All of these campsites, by the way, and others still to come, are free of any fees or even donation boxes, all thanks to the local Shires, which provide and maintain these quite splendid facilities.

Recognising these efforts and, of course, the hard times these rural communities have experienced in recent years, we are, like lots of other travellers these days, quite happy to spend some money in the small towns along the way at local bakeries, coffee at the town café, fruit and vegetables at roadside stalls, and fuel at local servos—and with friendly smiles and a brief chat, the folk out here clearly appreciate all the support they receive!

At Koorda, we checked out the cleverly and creatively made corn dollies, which are the main attraction of their annual Corn Dolly Festival (held in September each year), before heading to our next camp at Newcarlbean Rock, which, like some of the others, features low cement/rock channelling designed to collect rainwater off the rocks, which, via gravity run-off, is channelled to huge tanks set up at the base of the rocks—a clever way to accumulate a reliable water supply out here for both stock and often for farmhouse use.

Our chosen trail then took us further westward, to more gnamma holes (with their colourful sundews), the historic Xantippe Tank, and onwards to Dalwallinu, well known for its prolific and very colourful displays of many different varieties of wattles. Also worth checking out here in Dalwallinu is another old well (1909) on the edge of town and the splendid Centenary of Anzac Memorial Walls—quite a striking feature in the middle of town. Further on, we called into the lovely old mud brick Cailbro School building, which dates back to 1939 and is still in good condition. With some of its old school desks still in place and plenty of memorabilia around the walls, this was indeed another surprise find during our travels.

Around Wubin, we were on the lookout for the unique wreath flowers, and we were not disappointed. Growing in gravelly soil, right beside and sometimes on the edge of roadways, these curious plants are found nowhere else in the world except for this inland regional area of WA (stretching away to the north-west from here to around Mullewa and Pindar). These colourful flowers, part of the Leschenaultia family, can be seen growing outward in a circular form with the flowers lining the outside rim—quite spectacular. They only flower once a year, usually around August/September/October (depending on the weather), and like other spring-flowering wildflowers, they have their best seasons after good late autumn or early winter rain.

Near Wubin, Wubin Rock (with its nearby gnamma holes) and Buntine Rock were a couple more large granite outcrops worth exploring before we went searching for three lonely historic graves hidden away in a small cemetery not far out of town. Having ticked these off, it was onto the Mia Moon Gnamma Holes before heading to Watheroo to check out another geological feature—the historic Jingemia Cave.

This huge, deep cave is a significant Aboriginal site with a number of mythological stories and ceremonial connections. The cave, deep within a rocky hillside, has for years also been the home of a bat colony, and their droppings (bat poo—guano) was mined here for agricultural fertiliser for a number of years. A short, rocky trail here gives excellent cliff-top views of the cave.

Now heading south, we started to see quite a number of different banksias in flower along the roadside. These quite prolifically flowering bushes make a lovely colourful show, and depending on the variety, they can be seen flowering at different times of the year.

Another appealing feature of our travels through some of the small rural towns along this route is that apart from all being extremely clean and tidy, many have created some beaut attractions, including colourful murals, sculptures, artworks, and agricultural displays, all clearly showing the pride these small communities have in themselves. Congratulations to them all.

After passing through Moora with its beautiful murals and sculptures, our final night in the bush just south of town was at Koojan Salmon Gum Reserve, where, once again, we were treated to some lovely sunset colours through the trees!

Next morning, travelling further south through Bindoon and Muchea, we continued to stop regularly, photographing and admiring more colourful wildflower displays and even the quite strange-looking woody pears all growing on the side of the road.

On completion of this most enjoyable adventure trail, which for us included a few rest days here and there, we were away for just two weeks and travelled close to 1,500 km, although never more than 300 km from Perth. Looking back on our experiences, we still felt we had only just scratched the surface of what there is to see and do in this near-city region. We might just have to do it all again (early-mid spring) and include a couple more rocks we didn’t get to last time! See you out there!

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

• There are several different Wheatbelt Way Drive Trail maps and wildflower guide booklets available from local information centres along the way.
• If you are looking for other accommodation options apart from all the free camping sites at many locations, there are caravan parks in a number of towns as well as hotels, cabins, and B&B options available; check with any of the local information centres. The Shire of Dalwallinu also has plenty of valuable information on its website, dalwallinu.wa.gov.au, or by phone at (08)96610500. The Dalwallinu Wattle Week is held in the second week of September and includes farm and wildflower bus tours.

This adventure can be found in the 131st edition of Western 4W Driver at issuu.com