Download Biodiversity hotspot you have to see to believe!

F E AT U R E
The
Biodiversity
hotspot
you have to see
to believe!
Trevor Cochrane
Take a tour of the incredible Coral Coast with Trevor Cochrane
and discover the beauty that awaits each and every spring.
I m ag e s A u s t r a l i a’s C or a l C o a s t
T
Green bird flower
Image: Fed Maiz Hohlberg
24
The Garden Guru Magazine / Issue No. 56 / Spring 2015
here’s a lot of us willing to save for
a long time to get enough money
to have a once in a lifetime experience in biodiversity hotspots like
the Galapagos Islands, Mascarene Islands,
Borneo and South Africa. These places are
well known as having more species per
square kilometre than any other place on
the planet, with one exception – and its
right under your nose. It’s the Coral Coast
in Western Australia and it has to be one of
Australia’s best kept secrets.
Western Australia has long been
known as the wildflower state and 2015
looks like being the best season in many
years. The hotspots to visit are in a region known as Australia’s Coral Coast,
which runs from Exmouth in the north
to the Jurien Bay/Cervantes regions just
north of Perth. It’s one of my favourite
places to visit on the planet. The 14,000plus wildflower species found here play
a big part of it in the August to October
period, but it has a landscape unlike anywhere else I’ve been, in many ways almost spiritual in its effect on the visitor.
If you haven’t experienced this phenomenon before, let me share some tips.
The first step is planning a road trip,
one you will thoroughly enjoy, I promise. There are 16 national parks from
the Exmouth to Jurien Bay area that are
very special places for wildflower displays. While you are in Exmouth, check
out the Ningaloo Reef region. This reef
is the second biggest coral reef system
on the planet, next to the Great Barrier
Reef on the East Coast. This is a region
completely unspoiled by human population and it offers the unique experience
of swimming with whale sharks in the
>>
winter months.
The Garden Guru Magazine / Issue No. 56 / Spring 2015
25
F E AT U R E
A
B
C
A. Dampier pea (Swainsona pterostylis). B. Sturt’s desert pea. Image: Melanie McCarthy.
C. Wreath leschenaultia (lechenaultia macrantha).
26
The Garden Guru Magazine / Issue No. 56 / Spring 2015
Start your drive along the coast
through Cape Range National Park. It’s a
place with stunning gorges, spectacular
coastal scenery, wildlife everywhere and
some of the most amazing wildflowers
you are ever likely to see. There are 630
different flowering plants here, but a
highlight for me is the mulla mullas and
the Sturt’s desert pea flower displays.
If you take the Yardie Creek cruise or
drive the coastal journey to walk the cliff
faces, make sure you take time to marvel at the native figs that have somehow
rooted themselves into the side of cliff
faces and hang precariously off sheer
drops. I always look at this and marvel
at just how determined Mother Nature is
when it comes to finding a place to live.
The area on the southern tip of the range
is known as Minilya and the roadhouse
here is often a stop for breakfast if you
are beginning your day travelling south.
The area surrounding this is home to
stunning grevilleas, wattles, everlastings
and Dampiera that put on stunning displays during this time.
As spring approaches, the wildflower
displays move south through the Gascoyne to the truly remarkable Kalbarri
region, home to stunning displays of the
most beautiful banksia species and another 800 species of wildflowers found
nowhere else on this planet. There’s
three banksias that stand out for me;
ashby’s banksia being the first. Its flowers literally drip with nectar and the
birds and bees revel in an absolute feeding frenzy. The acorn banksia is another
beauty and a small tree will be smothered with as many as 80 flowers at the
season peak (usually in August and
September). The candlestick banksia is
another that is simply stunning when
smothered in its long golden flowers.
There are of course hundreds of other
highlights, but make sure you look for the
spider orchids. WA is home to an amazing
array of terrestrial (or ground) orchids
and one of my favourites is the Kalbarri
spider orchid. You can’t pick them, but
you can definitely take photos to admire
their gorgeous blooms forever more.
Heading south along the coastal road
you will pass through stunning coastal pastoral lands smothered in golden
fields of canola, or discover convict trading ruins in Port Gregory, or maybe the
pink lake that, on sunset, provides simply stunning photography opportunities.
The town of Port Gregory itself is quaint
with a rich history as both a fishing town
and as the most southern point attacked
by Japanese forces in World War II. The
reef system that creates the bay there
is rich in life, including corals, sponges,
amazing tropical fish, the best table fish
you could hope to find, as well as scallops and Western rock lobster. It makes
a very productive fishing experience or
snorkeling adventure.
Geraldton is your next stop south –
a busy town and the gateway to one of
the more incredible wildflower experiences on the coral coast. Head inland to
vast plains smothered in everlastings.
The whole nature of the plants in these
places changes significantly compared to
the Kalbarri coastal regions. The wreath
flowers appear along with coastal morrisons of yellow or pink. They have to be
one of the most remarkable wildflowers
of all, with millions of flowers attracting
the most incredible bird and mammal
life. If you take the coastal road south
you discover Eneabba, a small town surrounded by low, scrub-like, hard-looking
flora that turns into an amazing display
of colour in spring. Known as kwongan
— the Aboriginal word for low, hard
scrub and heathland — it’s home to
some of WA’s most iconic wildflowers,
including feather flowers, Geraldton wax
and smoke bush. I really love this area,
there’s something quite magical about it
and the landscape. The ancient cycads at
“Western Australia has long been known
as the wildflower state and 2015
looks like being the best season in many years.”
Badgingarra are a reminder of just how
old this place is. Isolated for hundreds of
thousands of years, the flora and animals
have evolved and are unique to this area.
The black kangaroo paw has always
been a fascination for me. It’s now extremely trendy in places such as Europe
where people really appreciate just how
amazing this flower is. Other parts of
the world can do everything they can to
grow them, however this is a plant that
only grows naturally in a region that’s a
few hundred kilometres across.
I could rave about this part of the
world forever; it’s one of my favourite
places on the planet. As mentioned before, it’s been WA’s best kept secret, but I
think the more that know the better. It’s
a treasure that should be shared with all
Australians and overseas guests alike.
If you want to discover Australia’s Coral
Coast for yourself, check out their web site,
I promise you you will absolutely love it.
www.australiascoralcoast.com
WINTER DOESN’T LAST FOREVER.
PLAN YOUR WILDFLOWER ESCAPE TODAY.
wildflowerwatch.COM.au
The Garden Guru Magazine / Issue No. 56 / Spring 2015
27
F E AT U R E
A
B
C
A. Dampier pea (Swainsona pterostylis). B. Sturt’s desert pea. Image: Melanie McCarthy.
C. Wreath leschenaultia (lechenaultia macrantha).
26
The Garden Guru Magazine / Issue No. 56 / Spring 2015
Start your drive along the coast
through Cape Range National Park. It’s a
place with stunning gorges, spectacular
coastal scenery, wildlife everywhere and
some of the most amazing wildflowers
you are ever likely to see. There are 630
different flowering plants here, but a
highlight for me is the mulla mullas and
the Sturt’s desert pea flower displays.
If you take the Yardie Creek cruise or
drive the coastal journey to walk the cliff
faces, make sure you take time to marvel at the native figs that have somehow
rooted themselves into the side of cliff
faces and hang precariously off sheer
drops. I always look at this and marvel
at just how determined Mother Nature is
when it comes to finding a place to live.
The area on the southern tip of the range
is known as Minilya and the roadhouse
here is often a stop for breakfast if you
are beginning your day travelling south.
The area surrounding this is home to
stunning grevilleas, wattles, everlastings
and Dampiera that put on stunning displays during this time.
As spring approaches, the wildflower
displays move south through the Gascoyne to the truly remarkable Kalbarri
region, home to stunning displays of the
most beautiful banksia species and another 800 species of wildflowers found
nowhere else on this planet. There’s
three banksias that stand out for me;
ashby’s banksia being the first. Its flowers literally drip with nectar and the
birds and bees revel in an absolute feeding frenzy. The acorn banksia is another
beauty and a small tree will be smothered with as many as 80 flowers at the
season peak (usually in August and
September). The candlestick banksia is
another that is simply stunning when
smothered in its long golden flowers.
There are of course hundreds of other
highlights, but make sure you look for the
spider orchids. WA is home to an amazing
array of terrestrial (or ground) orchids
and one of my favourites is the Kalbarri
spider orchid. You can’t pick them, but
you can definitely take photos to admire
their gorgeous blooms forever more.
Heading south along the coastal road
you will pass through stunning coastal pastoral lands smothered in golden
fields of canola, or discover convict trading ruins in Port Gregory, or maybe the
pink lake that, on sunset, provides simply stunning photography opportunities.
The town of Port Gregory itself is quaint
with a rich history as both a fishing town
and as the most southern point attacked
by Japanese forces in World War II. The
reef system that creates the bay there
is rich in life, including corals, sponges,
amazing tropical fish, the best table fish
you could hope to find, as well as scallops and Western rock lobster. It makes
a very productive fishing experience or
snorkeling adventure.
Geraldton is your next stop south –
a busy town and the gateway to one of
the more incredible wildflower experiences on the coral coast. Head inland to
vast plains smothered in everlastings.
The whole nature of the plants in these
places changes significantly compared to
the Kalbarri coastal regions. The wreath
flowers appear along with coastal morrisons of yellow or pink. They have to be
one of the most remarkable wildflowers
of all, with millions of flowers attracting
the most incredible bird and mammal
life. If you take the coastal road south
you discover Eneabba, a small town surrounded by low, scrub-like, hard-looking
flora that turns into an amazing display
of colour in spring. Known as kwongan
— the Aboriginal word for low, hard
scrub and heathland — it’s home to
some of WA’s most iconic wildflowers,
including feather flowers, Geraldton wax
and smoke bush. I really love this area,
there’s something quite magical about it
and the landscape. The ancient cycads at
“Western Australia has long been known
as the wildflower state and 2015
looks like being the best season in many years.”
Badgingarra are a reminder of just how
old this place is. Isolated for hundreds of
thousands of years, the flora and animals
have evolved and are unique to this area.
The black kangaroo paw has always
been a fascination for me. It’s now extremely trendy in places such as Europe
where people really appreciate just how
amazing this flower is. Other parts of
the world can do everything they can to
grow them, however this is a plant that
only grows naturally in a region that’s a
few hundred kilometres across.
I could rave about this part of the
world forever; it’s one of my favourite
places on the planet. As mentioned before, it’s been WA’s best kept secret, but I
think the more that know the better. It’s
a treasure that should be shared with all
Australians and overseas guests alike.
If you want to discover Australia’s Coral
Coast for yourself, check out their web site,
I promise you you will absolutely love it.
www.australiascoralcoast.com
WINTER DOESN’T LAST FOREVER.
PLAN YOUR WILDFLOWER ESCAPE TODAY.
wildflowerwatch.COM.au
The Garden Guru Magazine / Issue No. 56 / Spring 2015
27