Arrive early into Perth? The West Australian capital has some of Australia’s most happening lifestyle precincts, many filled with eye-popping street art, others with the kind of cafés you might expect to find on the streets of New York. Explore at your leisure before meeting fellow flower lovers for drinks and canapés as the sun sets over the mighty Swan River.
Settle in for a few hours of hypnotic coastal scenery as you make your way north to Kalbarri. All the wave gazing is thirsty work. Thankfully, family-owned Illegal Tender Rum Co. has a few quenching distillations prepared for your arrival. Go behind the scenes to glimpse how this distinctive sugar-cane-based spirit is made, sampling award-winning spiced rum (among others) while you wander. Lunch is served on the distillery’s deck overlooking dreamy fields, with each bite like Western Australia in a mouthful.
Some 400 million years ago, the Murchison River carved its way through Kalbarri National Park, leaving behind echo-inspiring gorges of red-and white banded sandstone as well as soaring coastal cliffs. It’s quite the sight, and best taken in from a height. Enter the Kalbarri Skywalk, a precipitous projection 25 metres beyond the gorge rim and a dizzying 100 metres above the river. A different perspective is offered from the Hawk’s Head Lookout and Nature’s Window, the latter a natural rock arch that frames the gorge far below. The real reason you’re here, however, is for the wildflowers – more than 12,000 species carpet this part of the state, 60 per cent of which are found nowhere else on Earth. Some are hard to find, so tread lightly.
Step back in time – all the way to 1853 – when you arrive at Lynton Station, a former convict depot and homestead composed of a collection of historic limestone buildings. Just as eye-opening is Hutt Lagoon, an enormous lake that is sometimes bubblegum pink, sometimes lilac, and occasionally even red. The high salinity here determines its hue at different times of year. Your last stop is the moving HMAS Sydney Memorial, high on the hill overlooking Geraldton; it pays homage to the ship’s crew who were lost when it went down off the West Australian coast.
Geraldton is the gateway to a bedazzlement of wildflowers – picking where to go can be daunting. We have a little black book of hotspots, like Mullewa, which straddles both geological and climatic transition zones. Translation: it’s a floral wonderland. Expect waves of everlastings and flowering shrubs along roadsides and in surrounding nature reserves, and have your camera poised to snap the star attraction: the wreath flower. Your Travel Director knows where to look.
Arriving at Nambung National Park, you may think you’ve been transported to the moon, so surreal is the desert landscape of limestone pillars that surrounds. Welcome to The Pinnacles, jutting out from shifting yellow sands and standing up to five metres tall. You’re walking amid history: these structures were created millions of years ago as seashells were broken down into sand and then eroded by water and wind. After a scenic drive back to Perth, join your Travel Director and fellow wildflower lovers for a Farewell Dinner.
You’ve seen blooms around the state. But one final glimpse remains in Perth’s lush Kings Park. It’s remarkable to think that this inner-city patch of green is home to the Western Australian Botanic Gardens, replete with more than 3,000 species of the state’s unique flora. What a powerful end to a flower-filled journey.