Five great Australian wildflower hotspots to explore

Australian winters might not be as harsh as Europe or North America but in the drier parts of this continent it might mean rain, and water brings growth – often in profusion as plants take their chance to flower. And even if you’re not a botanist or gardener, a carpet of wildflowers is food for the soul and makes for fab Insta posts! Here are five places to go looking.

Western Australia is wildflower central when spring arrives - the rains come and the desert blooms. But it’s a big place so flower-fans are spoiled for choice and one good location is Coalseam Conservation Park, about four hours north of Perth. Here the local fauna has escaped wheatbelt clearing and in spring, swathes of the 754 hectare park are covered in yellow and pink everlasting flowers. Camp at Miners campground or nearby Mingenew, walk the 3.2km Plateau Loop Trail and spend some time in a sea of flowers.

Western Australia has its deserts, but southern NSW has alpine meadows that after the winter snow melts are carpeted with flowers that will have you yodelling like the Von Trapp family. Forget edelweiss though: the Kosciuszko National Park’s high trails such as Dead Horse Gap or the 13km Kosciuszko Walk are awash with jewel-like purple eyebrights, yellow billy buttons and everlasting daisies. Or just drive the Alpine Way between Canberra and Thredbo and see what the roadside has to offer.

The Grampians is one of Victoria’s bigger national parks at 1670 square kilometres and with around 1000 flowering plant species becomes a floral cornucopia when spring arrives. The best place to start is in Pomonal on the Melbourne side, with its annual native flower show and wildflower walk but honestly, any of the drives or hikes out of Halls Gap or further south near Dunkeld are bursting with colour from September through to December.

No excuse is really needed to visit the Flinders Ranges given the rugged outback scenery and relative accessibility to the southern states. But wildflower season late in the year, especially after the winter rains is perfect: the southern Flinders at Mt Remarkable is only three hours from Adelaide and the fringe myrtle and mintbush flower prolifically. Further north at Wilpena Pound there are walking tracks aplenty and the resort offers rooms and glamping options for non-camping types.

Time to dust off that flowing white dress and floppy hat and head for … not Provence, but north-eastern Tasmania where the lavender is just as spectacular. Okay, lavender isn’t a wildflower but at Bridestow Lavender Estate the curvaceous rows of purple cover 105 acres and your Insta-buddies will go green from the spectacular scenery. The farm was founded with seeds from the south of France back in 1921 and for full flowering the best time to visit is usually from mid-December to mid-January.

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