Before leaving on a holiday to Western Australia, people asked if I was going for the wildflowers. That was news to me!

But before the journey was over, I became adept at spotting flora.

Western Australia is renowned for its wildflowers, having the largest number of varieties in the world (1200) and there are some dramatic and worthwhile trails that enable you to catch them in the right season, which is generally September/October.

We stopped in all sorts of places, in 40C heat and 18C cool climate, crouched down in the dirt, hoping to avoid snakes and semi-trailers, and did our best. I have since tried to find the names of them all, but gave up after hours and files of pdf docs. So none get names, fearing calls of discrimination or stupidity – after all, some might be weeds, for all I know, and noxious.

So I have put together a photomontage of some of the flowering plants I saw in WA, Australia, from Karijini, Karratha, the Pilbara, the Coral Coast, Lesueur National Park, Kalbarri, Carnarvan, Geraldton, Perth’s King’s Park,  Margaret River, Esperance, and the random stops where we couldn’t be sure where we were.

I have tried to select a range to tempt you westward…

Travel safe. Stop and see the flowers, with your hat and water.