On leaving Geraldton we headed east towards Mullewa, one of
the many places with outstanding displays of wildflowers. After lunch in
Mullewa we headed south to stay at Coalseam Conservation Park, one of many
administered by Parks and Wildlife, but overseen by volunteer Camp Hosts.
Despite the pleasant surroundings it was raining and cold, one of the coldest
days we have experienced since leaving Alice Springs in mid May. In fact I
piteously complained to David, "I want to go back where it's warm."
Next morning the sun shone brightly and off we went to
search for wildflowers. No, I didn't have to twist David's arm, he is very
impressed with the colour and variety on show. The particular quest was to find
the elusive wreath flower which I hadn't heard of until recently. They prefer
to grow in low quality disturbed soil, particularly along roadside verges. With
explicit directions we found them, but
the cars pulled up along the road in the middle of nowhere were a bit of a giveaway.
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| The line of green "pancakes" along the edge of the road are all wreath flowers at various stages |
After the wreath flowers we found several other types, such
as Smelly Socks and Pink Poker, and varieties of pink, yellow and white
everlasting daisies. They make beautiful spreads through the bushland that the camera can't really capture.
The other event of the day was a traffic jam! About 6 cars
and a couple of vans were stopped on one side of the river as a large dual axle
caravan had changed his mind about doing the water crossing, reversed to go
back and promptly got bogged, holding up everyone, including a number of cars
from a Variety Bash. However, while maxtrax were deployed on one side of the
river, our side had a bit of fun. One of the Variety cars was decorated for the
Beach Boys, the Avan driver ahead of us
found his Beach Boys music and his wife danced on the road with the Variety guy
in full beach rig. We met up with the cars again near the wildflowers and they
were having a fine time with loud car horns, firecracker noises and plenty of
liquid refreshment. We hope they had their designated driver strategy firmly in
place.
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A well-named Avan
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| Half the traffic jam |
|
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| The Beach Boys vehicle |
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| A faded Beach Boy, with the bogged van in the background |
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| Captain Underpants |
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| The Variety Club Bash vehicles at Pindar |
After a lovely sunny day, we finished with a campfire put on
by the camp hosts, then a very cool night with extra blankets needed.
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