Hunting for wild orchids, Western Australia

It seems to be a shame to miss the wild orchid season while I keep you in the Northern Territory on my half lap of Australia so for this week I am going to drag you away from my travels and back to the south west of Western Australia where the wildflowers are blooming. If you missed it, I did share a few local wildflowers back in September.

In mid September a couple of weeks after we returned from our 7 week trip, we went down to Dunsborough for the day, about an hour south of where we live. I had been looking at the wild orchid walks in our area in my orchid book, Guide to Native Orchids of South Western Australia (Bob Liddelow), and this walk was one I wanted to do. It follows the coast from Dunsborough to Meelup - around 3.8km. It was a beautiful morning, so off we went. 

Bob warns on his Facebook page:  If you purchase this book you may become as addicted to finding, and photographing, native orchids as much as its author.
Too late!  

Before we set off on the walk we stopped at our favourite cafe in Dunsborough - Hot Chocolatte- fabulous coffee, friendly staff and delicious treats.  Seriously, is this really the only photo I took? I loved their decorations hanging over their counter. If you are down that way, you must check them out.

 The walk follows the coast starting at the far end of Forrest Street, south Dunsborough. The trail is easy to follow. We didn't go the whole way, but saw plenty of orchids to keep me happy as we wandered along. Not long after we started out we met a local who told us where to look for some of the orchids, which was very helpful.  The trail follows the coast and is a lovely part shaded walk - part sand, part gravel, part formed limestone track. The weather was perfect for walking. 

Make sure you stick to the track and be aware it is illegal in Australia to pick wildflowers.

 Here are some of the wild orchids we found: I am not a wildflower expert, so my identifications might not be accurate, but I was able to get some assistance from the very helpful members of the Wildflower Society of Western Australia on Facebook. Thank you!  

 I must tell you here that many of our native wild orchids are tiny, not like your fancy exotics in Asia. I wish I had a comparison photo for you. They blend in very well and you have to be lucky to see them. 

For those interested in technicalities - the wildflower images were all taken with a 100mm macro lens, hand held. 

So clockwise from top left - one of the white spider orchids Caladenia longicauda; possibly the Dunsborough spider orchid - Caladenia viridescens; Chapman's Spider orchid - Caladena chapmanii; Vanilla orchid, also known as the Lemon-scented sun orchid - Thelymitra antennifera;  Purple Enamel orchid - Elythanthera brunonis; Diamond Spider Orchid - Caladenia rhomboidiformis. 
The 4 spider orchids we had not seen before - so exciting for me.  Lucky for me also that my husband is a great orchid finder! 

Another look at the Chapman's Spider orchid - Caladena chapmanii

And a couple of donkey orchids: Possibly the Purple Pansy orchid - Diuris longifolia; and the Dunsborough Donkey orchid - Diuris amplissima - but then again it could be your common Donkey orchid. 

There were lots of other wildflowers too: in the top row some of the native pea varieties, then (I think) the red Mouse Ears - Calothamnus rupestris; pink Swan River Myrtle - Hypocalymma robustum; and one of the eucalypts

 In the top row below - Cowslip orchid - Caladena flava; one of my favourites Southern Rose - Diplolaena dampieri one of the acacia wattle varieties;
and below - one of the yellow Hibbertia buttercups;  white everlastings (which I was a bit surprised to see here) and I think Coastal Banjine - Pimelea ferruginea 

 We also saw some kangaroos and a New Holland honeyeater

We had a wonderful couple of hours wandering along the track. And I am already looking forward to going back another day. 

Unfortunately on the way back about 300 metres from the car, I had a slip on the limestone path. I broke the end of my fibula (in my ankle), and this is me for 8 weeks. Sadly my wildflower season came to an abrupt end. But it could have been worse, and I am so glad it didn't happen while we were away on our trip. It is 4 weeks on now and hopefully by the end of the 6 weeks it will be mended. As my radiologist reminded me - our bones take longer to mend as we get older and we have to be careful of falling. I know!
I was so glad my husband was there to help me back to the car. He has been my fetch, carry, shop, cook, clean, wash, iron, drive and everything man. Thank you! 


  More information about Western Australian orchids -
Orchids of south west Western Australia 
 Orchids of Western Australia
 Book - Guide to Native orchids of South Western Australia - by Bob Liddlelow (R&R Publications)

You might also like:
Down in the woods today - hunting for wild orchids 
Hunting for wild orchids in Western Australia's mid west 

Thank you so much for stopping by. Do you have a favourite wildflower hunting spot? Have you injured yourself when you've been bushwalking? I don't recommend it!
I value your comments and look forward to hearing from you. I will try to visit your blogs in return. Have a wonderful week. 

I am linking up to the link-ups below. Please click on the links to see fabulous contributions from around the world - virtual touring at its best!

   
All Seasons
MosaicMonday at Letting Go of the Bay Leaf

Our World Tuesday

Pictorial Tuesday 

ThroughMy Lens 

Image-in-ing
My corner of the world through my camera 
Wednesday Around the World at Communal Global hosted by Randomosity.

The Lovin' Life Team over at: Deep Fried Fruit

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