The Coalseam cliff shows the sedimentary layers
Coalseam Conservation Park is one of Western Australia’s premier wildflower destinations, and it welcomes bush camping for caravans and camper trailers.
As unappealing as the name might suggest, Coalseam Conservation Park in Western Australia's wildflower country is well worth the hour drive (87km) off the Brand Highway from Dongara, just south of Geraldton. After winter rains, the area explodes with blankets of yellow, white and pink everlastings, making the park one of the northern wheatbelt’s wildflower hot spots.
Travel guides herald our western state as the perfect place to be in spring for the blooming displays of wildflowers. If you like colourful natives, WA tourism suggests many road trips over hundreds of kilometres to track down parades of multicoloured species. But if you are travelling the coast to distant destinations, then another long trip might not be top of mind. So, an easily accessed stopover among the blooms near Mingenew (35-minute drive / 54km from Dongara) might appeal.
Pompom heads and schoenia blooming
True to the name, coal was discovered at Coalseam in 1846 and was mined commercially for a while. However, the burning quality was low, and the operation lasted only a few years. You will find one of the old pits on a bushwalk that starts at Miners Camp. These days, the black seam best serves as a geological oddity in the gorge formed by the Irwin River over millions of years. Indeed, even out of the wildflower season, Coalseam is a great place to visit as it’s one of the few places on Earth where coal is visible on the surface. As an added bonus, the gorge shows layers of sedimentary sandstone, claystone, siltstone and laterite set in a display that lights up in the late afternoon. Further up the river from the gorge, you will find fossils of seashells. Interpretive signs at the Riverbend Picnic Area tell of the various stages of the geological history across 265 million years.
Coalseam from Irwin Lookout
European settlement soon saw most of the region under agriculture. But, in a happy twist for the conservation park, the gorge area wasn’t suitable for wheat, and it remained undeveloped until 1978, when it was dedicated as a nature reserve.
When we visited in late winter, the park was a delight. The gravel roads in the park allow 2WD access, but a shallow creek at the park entrance with muddy banks had some drivers wary. Steep tracks lead to a scenic view over the surrounding countryside, and the plateau is home to rare York gums and various wattles. Walkways took us through groves of pink and yellow everlastings to a lookout over the gorge where distant, rugged hills reminded us of the Pilbara landscape but with a softer, greener foreground.
Groves of yellow wildflowers in full bloom
Swan River daisies
The Mingenew Visitors Centre is a wealth of information about the park. Its visitor guide helps you differentiate between natives and less romantic species such as capeweed and Paterson’s curse. The visitor centre also has displays of the local crops, and you will soon be telling your barley and wheat from your chaff as you drive through kilometres of waving crops on your way to the flowers.
Entry to the park is free, but WA Parks and Wildlife Service controls two campsites, so there is a booking fee to stay in either camping area. Facilities at both the main Miners camp and an overflow campground include unpowered sites, drop toilets, picnic tables, barbecue facilities and communal fire pits but no drinking water. It wasn’t busy when we visited, but it can be during the WA wildflower season and peak periods such as school holidays and the cooler months, so a three-day limit applies between July and October. No pets are allowed. Sorry Rover.
Find out more about the park here.
And camp bookings can be made here.
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