Exploring WA’s Wildflower Country: A Road Trip to Coalseam

Western Australia has incredible wildflowers that burst to life towards the end of winter. One of the best spots to see carpets of wildflowers in WA is Coalseam Conservation Park, located a 4.5-hour drive north of Perth. In August 2021, we jumped in the car and set off on an epic road trip to seek out some of the best of the WA wildflowers.

In this guide I’ll be sharing all you need to know about planning your own adventurous self-drive wildflower road trip.

About WA’s Wildflower Country

One of the best places to see carpets of wildflowers in WA is north of Perth in “Wildflower Country”.

The area is located inland of the coastal city of Geraldton. This collective of nine local government areas consists of the small and charming country towns of Carnamah, Coorow, Dalwallinu, Mullewa, Moora, Morowa, Mingenew, Perenjori and Three Springs.

In between Mingenew and Mullewa, you will find the mecca of wildflowers, the beautiful Coalseam Conversation Park.

For more places to see wildflowers (and the best time to see them), check out my detailed guide on Western Australia wildflowers.

How to Get There

From Perth, you can take the coastal Indian Ocean Drive, Brand Highway or Bindoon-Moora Rd.

I prefer the latter two options, because there is usually less traffic, and you can admire the endless fields of golden canola on the roadside.

The drive is an easy one, with sealed roads and lots of fuel stops along the way. There are unsealed roads within Coalseam Conversation Park and a few of the other sights outlined below, but they are all 2WD suitable.

If you need to hire a car in Perth, make sure to compare hire options to get the best price on your rental.

Taking the coastal route? Stop by at Lancelin Sand Dunes for a fun mid-way stretch break.

How Long Do You Need

Perth to Mingenew is about a 4-hour drive.

To make the most of the long drive, spend at least one or two nights in the area. You could do a day trip, but I wouldn’t recommend it – it would be a very long day with lots of driving!

In August 2021, we did a weekend trip and spent one night in the town of Morawa.

Coalseam Conversation Park Guide

Coalseam Conversation Park is the best place to go to see the carpets of wildflowers that blanket the park!

Located 30 kilometres north of Mingenew, this conversation area is rich with geological & cultural history. This 100 year old site was home to the first mined coal deposit in WA. Winding through the park is the Irwin river (usually dry), with ancient fossils previously found along its banks.  

Entrance Fees

There are no entry fees to the park. Camping fees are $15 an adult per night (2024 pricing).

Camping at Coalseam

The main campground is at Miners with unpowered sites and long drop facilities available. Not surprisingly, this spot gets busy during wildflower season, with overflow camping at the Breakaway site.

Miners has picnic tables and separate parking bays for day use area.

Things to do at Coalseam Park

When visiting, plan to spend at least a few hours or more at Coalseam.

• Visit the Johnson Shaft Viewing Platform: From Miners campground, you can walk along the riverbed to see the disused coal shaft. The black bands in the surrounding riverbanks are actually coal.
• Plateau Loop trail: This ~3km Loop Trail is the best place to see carpets of wildflowers at Coalseam. Park at the Miners day use area and take the path to the very top to reach a ridge with views across the valley.
• Irwin Lookout: A short drive from Miners up a hill is the Irwin Lookout. You can take a short walk here through small sections of wildflowers and cliff edge views across the river below

Other Wildflower Hotspots & Sights

Mingenew

You’ll pass through Mingenew on the way to Coalseam and Mullewa.

Make sure you stop at the Mingenew Bakery to pick up a tasty pie or sweet treat. The visitor centre here isn’t manned but there is a sign on the door with the latest wildflower sightings in the region.

Depot Hill, located ten minutes outside of Mingenew, is a great spot for wildflower spotting including everlastings and orchids.

Closer to town is Mingenew Hill, where you can drive to the top of the hill for a scenic lookout over the surrounding fields of green crops and golden yellow canola. There are lots of yellow pom poms to be found here, and it’s a great sunset spot too.

Another spot worth checking out is Yandanooka.

Yandanooka South Rd had pink everlastings which are always a favourite. Yandanooka Hall is also a free camping spot (but with no facilities) that is said to have fantastic stargazing thanks to minimal light pollution.

Mullewa Walking Trails

There are a few different walking trails in Mullewa which offer wildflower sightings and history about the area.

Wildflower Tip: lookout for the plastic tape markers that show where someone has spotted a more uncommon or rare wildflower or orchid.

• Mullewa Wildflower Walk: this 3 km circuit loop is located opposite the town’s caravan park on Lovers Lane. There were information posts along the way on different wildflower sightings. We also saw some beautiful native orchids!

• Mullewa Bushland Walk & Scenic Lookout: This walk starts and finishes at the town’s scenic lookout with a 2.5 km loop. The scenic lookout provides informative signs with background on the town’s heritage and history.

As we neared the spot of the wreath flowers, we came across a fork in the road where it indicates to park in the clear way on the left hand side. After pulling over you will see a few wreath flowers on the roadside here but take one of the paths through the bush back onto the main road to see countless wreath flowers in all their glory!

Wreath flowers can be seen in smaller numbers near Perenjori and Morawa. Drop by the visitor’s centre to get more up to date information.

Tips for Viewing the Wildflowers

Rules & Etiquette

As the wildflowers are a fragile ecosystem, it is important not to trample them! If people walk through them, we might not have beautiful flowers to enjoy in future years.

• Don’t trample or step on the wildflowers
• Stay on the marked trails wherever possible, and be careful where you step
• Don’t pick the wildflowers or remove animals, plants, rocks or other cultural items
• Always take your rubbish with you
• No pets are allowed at Coalseam
• Respect private property and don’t trespass

Wildflower Photo Tips

Here are my tips for taking the best photos of the wildflowers.

• Get low: With short stemmed flowers like everlastings, the best photos are usually from a low perspective. This works well if there is a small patch you can stand behind, which allows you to create the illusion of sitting in an endless field of flowers.
  In the photo with the pink everlasting below, the patch is about two metres deep and I’m sitting in a grassy dirt patch, but you can’t tell due to the framing.

• Framing: Use the flowers to frame the shot or create a bokeh (blurred) effect

• Higher angles: For photos of the canola or large fields of flowers, height helps to get the full perspective of the flowers in. In the photo below, my husband was holding the camera quite high above his head.
  
  Put your camera on multiple shooting mode to give you options since it can be hard to see what you are taking when the camera is held high!

• Drone shots: If you have a drone, it can be hard to capture the wildflowers. The best bet is to take top down shots or angled shots and highlight areas of contrast e.g. red road vs the coloured patches of flowers.

• Know your flowers: it looks like I’m standing in a field of flowers here – but these are actually a weed called Pattersons Curse. I could run through this field and trample these pests without remorse!