We wake to a wintery morning with grey clouds and the threat of rain. We quickly have breakfast then start to pack up camp. Unfortunately the rain arrives and we rush to pack up in the pouring rain. Not ideal but we will set up again tonight so it will dry out then.
We head back south to Beacon, then head east to the next stop. Site 12 of the Wheatbelt Way Drive Trail is Datjoin Rock and Well Reserve.
Datjoin (Dahjoing) Well
Blue beard, Blue fairy orchid
(Pheladenia deformis)
Pink candy orchid
(Caladenia hirta subsp. rosea)
Drooping spider orchid
(Caladenia radialis)
Chameleon spider orchid
(Caladenia dimidia)
(Caladenia radialis x incensum)
Dark-tipped spider orchid
(Caladenia x exoleta)
Ant orchid, Clown orchid, man orchid, Jack-in-the-box
(Caladenia roei)
Yellow granite donkey orchid
(Diuris hazeliae)
Leaving after a good 2 hours of searching we head to the next site along the Wheatbelt Way Drive Trail. Site 13 is the Bonnie Rock townsite. Behind the hall is a wonderful new toilet and shower facility. We decide to have a nice hot shower and prepare lunch. Refreshed we then move onto Site 14 Beringbooding Rock. We go for a walk onto the rock which was excellent , however no orchids were found. The largest rock water catchment tank in Australia is located here. Deb and I had camped here on a previous trip, however as it is only early we move on, with plans to camp at the next location.
Site 13
Site 14
Largest Rock Catchment Tank in Australia
Gnamma hole
We arrive at Site 15 Elachbutting Rock just after 2pm and visit the Wave Rock, Monty’s Pass and Kings Cave, before driving around to the south eastern side, where we find a place to camp. I go for a clamber over the nearby rock after camp is set. It is too steep to climb up far, so end up skirting along the base for a bit then making my way back to camp.
Wave Rock
Monty’s Pass
King Cave
Campsite
Steep rock side
Elachbutting Rock
Hairy-stemmed snail orchid
(Pterostylis setulosa)
Ant orchid, Clown orchid, Jack-in-the-box, Man orchid
Finished the day around another campfire, grateful that the wet weather did not follow us from our morning showers. Seven species and some hybrids found today so was an OK day.
Waking up to a beautiful sunny morning I take a quick check of the scrub behind Mary-lou’s property. I find a small spider orchid so grab a quick photo with my Samsung phone. I then head back to enjoy breakfast and a nice hot shower. Quick photo shoot with Ian and Mary-lou before I take Deb and Mary-lou back to the orchid I found. Another quick check before it is time to make tracks again.
This orchid appears to be the Common spider orchid (Caladenia vulgata) due to the size of the labellum. These orchids flower over a large range from Kalbarri to Esperance during the months July to early-October.
No other orchids founds, so we bid farewell to Burakin and make our way east along the Bonnie Rock-Burakin Road. Checking out the Hema Map we decide to detour to Mollerin (Lake) Nature Reserve. Firstly we venture down Chapman Road to the reserve but there is no real access so we make the decision to back-track and hit the reserve via the Kulja-Mollerin Rock road, which turned out to be a fortuitous decision. On the track into the parking area we spy orchids from the vehicle. Pulling over we jump out to grab some photos and have a quick scout around.
First up Deb finds some Drooping spider orchids (Caladenia radialis) which occur mostly inland from Northampton to Jerramungup, flowering from August to early-October. The drooping nature of the petals, lateral sepals and usually the dorsal sepal confirms the common name.
Clumping habit
One or two flowers per orchid
Labellum apex may be all red
Radial stripes to labellum
Petals and sepals drooping
Dorsal sepal can be obliquely erect
Nearby are two colour variations of the Ant orchid (Caladenia roei), greenish-yellow and red. These little guys can grow to 300mm in height and rare specimens have 3 flowers per orchid. They are known to hybridise with many other Caladenia orchids.
Reddish labellum
Greenish-yellow labellum
Curled tips to petals
Central band of shiny, deep-purple calli
Also found were some donkey orchids. The bright yellow colouring and the location points to the Yellow granite donkey orchid (Diuris hazeliae). Found near inland granite and breakaway habitat from Paynes Find to Salmon gums, flowering during the months of August and September.
Mixed in with these three different species were a couple of wispy spider orchids. Choosing between a few possible species I am going to call them the Outback spider orchid (Caladenia remota subsp. remota), due to the larger labellum, creamy colouring and location found.
Thin petals and lateral sepals
Creamy-white colouring
Leaf 3 to 5 mm in width
Long fine tail filaments
Erect dorsal sepal
Maroon striped labellum
Then unexpectedly we came across an old concrete sheep dipping station. These were built by the Shire of Koorda in 1944 as shared facilities for local farmers, financed by the Agricultural Bank. It was after grabbing some photos that we decided to quickly move back to the Triton and move on to the parking/camping area at the base of the Mollerin rock.
Jump in Deb’s end
Climb steps out my end
Now to check out the rock for some orchids. We cover quite a bit of the rock but only manage to find more Yellow granite donkey orchids.
Reflexed lateral sepals
Broad petals
It is not until we reach flat ground at the base of the rock do we find anything different. First up we discover some Blue beards (Pheladenia deformis), however getting a good picture of them proved challenging due to the wind. Also nearby another blue orchid is found. The Dainty blue orchid (Cyanicula amplexans) is found growing rather spindly in the green ferns under the shrubs. Struggled for a good picture of this as well. Both orchids are common inland species and flower as late as October, however their seasons start in May and August respectively.
Blue beard
Dainty blue orchids
Dainty blue orchid
Blue beard
Many, many more Drooping spider orchids where found with the occasional Yellow granite donkey orchid and Ant orchid thrown in. Some more pictures taken before we decide it is best we move on.
Yellow granite donkey orchid
Drooping spider orchids
Yellow granite donkey orchid
Ant orchid
Drooping spider orchids
Ant orchid
Drooping spider orchids
Drooping spider orchid
Leaving Mollerin Rock we head back to the Bonnie Rock Burakin Road and head east. Using the Wheatbelt Way Trail map as a guide we stop at the Datjoin Well & Rock Reserve, as a possible overnight stay. Whilst we make our mind up if we will stay here the night we decide to have a quick look around after having a cuppa. Straight up we some Ant orchids in the camping area/picnic area. These two provide a visual of the variations in colour these orchids are found.
Close by some wispy spider orchids are found. These guys are always so difficult to ID. These ones appear to be more Common spider orchids which are commonly found in clumps.
Moving into the surrounding open woodlands another Ant orchid is found, however this one is a very reddish colour with striped labellum. So what is it? After checking into my written and online references, plus asking fellow orchid enthusiasts, I confirm this little beauty is a hybrid between the Ant orchid and either the Drooping spider orchid or Common spider orchid. Due to the mostly red colouring I feel the other parent must be the Drooping spider orchid, so will be calling this orchid Caladenia radialis X Caladenia roei.
Red striped labellum
Clubbed sepals
Upright dorsal sepal
Also found as single specimens were the Blue beards, which are also referred to as Blue fairy orchid.
Dense mass of calli provides the common name
Single, narrow leaf
The most numerous orchid found was the Pink candy orchid (Caladenia hirta subsp. rosea) which is a widespread orchid found mostly inland from Kalbarri to Israelite Bay. Flowering season is also quite long, from late-June to September. They range in colour from pale to deep pink, however we found one that was white. This one lacked the pink colour, so is a hypochromic specimen which some refer to as lutea.
Petals and lateral sepals curl at the tip
Single broad leaf
Short fringes to labellum
Deep pink version
Pink tipped calli
Clumping habit
Hypochromic specimen
Total lack of pink colouring
Finally moved over to check out the well and go for a short walk up to the rock. Close to the well we came across more Drooping spider orchids in good clumps. On the rock however we only came across some donkey orchids. Location should point to them being further Yellow granite donkey orchids, however the lateral sepals are just hanging, so I will leave the naming to others. Feel free to offer your thoughts.
Drooping spider orchids
Well, it is now after 4 and we need to decide if we will camp here the night. The camp ground here is rather small and uneven and there is already a caravan set up, so we decide to move on to the next camping stop on the Wheatbelt Way. Beringbooding Rock provides much more space to camp so we set up the camper, collect wood and start the fire, then enjoy a well earned rest.
Another wonderful day spend it the great outdoors. 8 orchid species found plus 1 hybrid and 1 hydrochromic orchid.
WA Orchid Adventures 