28/07/2024 ….. A week spent wandering – Part 7

Gull Rock NP, Mount Martin Botanical Reserve, National Parks, Numerous days, Other Reserves, Road Trip, Western Australian Orchids

Today we go on our planned quest to find the elusive Queen of Sheba orchid which has been recorded from Gull Rock National Park by many people in the Western Australian Native Orchids Facebook group. We may be too early however as the one around Albany is recorded as flowering from August, so fingers crossed.
First off, we head down Ledge Beach Rd and check out the beach. From here we walk around the parking area, and it is here we find our first orchids for the day.
Just for a change, NOT, our first orchid found is the Banded greenhood (Pterostylis vittata).

Then some other Pterostylis orchids are found. These small snail orchids could be the Coastal short-eared snail orchid (Pterostylis actites) given the short backswept lateral sepals. They are recorded as occurring from Capel to Duke of Orleans Bay and flower from July to September. The rosette has 4 to 7 leaves, and they stand up to 100mm in height.

Another exciting find here was a further patch of the Common helmet orchid (Corysanthes recurva) hiding under an overhanging shrub. Harder to get a clear shot but tried my best. These orchids are found between Mandurah and Albany and flower from June to September.

We now decide to head off on the Mount Martin walk trail which starts from the Ledge beach carpark which is in the National Park however the majority of the walk trail is in the Mount Martin Botanical Reserve. We do not do the entire trail, so I have attached a snip showing approximately where we walked. Arrows show direction and X marks turnaround spots. First orchids found on the walk were further Banded greenhoods together with Slipper orchid leaves and a Redbeak leaf.

Then we nearly step on those things we have come to find. We find very small spiral leaved orchids in bud. A few patches found however none were in flower. Oh well they may be the Queens or possibly just some Curly Locks. We now know to come early August for a better chance of finding them in bloom. Pics taken as proof of the find.

Orchids may be few and far between however the coastal views and other wildflowers make up for it.

We are heading down toward Coal Basket Bay when at a patch of granite, we find some Autumn Leek orchids (Prasophyllum parvifolium) in flower. These orchids flower over the winter months, so the common name seems a bit off.

It is here we turn around as the track is getting rather steep and as orchids are so rare we decide we need to get back to check out other areas of the National Park. At another granite location possibly called Mount Eileen Lookout we find more Banded greenhoods and a nice patch of spent Mosquito orchids.

At the next little patch of granite crossed we are excited to find the Pink bunny orchid (Eriochilus scaber subsp. scaber) flowering. These small orchids are found during the months of July to September and are usually found the season after a summer bushfire. Without a summer fire they are flowering much more rarely.

Upon arriving back at the carpark, we make tracks for Ledge Point Road and checked out Gull Rock Beach carpark. Seemed more peppermint trees around with no picnic table so we again had a tailgate lunch. A quick check whilst eating turned up some snail orchids. These ones however have long thin lateral sepals so are a different species to those found earlier today. Possible ID – Brittle snail orchid (Pterostylis timothyi) or Slender snail orchid (Pterostylis crispula). Both have long lateral sepals, flared petals and flower from July. P.timothyi though is not recorded as being found in the Albany shire, however it is the shorter of the two and has fewer cauline leaves, so I am confused. Any help in the ID would be appreciated.

Now to check out some other spots in the National Park. We pull over at a gate off of Gull Rock Road and go for a hike up the track. The track goes through some differing habitats but unfortunately, we only find a few Banded greenhoods flowering.

Further along the road we get excited to actually find a common orchid but one we had not seen so far today. The Jug orchid (Pterostylis recurva) is recorded as flowering from August, so we were lucky to find an early twin. Another single specimen was found together with another beautiful Scarlet banksia surrounded by blue flowers.

It was at this sole Jug orchid where we took a very overgrown track into the bush as it provided a much easier pathway off the road. We arrived at a sort of clearing with quite large boulders and pushed up mounds of dirt. It is around this disturbance that we find a few Autumn leek orchids in flower.

Well, that is the last of our orchid finds for today! Back in Albany we have the hard task of where to go for dinner. We decide to try out Little Italy in York Street and enjoy some beautiful pasta.

02/07/2023 ….. Sharing the Orchid Fever

Beaumont NR, Condingup Water Reserve, Sunday Drive, Western Australian Orchids

Today we plan to catch up with 2 fellow native orchid enthusiasts out at Condingup, which is 69kms or so East of Esperance. We arrive at the townsite location, park up the Triton, then head off on our search, whilst we await the others. As it turns out Kath will be arriving a bit later, so we only meet up with Varena at this location.

After exploring for a while, we finally meet Varena and compare notes from our current and previous visits to this location. We do appear to have found the same species with some possible variation.

Some early season species are found still hanging in there. The Hare orchid (Leporella fimbriata) is still recognisable even though it commences flowering back in March, with June listed as its final flowering month. Another early season orchid is the Scented Autumn leek orchid (Prasophyllum sp. ‘early’) which flowers from April through to July. The final orchid found here was a Banded greenhood (Pterostylis vittata) which flowers from late April to September. We were successful in finding some Curly locks in bud; however, we could not find any King-In-his-Carriage orchid leaves or buds. Maybe we will get a chance to revisit later in the season.

Moving on to Condingup Peak (Mud Map SE39) for a quick check. Nothing found other than a very worse for wear Hare orchid. Kath pulls up just as we were leaving, so we make tracks for the Parmango Road location to have a quick bite to eat for lunch, before we take them on the trek to our Curly locks location.

Unfortunately, not a great deal was found flowering here either. More Banded greenhood and Hare orchids were found, with the only excitement being a nice patch of Robust snail orchids (Pterostylis dilatata) being found hiding in the middle of a low-lying shrub. These are large snail orchids that lack a rosette and have clubbed lateral sepals, both being distinguishing features. They flower from May through to August, so are another early season orchid, which appears to be the theme for today.

Final destination to share is our spot in the Beaumont Nature Reserve. A very quick explore which turned up some nice specimens of the Banded greenhood or are they? We still enjoyed our day showing Kath and Varena some of our local haunts. I trust they enjoyed their day as well.

27/08/2022 ….. Out East – Part 5 – Condingup

Day Trip, Western Australian Orchids

We now move into Condingup townsite and check out the land between Fisheries Road and Parish Street.

Common spider orchid (Caladenia varians)

Distribution: Kalbarri to Esperance

Plant Height: 150-300mm

Southern curly-locks (Thelymitra uliginosa)

Distribution: Busselton to Esperance

Plant Height: 100-300mm

Reclining spider orchid (Caladenia cruscula)

Distribution: Salmon Gums to Mt Ragged

Plant Height: 180-250mm

Common bee orchid (Diuris decrementa)

Distribution: Wongan Hills to Israelite Bay

Plant Height: 80-300mm

Jug orchid (Pterostylis recurva)

Distribution: Geraldton to Israelite Bay

Plant Height: 300-900mm

Dancing spider orchid (Caladenia discoidea)

Distribution: Kalbarri to Israelite Bay

Plant Height: 100-400mm

No more flowering orchids found however had to record the following finds:

A fertilised Autumn leek orchid (Prasophyllum parvifolium)

The leaf of the Rattle Beaks (Lyperanthus serratus)

A budding King-in-his-carriage (Drakea glyptodon), plus leaf.

Autumn leek orchid (Prasophyllum parvifolium)

Condingup proved a great site, however time moves on and so must we. Off to our next stop, Coolinup Road

02/07/2022 ….. Solo visit to Neridup & Condingup locations

Condinup Reserve, Day Trip, Other Reserves, Western Australian Orchids

Well, the 2nd month of winter rolls around and I am home alone for the weekend. I only have the Ford so have to stick to decent roads and tracks on my orchid hunting adventures. I decide to head out East to see if anything new has started to bloom.

1st stop: Track off Old Smokey Road – Had to walk the track as it was not decent enough to tackle in the Ford. Firstly, I will mention the orchids found that had finished their season and the ones found yet to bloom. White bunny orchid (Eriochilus sp.) had finished, whilst the Mignonette orchid (Microtis sp.) was a remanent from last season. Next up Sun orchids (Thelymitra sp.) with leaves only currently growing are found.

The first orchids found flowering were the greenhoods. Possibly both the Dark banded greenhood (Pterostylis sanguinea) and Banded greenhood (Pterostylis vittata) were found, however with both having varying colours it is hard to distinguish. Some P. sanguinea are all green/white whilst rarely some P. vittata are found fawn coloured. The other orchid found was the Fawn snail orchid (Pterostylis parva) which also has fawn toning plus pointed leaves to its rosette.

2nd stop: Coolinup Road – More greenhoods are found flowering, possibly a mixture of P. sanguinea, P. vittata and Mallee banded greenhood (Pterostylis arbuscula). Another snail orchid is also found flowering, however this time they appear to be the Brittle snail orchid (Pterostylis timothyi) due to it’s thinner, taller stature.

Also found were some Caladenia sp. leaves, Bird orchid rosettes and Mosquito orchids in bud, tempting another visit, later in the season.

3rd stop: Track off Fisheries Rd before Parmango Rd – This is a new location and not too much is found this time. I am lucky to stumble across a Western wispy spider orchid (Caladenia microchila) in flower. A lot of dumped rubbish in the area, which is terrible, however I did locate 3 old Cottees bottles, to add to our collection. I wandered into the dried-up lake area, which was almost devoid of any growth, just a bed of leaf litter. On the slow drive back along the track to Fisheries Road I did find some spent Hare orchids (Leporella fimbriata) still distinguishable.

4th stop: Under powerlines off Parmango Road – I revisit one of our newer locations and walk up to the gravelly area to see how the spiral leaf orchids are faring. Along the track and at the targeted patch I did stumble across some spent Hare orchids, Caladenia sp. leaves and the spiral leaves of a Thelymitra sp. A highlight of this patch was the couple of small Scented Autumn leek orchids (Prasophyllum sp. ‘Early’) found in flower.

Well, this certainly turned into a day of being too early for some orchids, late for others and only a few in flower. As the season progresses so will the numbers of orchids in flower increase. I look forward to a re-visit later on with Debbie in tow.

28/05/2022 ….. 4 Points East of Esperance

Beaumont NR, Day Trip, Nature Reserves, Western Australian Orchids

Well after all the stress of the last month or so, it was great to get out in nature again with my darling wife for a good old orchid hunt. We decided we would head out East and see if anything new has sprouted since our visit in April.

We went straight out to our Parmango Road location and found some beautiful Scented autumn leek orchids (Prasophyllum sp. ‘early’), which as the species name suggests, flower from April through to early July. Their stark white colouring stands out in the dull green greys of the surrounding foliage.

Another flowering orchid found was the Hare orchid (Leporella fimbriata) which commences flowering as early as March. They can have up to 3 flowers per orchid (rarely 4) so I will post 3 of our triple headers found.

. Only spiral leaves and buds were found of Pterostylis species, so no other photos taken. Beaumont Nature Reserve is our next location; however, orchids are very light on there as well. At least the first orchids found are new for the 2022 season. The common Banded greenhood (Pterostylis vittata) is found in isolated specimens of various sizes and stages of flowering.

The only other orchid found flowering was the Red-lipped bunny orchid (Eriochilus valens), which is also an early flowering orchid, starting in March and finishing in May, so we are lucky to find some still going. I believe this is our first recording of this species which is exciting. It was the leaf shape and petals clasping the column that allowed me to ID these. Also, the latest references now record their location as far east as Condingup whilst my older reference book has it occurring only as far east as Munglinup.

We now move back towards Esperance and pull into Condingup Peak. Snail orchid rosettes found with Sun orchid leaves growing out of the moss on the rocks. Bunny orchids are finished up here and we find a recognisable Hare orchid.

Final location for the day is Coolinup road, where we find some more orchids that are all past their prime as well. More Hare and Bunny orchids are found. The bunny orchids may be the newly named Eastern granite bunny orchid (Eriochilus dilatatus subsp. ‘eastern granites’) which is listed as being located between Esperance and Balladonia during the months of April and May. Growing on granite, smooth leaf and lack of pink colouring confirm this ID. Thoughts??

Well that is our day done. With only 5 species found it was not that great, however recording 2 different species of Eriochilus was exciting as both are new to us.

04/07/2021 ….. North-eastern adventure

Burdett South NR, Day Trip, Esperance, Helms Arboretum, Mount Burdett NR, Nature Reserves, Western Australian Orchids

On a cold winters day, what better to do than go exploring for orchids!! We must be mad. With grey clouds and the possibility of rain, we head north to check out the northern boundary of Helms Arboretum (Mud Map SE 35). We wish to see how far the Southern Curly Locks (Thelymitra uliginosa) have progressed. We locate some of the spiral leaves but not in the same numbers as previous years, which is disappointing considering the great start to the season, weather wise. Another orchid found was a spent Scented autumn leek orchid (Prasophyllum Sp. ‘early’) which flower April to June, hence this orchid being finished for the season.

Spiral leaf
Spiral leaf can be up to 90mm in length
Spent Scented autumn leek orchid

Nothing else found so we move eastwards to Dempster Road via Gibson Road then turn into Wittenoom Road. Rather than check out the blue metal dump which is one of our regular haunts we move further north and check out the old gravel pit near Scaddan Road. First up growing in the pushed back road verge we find some banded greenhoods. As they vary in colour they may be different species. Other specimens are found further afield so I am confident the larger greenish ones are the Banded greenhood (Pterostylis vittata) whilst the smaller brownish ones are the Mallee banded greenhood (Pterostylis arbuscula). Both flower during July and are shown as appearing in the Esperance region.

2 species side by side
Mallee banded greenhood
Slightly cupped lateral sepals
Variable in colour – Greenish-brown, reddish-brown or dark green
Up to 450mm in height
Light green, white banded flowers
Insect-like labellum flicks up when touched

Then a wonderful patch of snail orchids being watched by a large fungi is found. From the rosettes and colouring of the snail orchids I believe they are Brittle snail orchids (Pterostylis timothyi). These small guys flower from July to September over an easterly distribution including Esperance.

Fungi overlord
Fawn tinge to colouring
Many rosettes, few flowers
Up to only 150mm in height
Narrow-ended lateral sepals
Rosette of prominently veined, pointed leaves

We now move on further north and venture up a track that leads into Mount Burdett Nature Reserve. Further Brittle snail orchids are found or are they the similar Fawn snail orchids (Pterostylis parva) which are of smaller stature with shorter lateral sepals but fatter appearance.

Thin or bloated flower
Pointed leaves of rosette
Fawn or Brittle snail orchid??
2 stem leaves
lateral sepals 12-18mm or 10-17mm in length
In all stages of flowering

Whilst we are taking photos of the snail orchids another 5 cars drive past on the track, so we decide to turn around and head to Mt Burdett (Mud Map SE36) for a detailed search. We reach our parking spot at the base of the granite rock an immediately find some greenhoods. From the height of the plants and the number of dark coloured flowers I believe they are Dark banded greenhoods (Pterostylis sanguinea) which flower June to September over a large range from Mullewa to Toolinna Cove.

Grow up to 400mm in height
Insect like labellum
Labellum in un-triggered position
Labellum in triggered position – hidden in hood

Nearby found a lone Banded greenhood and then looking around some large snail orchids come into view. They are the Robust snail orchid (Pterostylis dilatata) which are distinctive, in that when flowering they lack a rosette.

Banded greenhood
Robust snail orchids
Clubbed lateral seapls
Standing up to 150mm in height

I think the next snail orchid found is definitely a Fawn snail orchid as it is short statured , has bloated flowers and the rosettes have blue-green pointed leaves. The snail orchids are sharing the bright green moss with another small orchid as well. The Pink bunny orchid (Eriochilus scaber subsp. scaber) flowers early July, so these are on time as they are just starting to open. These little orchids are unique in that their flowering and non-flowering leaves differ in appearance.

Fawn snail orchids have bloated flowers
Rosette of the Fawn snail orchid has blue-green pointed leaves
Fawn snail orchids have erect, thickish lateral sepals
Pink bunny orchids can reach 150mm in height apparently. (This one is only 15mm in height)
Light green, cupped leaf on flowering Pink bunny orchids
Dark green, flat leaves on non-flowering Pink bunny orchids
Four small Pink bunny orchids in this photo

Moving further up the rocky mount, we come across a patch of Mallee banded greenhoods which are similar to the Dark banded greenhoods but have less flowers and are shorter in stature.

Limited to 5 flowers per orchid
Variably coloured
Typical greenhood labellum

We finally make it up to the summit, so to speak. We are excited to find a nice patch of shell orchids in flower. The Green-veined shell orchid (Pterostylis scabra) are a common inland shell orchid flowering over a huge range, Kalbarri to Esperance, during the months of May to August. They grow in varied habitats of woodlands and shrublands to shallow soil pockets on granite outcrops. The later describes our location.

Can be found in large groups
Lateral sepals form a distinct V shape
Green and white striped flowers
Protruding, down-curved, long, thin labellum
Standing up to 200mm in height
Many more rosettes of non flowering orchids

Moving down the mount back to the Triton we come across more Fawn snail orchids. Nothing more so we move on in a south easterly direction this time.

Green and white striped flowers
Different colour to flower and rosette
Thickish lateral sepals
Pointed leaves to rosette
Fawn colour to hood provides “Common name”

So driving down Greens Road we notice a track leading into the Burdett South Nature Reserve. Quick check of Google Maps and we decide to check it out. It is quite overgrown so we end up walking mostly. Lucky find of a recognisable Hare orchid (Leporella fimbriata) as they finish their season in June.

End of season swelling to ovaries
Long ear like petals .. Maybe they keep growing as the orchid ages, as images in reference books show much shorter petals.

We come to a salt lake that provides a great backdrop for our obligatory “Selfie”, however the only other orchids found in flower where the good old Banded greenhood, plus a snail orchid with its hood eaten off. Rosette of stalked pointed leaves, leads me to name it the Brittle snail orchid.

Bright green colouring
Hairy insect-like labellum
Single flowered specimen
Hanging lateral sepals and labellum
Eaten snail orchid hood reveals the inside
Stalked, pointed leaves to Brittle snail orchid rosette

Well it’s now 3.45pm so we decide to walk back to the Triton for the drive home. It was a very cold day however we found some great orchids and enjoyed the fresh air.

24/06/2020 ….. Winter Wednesday Wander

Cape Arid NP, Day Trip, National Parks

I have taken an RDO today so that we can spend the day with my youngest son’s grandparents-in-law. Deb and I will be introducing them to our wonderful Western Australian orchids.

Heading out East to the farm near Condingup, we enjoy a cuppa before heading off for our day in the great outdoors. We make our way to Boyatup Hill (Mud Map SE 40) which we trust will ensure we have a variety of orchids to share with our guests.

On the track into the hill we stop at our usual first location and straight up Deb finds a spent orchid which appears to be the Scented autumn leek orchid (Prasophyllum sp. ‘early’) which flower April to June all the way East to Israelite Bay. On the other side of the track I come across a Hare orchid (Leporella fimbriata) also way past it’s best. These also flower till June and extend to Israelite Bay.

Also found on the same side of the track to the Hare orchids were some Banded greenhoods (Pterostylis vittata) which are a common winter orchid flowering over a southerly range, from Perth to Balladonia. Dark variants were also found which may actually be the Mallee banded greenhood (Pterostylis arbuscula), a recently named species which occurs from Northampton to Eyre. This new species is a few flowered short statured orchid with variably coloured flowers. The lateral sepals of the Banded greenhood are not as fleshy as other greenhoods.

Deb as usual, finds the first new orchid species of the the day. The Robust snail orchid (Pterostylis dilatata) is quite unique amongst the snail orchids, as flowering plants lack a rosette of leaves. Other features include clubbed lateral sepals and an early flowering period, being May to August. They are found between Geraldton and Israelite Bay and can attain a height of 150mm.

Further afield we find another spent Leek orchid and leaves of the Thelymitra genus. Making our way into the abandon gravel pit I stumble across a speck of yellow. Excited to find the first flowering donkey orchid of the season.

I am aware of only 2 donkey orchids that flower east of Esperance. The Beautiful donkey orchid and the Green Range donkey orchid. The Beautiful donkey orchid has distinctive mauve markings and usually grows on granite outcrops so the orchid found must be the Green Range donkey orchid (Diuris littoralis). This orchid flowers from July to early September , so they must be an early risers. They are found West to Denmark in a coastal, near coastal range.

Further into the search we find some Mosquito orchids in bud, Spider orchids in bud and more donkey, leek, greenhood and robust snail orchids, in varying stages of flowering.

We now move on to Thomas River in Cape Arid National Park for lunch. We enjoy lunch in one of the camp kitchens in the upper campground, then make our way down to the beach and head out on the rocks to catch a glimpse of the 4 whales in the bay. On the way back sitting on a stump in the river is a White bellied sea eagle.

Leaving the beach and Thomas River behind us, we head back towards the farm. We make a slight detour at Parmango Road where we pull over to check out the location shared with us late last season. It is after 4pm so a quick search is conducted. Nothing found, then with some luck, I was able to locate a Scented autumn leek orchid with one or two flowers still blooming.

With the light fading fast and the temperature dropping just as fast we jump back in the Triton for the drive back to the farm. We are invited to stay for dinner and finish our day enjoying further great company. I hope our guests enjoyed their day searching for orchids.

14/06/2020….. Helms in winter

Esperance, Helms Arboretum

Debbie has started work today at 2pm, so rather than hang around home alone, I take the opportunity to visit Helms Arboretum (Mud Map SE 35). Along the boundary of sites 7, 9 and 12, I come across some decent Banded greenhoods (Pterostylis vittata) which are known to grow up to 450mm in height and can have an inflorescence of up to 25 flowers. In the afternoon sunlight the colours come up magnificently. One of the orchids had a little spider with its food catch, however my photo of it is not too clear.

The afternoon sun was sinking quickly so I headed to the road I’ve marked X and went for a walk through the low scrub, looking for a particular orchid I had found here on previous seasons. After walking around for 10 mins or so I was starting to lose hope, when suddenly a small patch of white catches my eye and low and behold I found the Autumn leek orchid (Prasophyllum parvifolium). These orchids flower from June to August, so how they got the name Autumn leek orchid alludes me. They range from Eneabba to Mt Ragged and can grow to 400mm in height. The plants I found appear to have the reddish stripes of P. parvifolium however P. sp.’early’ is also found in the area. Known as the Scented autumn leek orchid it lacks the red stripes and actually flowers in autumn, April to June. The scent of each differ as well, but I could not smell anything, even when head down bum up. Please provide your thoughts on the ID and I will edit my post if need be.

Its now after 4pm and the sun is setting behind the grey clouds, so time to head home. Not much happening at Helms in this first month of winter but we all no that will change as the season progresses.

2019 Road Trip – Nunijup Lake to Redmond West (Mundal 4WD Track)

Numerous days, Road Trip

25/08/2019

Richard was in contact last night and he is fine to come on the Road Trip, well sort of ?? We plan to meet with him at Tenterden later this morning. So after breakfast we move the camper into the sun to dry whilst we have a morning search of the surrounding area.

We find many orchids, however I will only mention those different to the ones found here yesterday. First up was a very nice specimen of the Banded greenhood (Pterostylis vittata) which can have up to 25 flowers per orchid. Also found nearby was a fertilised specimen of a Scented Autumn/Autumn leek orchid (Prasophyllum Sp.) Funnily enough both these can have up to 25 flowers as well.

The donkey orchids found appear to be much paler versions of the Purple pansy orchid (Diuris longifolia). One is found fighting with a Jug orchid (Pterostylis recurva). Please feel free to correct my classification of the donkey orchid as I am far from positive on my ID.

A surprise find was a magnificent white spider orchid. A solitary Tangled white spider orchid (Caladenia longicauda subsp. redacta) is in flower with it’s twin yet to open. I have chosen this classification due to the small size of the orchid and the 4 uniform rows of lamina calli. This is the first time we have discovered this species. Exciting find.

It’s nearly 10am and the camper has dried out so we pack up and move on so we can explore another spot before we will need to meet up with Richard in Tenterden. We make our way to Orchid Nature Reserve on Yerimunup Road just north of Tenterden. We had just parked up and headed into the bush when Richard calls asking where to meet exactly as he is in Tenterden. Oh well so much for exploring a new location. It will have to wait for another time.

Richard is still quite unwell but he did not wish to miss out, so we meet up on the Albany Hwy and head down to Albany, via a toilet stop in Mount Barker. At Albany we call into the local IGA at the bottom of York Street to buy supplies. Time to start our 4WD Trek to Mundairing – 900kms of the Mundal Track to go.

Leaving Albany on Princess Royal Drive, we turn into Lower Denmark Road and head to Elleker. Turning north into Marbelup Road we pull over to take our official start of the track photo.

Marbelup Rd – Elleker. On the Mundal Track

We hit the South Coast Hwy however only to turn off pretty much 50 mts down onto Marbelup North Road. We are now on gravel.!! We pull over at the intersection with Cochrane Road to have some lunch as it is nearly 1pm. Taking Cochrane Road west to Hunwick Road, where we continue west for some way. Finally we turn north into Redmond West Road and now have to find the sandy track that will be the real start to the track. Pulling over at what we feel is the right track, we await Richard whilst he checks on his dash GPS, which he is yet to master. Seems to be the correct sandy track so into the unknown we head.

The track soon turns into mud hole after mud hole and one time we actually drive over a pot hole pitted gravel causeway through a very full swamp. Slip either side and there would be no getting out.

Mudal Track – Just off the gravel causeway

At one spot we got out to check a bog hole and stumbled across some decent sized snail orchids. I am naming this on the Red sepaled snail orchid (Pterostylis erubescens) due to these features: Flared hood, uniformly thickened lateral sepals, hairy stem and dorsal sepal extending beyond the petals. This orchid is found from Mandurah to Albany during the period late July to September. The common name eludes to the fact they age reddish-brown.

Flower 12 to 22 mm in length — Red sepaled snail orchid

We eventually come to a massive bog hole which has 4 choices to get through. After deliberating for too long, Deb finally attempts the track to the far left. Buggar,she gets stuck. After many attempts to rock her way out, the MaxTrax come to the rescue.

Mundal Track – Seconds before getting stuck.

Now Richards turn to tackle the bog hole. Then he has a brain fade and for whatever reason he takes to 2nd track from the left, which proved a big mistake. He is stuck and the water is much deeper. His Triton bottoms out and even using 4 MaxTrax he does not move. Due to the water depth he has to get in and out of his Triton through the drivers window,

Well we need to try the Snatch Straps. Connecting two together using shackles, Deb unhitches our trailer and reverses as close to the mud hole as she dares. First attempt we here a loud crack so stop dead. It turns out we bent the crap out of one of Richard’s MaxTrax, so nothing too dire. 2nd attempt is successful.. Big sighs of relief.

Onward we go however, a few kms along if that, we come to another large water hazard. There is no chicken track to the left and the one to the right leads to options all driving through rushes in a swampy area. Options limited and with it getting near 4pm we need to find somewhere to set up camp. Nowhere to go, so we set up camp on the actual track. I then suggest walking along the track to the so called river crossing, as if it is too deep then why attempt to get through this large water hazard. Richard and I grab a torch, as we have no idea how far up it is, and head off whilst Deb looks into setting up camp and collecting some firewood. We reach, what we later find out is Hay River, and it is flowing strongly about thigh deep, so way to dangerous for us to try and cross. We make it back to camp around 5.30pm and get the fire raging. We then settle in for a great night around the fire. Later with Hot water bottles filled we hit he sack. Not a great start to our Mundal Track adventure, in fact we have decided not to attempt ant more this time and will come back another year when the track is drier.

WA Orchid Adventures

Come with me on my Orchid Adventures in Southern Western Austalia

Autumn