Around Australia 2026 Part 6: WA's Mulga Lands and Goldfields

 

Splendid Fairywren

Following our visit to Geraldton, we headed east to the Yalgoo area, which I knew from past visits boasted some of Australia's finest displays of wildflowers in season. So it was again. The mulga woodlands were carpeted with a dazzling array of wildflowers of many colours and varieties. We camped offroad among them, enjoying our first campfire of the trip (images below).

Birds were plentiful. A pair of Splendid Fairywrens near camp were co-operative.

Splendid Fairywren

Flowering shrubs attracted Pied and Black Honeyeaters.

Pied Honeyeater

Red-capped Robin and Mulga Parrot were looking good.

Mulga Parrot

Red-capped Robin

We continued on to Mt Magnet (which we visited from another direction during out 2014 trip around Oz) and a truckstop 20km west of the town of Sandstone. This is a site for the Sandhill Grassren, which I've not seen. It inhabits spinifex shrublands, notably different and sharply demarcated from extensive mulga woodlands to the east and west of the area. We camped at the truckstop one night, and the next night stayed in the van park in Sandstone.

Sandhill Grasswren habitat

Unfortunately despite two days of concerted effort, I dipped on the grasswren, having to make do with finding the bird's fresh track prints (below). I also saw fresh Malleefowl prints.

We spent a night in Leinster, an unusually attractive mining town. We were in the Goldfields now; this and other towns were very much dominated by the gold-mining industry. Heading south, we had another bush camp at Station Creek, admiring the beautiful mulga woodlands (below). I saw a Western Quail-thrush briefly here.

We continued on to Leonora and the “ghost town” of Gwalia. Many old buildings from the early mines in the once bustling town in the late-1800s have been restored. Visitors are free to walk among them (below).

People can also look down into the vast belly of the still operating Gwalia gold mine. In 1897, the mine (below) was managed by Herbert Hoover, who went on to become the president of the United States.

Next overnight stop was the pleasant town of Menzies. Dense mulga around the town cemetery had unusually good numbers of Redthroat.

Redthroat (above & below)

White-browed Babbler was also common.

White-browed Babbler

The cemetery itself was interesting. Local historians have provided memorial signs (one below) for everyone buried there. The horrendous toll of typhoid and other diseases on young people at that time was sobering.

We enjoyed our final couple of days in the Goldfields checking out local attractions in Kalgoorlie-Boulder.

Kalgoorlie Mining Museum

Around Australia 2026 Part 5: Shark Bay to Geraldton & Black-headed Gull in WA

 

Black-headed Gull

Following our visit to the Pilbara we continued southward, overnighting at the Minilya Bridge Roadhouse and then 2 nights in a Canarvon caravan park. The loss of gas to the fridge means we have to stay at powered van park sites until it's fixed. We enjoyed visits to the town's Historic Precinct and the Gascoyne River estuary.

Canarvon Gascoyne River

Not too many birds about. Little Crows were feeding young at the precinct.

Little Crows

We continued south to Shark Bay, where the first solid show of wildflowers greeted us (below). Absolute joy!

Shark Bay

We overnighted at the old Telegraph Station caravan park at Hamelin Pool: quaint, a little basic but with a great outlook. A few hundred metres from the park is the bay shore, where ancient stromatolites can be seen in the shallow water.

Hamelin Pool (above & below)

The scrub was alive with flowering bushes and loads of birds. Chief among them were considerable numbers of Chiming Wedgebill and Rufous Songlark calling vigorously.

Chiming Wedgebill

Rufous Songlark

Joining the chorus was a decent number of Pied Honeyeaters (below).

A couple of White-fronted Honeyeaters were among them. Two Western Grasswrens were seen briefly but not good enough for pics.

White-fronted Honeyeater

A stately male Australian Bustard was roadside on the way out.

Australian Bustard

We headed south for two nights in Kalbarri. I'd forgotten what a delightful place this is. The Kalbarri National Park seacliffs are delightful.

Kalbarri sea cliffs 

Wildflowers were abundant (below).

In the heath were a number of Western Fieldwrens, though many consider birds here to be intermediate with Rufous Fieldwrens.

Western Fieldwren

Offshore were good numbers of migrating Humpback Whales heading north distantly, and a pod of Bottle-nosed (Inshore) Dolphins.

Inshore Bottle-nosed Dolphins

Humpback Whales

Further on at Port Gregory, the lovely Pink Lake (below) was joyous to behold. We overnighted in the pleasant town of Northampton before continuing on to Geraldton.

A Black-headed Gull turned up at Geraldton's Town Beach in early June and I was not hopeful it would stay around for our trip, but it did. After garnering tips from local observers, we pulled up opposite Batavia Park on Foreshore Drive, between the Kai Lani Cafe and The Dome. The Black-headed Gull on the lawn was the first bird I saw!

Given that the gull has been absent at times, that was a relief. I watched it for an hour as it wandered and flew about, largely obvlivious to the large number of people milling about. The area adjoins a busy shopping precinct.

The gull would often be in the company of Silver Gulls. At one point it flew to rain pools in a nearby carpark to bathe at a spot where it is often seen.

We enjoyed three days in Geraldton, seeing the gull each day. I also found a Barn Owl roosting on the Town Beach foreshore.

Barn Owl

Around Australia 2026 Part 4: The Pilbara of Western Australia

 

Black-tailed Treecreeper (wellsi)

Following our departure from the Kimberley, we headed south for an overnight stop in the Goldfire Rest Camp, a free camp that was a pleasant break from the busy caravan parks we've been staying in. Contrary to expectations following concerns about fuel costs and availability amid the Middle East conflict, remote travel in northern Australia is alive and well this winter. We then overnighted at the Sandfire Roudhouse, famous for once turning up Australia's first Brown-streaked Flycatcher.

Spinifex plains south of De Gray River

Not far from the roadhouse I stumbled upon the remains a bush tucker feast. Two small red kangaroos and I estimate 5-6 Australian Bustards had been consumed . Among piles of feathers and picked bones were dozens of empty beer and spirits cans . I get that indigenous people have a strong attraction to bush tucker but I’ve long been concerned that firearms tilt the balance the wrong way. Indigenous people light fires to attract bustards (they fly in hoping to catch insects etc fleeing the flames) and shoot them.

A feast of bustard

On this road trip, bustards have been surprisingly scarce. I found a male bird (below) not far from the feast – the only one seen on this excursion other than a few in the Katherine area on Manbulloo Station, where they're protected.

Then it was on to De Gray River rest area, another free camp. This spot is very different from what we saw here during our 2014 road trip, with a huge area now catering for dozens of campers. 

De Gray River

The distinctive wellsi race of the Black-tailed Treecreeper showed nicely in the riverside eucalypts.

Black-tailed Treecreeper wellsi

We continued south through a desert landscape that was green and lush following heavy rains earlier this year. We stayed in a beachfront caravan site in the delightful town of Point Samson for 2 nights. The Pilbara mountain ranges combined with coastal estuaries and sand-dunes for some truly inspirational scenery.

Pt Samson - south of town

Pt Samson - town area

The nearby ghost town of Cossack up the road from Pt Samson was an eye-opener. Blue stone buildings 150 years old are in remarkably good condition. The town was established as a bustling pearling centre but fell by the wayside when Broome took on that role.

Cossack bluestone building

The distinctive red-bellied race ferruginia of the Spinifex Pigeon was plentiful. I looked without success for Rothschild's Rock-Wallaby, the type specimen of which was procured in Cossack.

Spinifex Pigeon (ferruginia)

Dusky Gerygone was present in mangroves near Pt Samson.

Dusky Gerygone

So was a pair of Mangrove Golden Whistlers of the subspecies robusta. A distant pair of Beach Stone-Curlews were on the mudflats.

Mangrove Whistler robusta female (above) male (below)

Flowering Sturt's Desert Pea brightened things up.

Sturt's Desert Pea

We moved on to Onslow for our final couple of nights in the Pilbara at another seaside caravan park. Worth a visit.

Desert outside Onslow is a carpet of green