Wildflowers at Mt William

As wildflower season will be  with us in October I thought I’d post some shots from a walk we did to Mt William in the far north-east of Tasmania last October.  I meant to post them back then but as previously admitted here I’m the slackest blogger ever, as anyone who is on my Facebook will attest. I will try to do better.

Mt William National Park is about two hours drive from St Marys and there are a couple of good spots for fossicking on the way, notably Moorina and also near Gladstone. Once at the park the walk from the car park to the summit only takes 45 minutes at a very leisurely pace, and including plenty of photo stops. We had a nice picnic beforehand with friends at Boulder Point which is my favourite beach in the area. It’s best to be avoided in summer as it gets crowded with campers running generators so they can have the comforts of home!  But during winter and through wildflower time you can sometimes have the place to yourself.

Epiphytic orchids

A cluster of epiphytic orchids give off a sweet scent

Old Man’s Beard – a native clematise

I was concerned as we didn’t see any Forester Kangaroos (Macropus giganteus tasmaniensis) which is unusual as they are normally everywhere.  There wasn’t much grazing so I presume they were off eating some poor farmer’s crops!!  I remember a trip to Mt William about 30 years ago when I counted 23 roadkill Tasmanian Devils  on the road between Gladstone and the park, that was long before the tumor disease took hold. Also often used to see wombat dead on the road as vehicles speed through past the park on the way to Musselroe Bay. Where have they all gone?

Anyway, back to the walk, we were so busy with the wildflowers as we walked that I forgot to get any shots of the stunning views from the summit so you’ll have to take my word for it – they are great. The view takes in Clarke, Cape Barren and Flinders Islands, and you can see the white sand beaches stretching for miles. In the distance you can see the turbines from the new wind farm slowly turning and making electricity. Despite the short sighted viewpoint of some politicians I think they are a thing of beauty.

As you can see from the photos there are some beautiful wildflowers in the bush in October, you need to keep your eyes wide open as some are so small and delicate that they are easy to miss. Another good accessible spot for wildflowers in October is the track between Devil’s Kitchen and Waterfall Bay down on Tasman Peninsula.