Fitzgerald River National Park

The Fitzgerald River park covers around three hundred thousand hectares of the south coast between Bremer Bay and Hopetoun, and its plant diversity is extraordinary: some eighteen hundred species have been recorded, close to twenty percent of the state's flora, with dozens found nowhere else, including the royal hakea, a plant with vivid orange and yellow variegated leaves that looks artificial. UNESCO recognises it as a biosphere reserve. The landscape ranges from quartzite peaks known as the Barrens to river gorges and a coast of white beaches. Southern right whales calve in the bays from June, and the park is one of the few places where the endangered dibbler survives.

What you actually see

• The royal hakea - the vivid variegated plant unique to this area.
• The Barrens - quartzite peaks including East and West Mount Barren.
• The coast - white beaches and bays with whales in winter.
• The wildflowers - some eighteen hundred species, flowering heavily in spring.

When to go

August to November for wildflowers, which are the park's main draw; whales calve in the bays from June to October. Summer is hot and the flowers gone. Interior roads are unsealed and close after rain.

Honest expectations

The park is large with limited through-roads, and the two ends are a long drive apart. Facilities are basic, with no fuel or shops inside. Phytophthora dieback controls require staying on tracks and cleaning boots. Wind on the coast is severe.

Nearby

Bremer Bay lies west; Hopetoun and Ravensthorpe are east.