Day 103: Albany to Ravensthorpe

 It is around 300km to Ravensthorpe where we intend to spend 2 nights on our way to Esperance. 


Ravensthorpe is a rural town, once a mining town and now heavily into tourism and at this time of the year, that means Wildflowers. There is a mining history here that started with the a gold rush in 1898. The town was gazetted in 1901 and in the early 1890's copper and gold smelters were operational. The population peaked in 1911 at 2,000 at the peak of the mining boom. Further mining ventures in the the early 2000's saw a nickel and cobalt mine opened (now closed)and an open cut Lithium mine opened in 2009 (now closed). Today the focus is rural and tourism.


As you drive into town it is impossible to not notice the silo art, with a strong wildflower theme

Arriving at the Green Haven Caravan Caravan Park was a seamless experience, you drive in, find a site you like and someone will come around in the afternoon to sort out the payments. There was a lot of choice, but we were looking for something flat and close to the basics and there were a few options.

Once settled, we visited the local tourist information centre and the lady there could not have been more helpful.

The focus was very much on seeing the wildflowers, and we are here at peak season where many of them are in flower.  Unfortunately the Ravensthorpe Wildflower Show, a highlight of their annual calendar, starts next week on 7th September, but we are assured the wildflowers are already in flower. We are given an excellent guide on the areas where we can observe the wildflowers in flower now.

One of the unique wildflowers to this region is the qualup bell, and there is one growing outside the information centre. Fortunately it is flowering now.


Qualup Bell

From the information we collected from the centre, we went to one of the recommended sites where we may see some native orchids, amongst to the other wildflowers. The Kukenarup Memorial Heritage Site was 15 km West of town (we passed it in the way in). The memorial commemorates an aboriginal massacre in the early years of pastoral development in this area.



Walking along the trail, the number a wildflowers in flower was amazing. It is not pretty country, but somehow the wildflowers cope.

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This orchid is prolific at this site










On the way back into town we divert to Archer Drive Lookout which is about 15 km east in the Ravensthorpe Range on a 4WD track, past the now closed Lithium Mine. We are told that as well as good views, there are lots of wildflowers up there as well.


 




It is very wet on the ground at the lookout, so we decide not to take the steep 4WD track back to town, after several recent days of rain, but return the way we came.




It was time to get back to the caravan park, as they will be coming around to collect the fees. 





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