Bremer Bay

Moved camp to Quaalup Homestead Campsite this morning. Went to Wellstead Estuary Walk Trail at Bremer Bay, starting the trail from the caravan park. We found a dragon orchid, a fragrant leek, and a minionette orchid. It was a shame to see the habitat so overtaken with weeds. A bonus was watching a flock of pelicans land in the small sandbank for a session of intense grooming.

We met up with Paul for lunch at the pub and he took us in his 4WD to hunt for more orchids. We saw lots of leaves for crystal helmet orchids, but alas, no orchid upon any leaf. Apparently, the tiny flower sits on the leaf, and grows a stem once pollinated so the seed pod will sit up on the stem. We did some such seed pods. Paul did spot a tiny leek orchid, later identifed as a limestone leek. He drove along and pulled up at another spot which looked like it had a recent burn. Some orchids do sprout after a fire, yet others will not for years after a fire. We saw a few buds of sun orchids, but with no sun that day the flowers were not to be seen. It was fascinating watching Paul at work, photographing and mapping the orchids. We got to Quaalup with enough time to set up the tent in daylight. Dinner was cooked in the bbq shelter as the rain started just as we finished setting up the tent. Went to bed with on an orchid high. Thank you, Paul.Read more