Kangaroo Island Wildflowers - March 2011

Back in January when we had a few days of 40° C plus in temperature, it was time to think about a short little break and immediately thought of Kangaroo Island (KI as it is known locally here in South Australia). With work commitments, we were not able to get away for six weeks, but that did not matter as the weather should be perfect in March. January passed and with the coming of a new month, so did the rain. Keeping in contact with a chap that I had organised to obtain a key for viewing a Lighthouse on private property, I was kept up to date with the latest weather reports and told just a week before going that the countryside was as green as early spring. Prior to this unseasonal heavy rain over much of KI, the Island had like many part of Australia been suffering drought conditions. It is not very often that you can trick Mother Nature, but that is exactly what the rain did, with the end result of many local wildflowers springing into life and flowering many months out of their normal flowers periods.

The first things that I purchased when we arrived on the Island were two Wildflower Identification books that greatly helped me to identify the flowers that we did find. For the few that I could not find in the books, I contacted the Authors of one of the books, "Kangaroo Island's Native Plants", Bev and Dean Overton who live in Kingscote who was able to check what I had found and to fill in the missing pieces of the jigsaw puzzle. Even though March is not recognized as the Wildflower season, we were rewarded with the following varieties of wildflowers and have now pencilled another return trip in the spring when the Island is covered in countless varieties of Wildflowers.

























































We were so impressed with the displays that we did find, that are now going back for two weeks in mid October for when all the wildflowers are in full bloom and lets hope a bit more fine weather.