|
| Wildflowers
near Eneabba |
Eneabba
Sand mining town in heart of wildflower area
Located 278 km north from Perth via the Brand
Highway, Eneabba is basically a sand mining town
surrounded by some of the most extensive and
spectacular wild flower displays anywhere in
Western Australia. The town itself is, to be
fair, a real non-event with dreary modern
housing (with more than a hint of construction
town design), a small shopping centre and a
service station all of which look as though they
have sprung up in the last 20-30 years.
The wealth of the area is based on the rutile
sands which lie to the south of the town as well
as farming, particularly cattle grazing. With an
estimated 80 per cent of the world's known
rutile supplies the town can boast that it has
the biggest deposits of rutile in both Australia
and the world.
The major mining company in the area is Iluka
Resources Ltd. Eneabba is basically a service
town for the mines but some of the miners,
realising that Eneabba is hardly a paradise,
have opted for commuting and live on the coast
at Leeman and drive to work preferring the beach
to the dry inland.
Things to see:
![[Top of page]](smlArrow.gif)
|
| Wildflowers
in the Eneabba Nature Reserve
|
Looking at wildflowers
Eneabba is surrounded by no fewer than nine
national heritage reserves. The local community,
passionate about the wildflowers, have put up on
the Internet no fewer than 200 flower
photographs. If you want to check them out
simply click the Flower Photo Album
There is the Alexander Morrison National Park
30 km south east of the town which is a
sandplain with low lateritic breakaways. It is
important as it has extensive stands of the low
woodland and mallee which is typical of the
area.
30 km to the south west is Mount Lesueur
Reserve which extends from the huge white
coastal sand dunes inland to Mount Lesueur. It
is home to a wide variety of banksias and
eucalypts as well as 10 species of mammals and
78 species of bird.
Beekeepers Reserve, 20 km north of Eneabba,
is a haven for wildflowers. It has been
preserved for local beekeepers who, during the
spring and summer, reap a rich harvest from the
pollen and nectar of the local wildflowers.
Lake Indoon Reserve, 14 km west of Eneabba,
is a low lying lake about 2 km long and 1 km
wide which is a popular picnic spot. There is
camping available with toilets, rainwater tanks
and barbecue facilities. It is surrounded by
stands of paperbark, giant cycad, flooded gums,
river gums and banksias. For more information
click on the Lake Indoon site.
The unimaginatively named Reserve 29073 is 10
km west of Eneabba and has the finest wild
flower displays in the area. In season it is
just awash with colour. Similarly South Eneabba
Reserve, 5 km south of the town, although in the
rutile belt (and some mining has occurred in the
area) is a wonderland of wildflowers.
Stockyard Gully, 15 km southwest of Eneabba,
is notable for its caves and caverns and Tathra
National Park, 20 km east of the town, lies on
the edge of the wheatbelt. Somehow the area
around Eneabba seems to have escaped the ravages
of local wheat farmers eager to clear the land.
