Spring has sprung and the Wheatbelt is awash with colour. But with all the yellows and oranges in full bloom, it’s probably about time for some new colours, and this is where Wongan Hills comes in! It’s time for the 13th annual ‘Reynoldson Reserve Wildflower Festival’.
Happening over the last weekend in October it is a great family event.
Run by the Wongan Hills Visitor Centre the weekend kicks off with the popular ‘Sundowner at the Station’ on Friday evening from 6pm to 9pm. This is held outdoors at ‘The Station’ and you can purchase a meal & drink – Slider rolls with salad and a choice of beer, wine or soft drink – and listen to Laurie Forbes playing his guitar with some familiar tunes. There will also be a ‘lucky number’ draw.
Saturday starts off with a ‘Big Breakfast’ available for purchase.
Then the place really comes alive with a variety of markets stalls, both inside and outside The Station, from 9:30am – 2:30pm.
There will also be food stalls with a variety of meals to choose from.
There will be plenty of kids activities including an animal petting zoo, giant board games and more.
Throughout the day there will be bus trips out to see the Verticordia wildflowers at Reynoldson Reserve.
This is an informative and fun trip that you don’t want to miss, but you will need to book in on the day so as not to miss out. Don’t forget to grab yourself a delicious Devonshire Tea at the Visitor Centre while you are waiting.
There will also be camp cooking demonstrations with Jo Clews from Melangata Station. You can check out her website at http://www.joclewscooking.com.
The Wongan Arts Society are holding a display over that week also, and the display this year will be items made from recycled wood. They are also hosting the Bush Care Wildflower Display, which was a huge hit last year. The display will be amazing, a must see.
Saturday evening you will be seeing stars at the Stargazing Evening at the airstrip. This is part of the AstroTourism group and looks set to be a magnificent evening. It is being run by Carol Redford who will be able to tell you all about the stars & planets. If you would like to attend this event you will need to book ahead. See https://www.trybooking.com/XUOT for more details.
Sunday will start off with another ‘Big Breakfast’ and then, back by popular demand from 10am the ‘Seniors Morning Tea and sing-a-long’. There will be entertainment by the local choir and square dancers.
Again there will be bus tours to the reserve to see the Verticordia and Devonshire Teas.
The Museum will be open from 9am to 4pm both Saturday and Sunday.
Set up in the old maternity hospital it has some great displays. It even has an old army tank out the back!