Windswept and Wild: Flora and Fauna Around Cape Leeuwin

Remarkably, nature doesn’t just cling to life on this weather-beaten edge. It harnesses the extremes in the most surprising and delightful ways.

The westerly wind can be a real wild one at Cape Leeuwin. Nothing stands in its path between here and the southern cape of Africa. The weather phenomenon known as the ‘Roaring Forties’ accelerates at full throttle across open seas. It whips up the Southern and Indian Oceans in a frothy clash and crashes into the cape with howling gusts of over 150 kilometres per hour.

Yet an incredible variety of unique and hardy species have learned to lean into its salt-laden air, bend with its cutting winds, and thrive in shallow, sandy soils between the ancient gneiss bedrock.

One of Cape Leeuwin’s biggest nature enthusiasts, conservation manager Alysha Johnson, finds herself constantly blown away by the wild wonder of the cape’s seasonal mood swings.

It’s so easy to say spring is my favourite time of the year, because you start to see the colour come back to Cape Leeuwin. And you’re still getting migrating whales passing close to shore, launching out of the swell, and puffing out rainbows. But there’s something about the cape’s intensely wild winter that gives you an overwhelming sense of awe.

~ Alysha Johnson

A real blast for nature nerds

Winter is the quieter time of year, where the only people you’re likely to encounter are avid whale watchers, bird nerds and storm chasers with a childlike sense of wonder. If you love the crazy kind of weather that has you holding your hat on and bursting into fits of giggles, you’ll be in your element.

On those days when you can barely stand up against the wind, you’re likely to hear the dramatic cries of elusive seabirds that rarely come so close to shore. Shearwaters, petrels and crested terns casually cruise between the peaks and troughs of the murmuring sea. And mighty albatross perch on the edge of the granite outcrops.

Often coinciding with the arrival of migrating humpbacks and southern right whales, these seabirds are regular visitors to the cape, calling in from their protected breeding grounds on the St Alouarn Islands, just a few clicks to the southeast of Cape Leeuwin.

A whale swimming at the surface with Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse in the background

From little things, big colours spring

The hardy flora that clings to this exposed headland has survived by staying low to the ground and producing the most vibrantly coloured and beautifully scented blooms to attract pollinators.

Basket bushes, peppermint trees and Banksias are wind-pruned to just 30 centimetres, creating a beautiful carpet of creamy-white flowers, dotted with purple pockets of native wisteria. Shark’s tooth and cyclops wattles pop their tiny yellow pompom flowers, releasing a subtle hint of buttery popcorn on the breeze. While herby boronias and sweet melaleucas bring the spring floral notes to an intoxicating crescendo.

But it’s the pinks that steal the show, with blushing displays from coastal pigface and rice flowers, contrasting beautifully with the smoky-blue, silvery-green foliage of the coastal daisy bush.

I’m obsessed with that iconic spring colour combination of the floral pinks, silvery-green shrubs, rusty-orange granite and vivid-blue ocean. I could look at that all day!” Alysha sighs.

Summer’s hottest song list

Early-morning and late-afternoon visitors will catch the best of the birding times in summer, says Alysha. This is when you’re likely to see Cape Leeuwin’s friendliest feathered residents – the bright green rock parrots – grazing on the lawns, letting out the cutest zip-zipping sound.

You might also hear the trilling of the Australian pipit, the angry buzz of tiny scrub wrens, the “kee” squeals of black cockatoos searching for marri trees in flower, and the adorable whistle calls of sooty oyster catchers.

During the day, it’s amusing to watch the seagulls perching awkwardly with their webbed feet on the spiky coast beard-heath, fighting noisily over the little white berries. Over the old swamp to the north, we often see ospreys and swamp harriers riding the thermals in the afternoons. And we have a nankeen kestrel, who’s been known to make an appearance on the guided tours, sitting on the ledges of the lighthouse. If you don’t see him, you might hear his laughter-like calls carried on the wind.

~ Alysha Johnson

Tiny hidden treasures

The coastal heath of Cape Leeuwin ranks highly on the birders’ list as the place to spot the most elusive of SSBs (Small Shy Birds), the tiny southern emu-wren. And if you happen to see something buzzing around the blue fan flowers while you have your keen eyes focused, be sure to take a closer look. You might be dazzled by the iridescent, blue-banded bee.

The teensy Leeuwin freshwater snail is even harder to spot at just 6mm long and is close to extinction. It’s only known to exist in six sites, and Cape Leeuwin’s wetland area is one of them – a place where the frog chorus is a cacophony in winter and spring. While you may not see them, you might hear the aptly named calls of the motorbike, moaning and laughing frogs.

“If you let out a cackling Aussie laugh, they’ll often reply with their signature mating call,” says Alysha. “But for me, the most cherished tiny treasure of the cape is the rare and near-threatened quenda.

They’re ecosystem engineers, the pointy-nosed gardeners that dig and turn the soil, dispersing seeds and fungi spores. You might just catch a glimpse of their perfectly round booty hopping into the heath. They’re not the easiest to spot, but you’ll see their diggings all around the cape. Be sure to stop and appreciate their handiwork.

~ Alysha Johnson

Bring a sense of wonder. Take only photos. Leave no trace.

Wildflowers are incredibly delicate and sensitive to trampling feet. Stay on the paths, avoid disturbing the vegetation and clean your shoes before and after your walk to avoid the spread of dieback.

“Never pick wildflowers,” says Alysha. “Let others enjoy their beauty, and just let nature be.”