Top 5 Spots to See wildflowers in the bush

Wildflowers, Kosciuszko National Park - Credit: Thredbo

From gleaming white flannel flowers in the Snowy Mountains to fiery orange heath banksia on the South Coast and a secret garden full of wildflowers near Sydney, here are the best places to spot wildflowers as they burst into life, on glorious hikes or easy ambles.

In spring and summer, NSW is bejewelled with colourful wildflowers that decorate coastal walking tracks and thread through national parks. Here’s where to spot some of the state’s most beautiful blooms and the best time to visit.

1) Kosciuszko National Park

Best time to visit: November to April.
Once the last of the powdery white snow melts into the Snowy Mountains, the high-altitude Kosciuszko National Park comes to life with purple eyebrights, yellow billy buttons and everlasting daisies. Wildflower walks are everywhere: adventure up high to the Main Range track or Dead Horse Gap walking track where alpine trees give way to open fields blooming with magnificent patches of snowy white gentians, anemone buttercups, alpine sunrays and more; walk along the Thredbo River Track to see sub-alpine wildflowers growing along the banks; or set out on the Illawong Walk from Guthega, where you can set up a picnic among bushels of alpine mint, billy buttons, and native yam daisies, and even go for an exhilarating dip in the cool waters of Snowy River.

2) Bouddi National Park

Bouddi National Park, Gosford - Credit: Michael Van Ewijk/DPE

Best time to visit: September to December.
The coastal tracks and towering forests of the Bouddi Peninsula are some of the only trails in Australia that will lead you to snow-white patches of the stunning flannel flower, a delicate daisy-like Australian native. Take in this stunning rare beauty as you trek along the Flannel Flower Walking Track, or book a spot on Elixir Journeys' Bouddi Wildflower Walk in spring which explores lesser-known parts of Bouddi National Park on the Central Coast. As well as sightings of this special flower, you’ll also come across views that stretch all the way to Sydney.

3) Booderee National Park

Booderee National Park and Botanic Gardens, Jervis Bay

Best time to visit: September to April.
Setting foot in Booderee National Park is like stepping into paradise, with more than 460 different indigenous plants growing within this protected patch of Jervis Bay. Home to Australia’s only Aboriginal-owned botanic gardens, you will find many native beauties. Watch birds flock to the fiery orange heath banksia, common around Hole in the Wall Beach and see the pretty pink pinnate boronia stud the path along the Booderee National Park: Telegraph Creek Nature Trail. Don’t forget to look out for NSW’s state flower, the crimson waratah, which blooms from September to November and visit in spring to see the spectacular round-leaf tea tree flowers in bloom.

4) Redlands Hill Reserve

Everlasting daisies, Redlands Hill Reserve - Jessica Stokes

Best time to visit: September to November.
Sometimes a short wander off the beaten path will lead you to the most special sights. This little patch of woodlands near Corowa on the Murray River is an ecological wonder that is a real hidden gem. Protected since 1999, Redlands Hill Reserve boasts a handful of easy walking trails that will lead you to a number of serene forest scenes (interrupted only by kangaroos hopping past!). A place where Aboriginal communities have gathered for thousands of years, this grassy hill offers a diversity of plants and berries. You’ll see golden wattle in bloom, along with bush peas, native lilies, wedge-leaf hop-bush and plenty of everlasting daisies.

5) Toorale National Park and State Conservation Area

Toorale National Park, Bourke - Credit: Nicola Brookhouse/DPE

Best time to visit: March to October after summer rainfall.
The outback may conjure visions of red dirt and sweeping desert plains, but follow the rivers and you’ll find pockets of greenery thriving with birdlife and open floodplains that burst with colour after rain. Located at the junction of Warrego and Darling rivers, Toorale National Park is just an hour’s drive from Bourke, and offers dramatic naturescapes straight out of a watercolour painting. An easy amble along the Warrego Floodplain walking track can take you past golden sunray daisies, bluebells, billy buttons and pigweed. Pack a picnic and spend your lunch sitting beneath a shady coolibah tree at Many Big Rock picnic area, and make a pit stop at Mount Talowla lookout to take in views of seasonal wildflowers growing on the floodplains towards Mount Gunderbooka.