Shelley Cove Loop, Leeuwin-Naturaliste NP

The remarkable Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park stretches 120 kilometres between Cape Naturaliste and Cape Leeuwin with a diverse landscape of rugged coastal heathlands, bushland, tall tree forests, and caves. There is a huge diversity of plant and animal life, many of which are found nowhere else on Earth.

The region boasts an incredible 7000+ plant species, including the karrri tree - the third tallest tree in the world. You will find these giants along the more sheltered inland areas of the southern sections of the national park, whereas the country in the northern parts are more wooded with jarrah-marri forest, mixed with sheoak. Peppermint groves are found throughout the area, along with banksia and Rottnest tea-trees. Dense coastal heath dominates the windswept, western slopes, where a colourful wildflower display can be found in spring, inlcuding yellow buttercups, blue fanflowers and red cockies tongues. Climbing plants are a major feature of the forest and coastal parts, including purple wisteria, red coral vine and white clematis. For the keen eyed, there are many species of orchids, that flower most months of the year.

The vegetation along the waterways and wetland systems of the Leeuwin-Naturaliste Ridge are home for several native fauna species including wetstern grey kangaroos and threatened mammals such as the western ringtail possum, chuditch and brush-tailed phascogale. Along the beaches you can often see humpback and southern right whales migrating up and down the coast, bottlenose dolphins surfing in the bays, shorebirds such as plovers and oystercatchers feeding in the shallows, and osprey circling overhead. Crabs, periwinkles and limpets can be found clinging to the shoreline rocks, with a variety of seagrasses and colourful seaweeds washed up on the beach.