When tourist Jenny McLaughlin travelled through outback NSW during winter, she was expecting to see a dry and dusty landscape.
Instead, she and her husband were met by a sea of wildflowers and greenery, which had seemingly sprouted in the middle of the desert.
"It is lush, [and] the colours have been fantastic [along with] the stars and sunrises and sunsets," Mrs McLaughlin said.
"It just adds to the trip, the colours are already vibrant, and to be able to see it so green and then have those flowers has been a bonus."
Jenny and Paul McLaughlin are loving the colourful blooms on their trip. (ABC Broken Hill: Oliver Brown)
As winter draws to a close, it is unusual to see wildflowers already in full bloom, with mid to late September the typical time of year for outback NSW to show signs of colour and vigour.
But significant rainfall earlier in the year, including an unusually wet summer season, have provided excellent growing conditions across the western region.
Wildflowers have blanketed the far west of NSW with colour. (ABC Broken Hill: Lily McCure)
Cost to business
While the earlier rains were welcomed by those in the far west, it had its drawbacks.
Tibooburra-based food and fuel business owner Vicki Jackson says road closures isolated the town multiple times during their normal busy tourist season in the winter months.
"It’s been hard for businesses. I’d say this year we’ve missed out on five [car] rallies passing through town," Ms Jackson said.
Vicki Jackson hopes the flowers will give her business a boost. (Supplied: Vicki Jackson)
"But on the good side of things, [the rainfall has] actually brought the countryside to life.
"Mother nature holds that seed bank very well and so now, even before spring, we’ve got some beautiful blankets of wildflowers absolutely everywhere."
Sturt's desert pea is flowering early this year in the far west of NSW. (ABC Broken Hill: Oliver Brown)
Far west natives
The Australian Plant Bank's collections development coordinator Laura Watts said types of wildflowers commonly found in the far west included the daisy-like common white sunray and buttercup-like silver cassia.
"There are also [types of] saltbushes [and] some of those species are present all year round," Ms Watts said.
People can often miss the natural beauty of saltbush plants until ideal conditions allow them to flower. (ABC Broken Hill: Oliver Brown)
"They play a really important role in regulating soil salinity which is really important out in those arid areas."
Ms Watts said the ideal growing conditions in the far west this year could be attributed to what she calls the "boom and bust cycle".
"A lot of these species rely on having long-lived soil seed banks, which means they can take advantage of when the conditions are suitable for them to germinate and flower in a quick window of time," she said.
The common white sunray or Rhodanthe floribunda is an abundant spring flower. (ABC Broken Hill: Oliver Brown)
"It’s really a great experience to see the power of nature."
Sturt's desert pea are often the most popular sight for keen outback flower spotters.
Presenting in different colours, South Australia’s floral emblem occurs in all mainland states except for Victoria.
While the most common are a deep red colour with black centres, Vicki Jackson said white and pink shades had also been spotted in and around Tibooburra.
Ms Watts says the Broken Hill region has the highest occurrence of pink and white coloured Sturt's desert pea. (ABC Broken Hill: Oliver brown)
"It’s great to see the Sturt’s desert pea in its natural climate [and] on our local common, which is a bit rare, it doesn’t usually last that long because the kangaroos and horses love it," she said.
Weeds in bloom too
But it isn't just the native flower species which have benefited from an unseasonally early rainfall, according to Ms Watts.
Weeds with equally colourful appearances have also sprung up in abundance, including ruby dock.
The weed has been sighted on the side of the Silver City Highway and on the outskirts of the small locality of Milparinka between Broken Hill and Tibooburra.
A patch of ruby dock weed between Broken Hill and Tibooburra. (ABC Broken Hill: Oliver Brown)
"The thing about a lot of Australian native species is that they are super wacky-looking [and] can absolutely be really challenging to tell the difference [between them and weeds]," Ms Watts said.
"So it's great to go into these situations armed with curiosity."
Making the most of an opportunity
Rather than being kept a local secret, residents have been actively sharing images of the wildflowers on social media.
And with most outback roads now open again, business owner Ms Jackson has seen an early influx of visitors hoping to sight some of the blooms.
"I think the ones that are staying [here] two or three days have definitely been told about them," she said.
Sydney tourists Clynt Girven and Garry Bowden loved the flowers. (ABC Broken Hill: Oliver Brown)
"And also this year we’ve actually had a couple of groups of bird watchers come out extra early because the wildflowers [bring] the birds out."
With the arrival of spring, Ms Jackson is anticipating trade will slow as the mercury starts to soar and tourists migrate to the coastline.
So while the unexpected flurry of tourists brought by the wildflowers is welcome, it won't quite be enough to recuperate from the slow winter – which is typically the busiest time for tourism in the outback.
Look but don't touch
Ms Watts says it's critical to not disturb the delicate native ecosystem. (ABC Broken Hill: Oliver Brown)
Ms Watts estimated the wildflower’s hardy constitutions meant some may survive into the early summer months, depending on weather conditions and their natural life cycles.
She says it's important to be mindful of their delicate ecosystems.
"While it's great to observe those wildflowers, it's really important to make sure you don't do anything to disturb them," Ms Watts said.