This wildflower paradise is only open six weeks a year. As soon as I entered, my mind started to calm

There is something profoundly peaceful about witnessing the landscape as it used to be before western intervention

On a cloudy Spring morning, a group of 20 nature enthusiasts gather at the entrance to a nature park on the northern edge of Sydney. “Good to see nobody is wearing thongs,” our volunteer tour leader, Helen Logie, says to chuckles.

We are among just under 5,000 people lucky enough to visit Muogamarra nature reserve during the six weeks a year it is open to the public, coinciding with wildflower season. This year, tickets – which provide access to a limited number of guided and self-directed walks – sold out in less than a week.