A French couple on the Coral Discoverer had been in Perth before the cruise and recommended the park 200km north. We decided at the last minute to substitute this for driving to the southernmost point of Western Australia, and the pics below surely suggest this was a good call. The highlight Pinnacles are recommended for sunrise and sunset, so we thought our scheduled 1:30PM arrival time in Perth would be perfect. Qantas had other ideas, as our flight was delayed so we arrived 3PM and did not get to the town of Cervantes until well after sunset. It also rained intermittently on the drive north so perhaps sunset on the 25th would not have been so good. Signs on the Indian Ocean Highway warn of unusual wildlife.
We got up early and drove to the park before dawn. We were greeted by this kangaroo before the park entrance.
Our first view of the Pinnacles was at sunrise.
They are limestone and their means of formation is still speculative. The leading theory is that a forest was submerged by rising sea level, with the dead tree trunks covered by seashells that later formed limestone. In modern times the Pinnacles have periodically been buried then exposed by sand dunes.
The ending weather system soon created a rainbow for scenic backdrop.
On the loop drive there was a slightly elevated viewing platform, with trails leading off in varied directions. Just off the northern trail Liz encountered another kangaroo.
Walking farther I approached these Gulah birds on some of the Pinnacles.
They took off when I got too close.
Overview to the north:
Most of the region is covered in dense bushes. The open red/brown sand is only in the immediate area of the Pinnacles. There are occasional white sand dunes like the one in the background but most of those are near the beaches.
Back on the road we saw these 3 emus.
They disappeared into the bushes at far right before we could get any closer.
At the end of the road we could see tracks up the sand to a higher viewpoint. Up there we had a clearer view to the Indian Ocean.
There must be some kind of reef offshore for that line of breakers.
Liz is descending back to our car.
We walked toward this outcropping and Liz approached two emus.
Maybe too close?
The emus did not make any noise and soon walked off to the east.
We got someone to take our picture at the outcropping.
We continued the drive and reached the tallest Pinnacles.
In this area only many of the Pinnacles were eroding.
Nearly all of the erosion was at similar height (weak layer?) and facing east (wind exposure?). This was the most eroded one we saw.
The visitor center did not open until 9:30 so we spent the next hour around Hangover Bay.
Not far away was this sand dune.
We fortunately found this trail leading up to the dune.
Bushwhacking would have been difficult.
The other rare features here are the stromatolites at Lake Thetis.
These are built by cyanobacteria. Fossilized stromatolites are the oldest in the world at 3.6 billion years.
Cervantes has a noted lobster shack, which we visited at its 11AM opening.
The pot between my lobster roll and Liz’ lobster chowder has chili mussels.
We got up early and drove to the park before dawn. We were greeted by this kangaroo before the park entrance.
Our first view of the Pinnacles was at sunrise.
They are limestone and their means of formation is still speculative. The leading theory is that a forest was submerged by rising sea level, with the dead tree trunks covered by seashells that later formed limestone. In modern times the Pinnacles have periodically been buried then exposed by sand dunes.
The ending weather system soon created a rainbow for scenic backdrop.
On the loop drive there was a slightly elevated viewing platform, with trails leading off in varied directions. Just off the northern trail Liz encountered another kangaroo.
Walking farther I approached these Gulah birds on some of the Pinnacles.
They took off when I got too close.
Overview to the north:
Most of the region is covered in dense bushes. The open red/brown sand is only in the immediate area of the Pinnacles. There are occasional white sand dunes like the one in the background but most of those are near the beaches.
Back on the road we saw these 3 emus.
They disappeared into the bushes at far right before we could get any closer.
At the end of the road we could see tracks up the sand to a higher viewpoint. Up there we had a clearer view to the Indian Ocean.
There must be some kind of reef offshore for that line of breakers.
Liz is descending back to our car.
We walked toward this outcropping and Liz approached two emus.
Maybe too close?
The emus did not make any noise and soon walked off to the east.
We got someone to take our picture at the outcropping.
We continued the drive and reached the tallest Pinnacles.
In this area only many of the Pinnacles were eroding.
Nearly all of the erosion was at similar height (weak layer?) and facing east (wind exposure?). This was the most eroded one we saw.
The visitor center did not open until 9:30 so we spent the next hour around Hangover Bay.
Not far away was this sand dune.
We fortunately found this trail leading up to the dune.
Bushwhacking would have been difficult.
The other rare features here are the stromatolites at Lake Thetis.
These are built by cyanobacteria. Fossilized stromatolites are the oldest in the world at 3.6 billion years.
Cervantes has a noted lobster shack, which we visited at its 11AM opening.
The pot between my lobster roll and Liz’ lobster chowder has chili mussels.
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