Today, with yet another cold day with overcast and rainy conditions we set off for a trip to Nambung National Park home to the famous limestone pillars known as the Pinnacles, that rise from the yellow sands of the Pinnacles Desert. At just 45km (28 miles) south of Jurien Bay along the Indian Ocean coastline, it was an easy and scenic drive to the Park. We stopped at Moolah Hill Lookout near Cervantes that provided us with an expansive view over the coastal environment out into the islands just offshore in the Indian Ocean. We also stopped for a quick look (as it was showery) at Lake Thetis which like Hamelin Pool in Shark Bay that we visited, also has stromatolites. |
As we drove into the Park, which, from the road, the landscape was similar to what we had driven through from Jurien Bay, of low, but thick heath coastal bush. Small limestone pillars began to appear in some sandy clearings as we reached the Visitors Centre. We had not done much research of what was here before hand so we were not quite sure what to expect other than to see a desert section with a few limestone pillars.
We found that the park itself was a one way drive through section (for cars only on hard packed sand over small hills) or it can be walked through (in the event of arriving on a bus tour). As we drove in we were unprepared for the panorama before us as the low bush landscape opened up into golden sands in which literally thousands of limestone pillars were scattered with some several metres tall! It was simply jaw dropping!
Despite the overcast and gloomy sky, and one could imagine how vivid it would appear on a sunny day, it was still a picture to see the golden sands and the pillars that seemed to stretch as far as the eye could see. The pictures do not do it justice with the colour or the expanse stretched before you and into the distance. The pinnacles are said to be made up of shells and is thought that they date back millions of years to when the sand was beneath the sea. Some pinnacles finish in a jagged point whilst others have a rounded dome resembling tombstomes and one naughtier one resembling a male body part! *blinks*
When we had arrived at the entry gate to the Nambung National Park, we were told of a park we had not known about, Lesueur National Park that was an easy drive out east of Jurien Bay so we decided to head there for the afternoon despite the persistent showers.
We were so glad we did. What a magical place this was! Lesueur is one of the most important flora conservation areas in Western Australia. Again, the photos do not do this place justice. Everywhere you looked there was something unique, colourful (which is hard to see in the gloomy pics) and diverse. The misty, showery conditions actually added to the magical feel, not to mention we had just about the entire place to ourselves!
An interesting feature of the park was the installment of boot cleaning grates that were positioned around the park when paved paths changed to gravel paths. Park Management encourage you to utilise these to reduce the serious problem of the die back fungal disease which they do not want spread in this special place. That is something we have never seen in any park we have visited before. We also were excited to spot the rare pink Lesueur hakea (hakea megalogsperma)!
To cap the day off, the showers cleared just in time to allow the sun to peak through for a sunset photo on the Jurien Bay Jetty!