The Pinnacles - Nambung National Park

19th September

Because our campsite was only 15 minutes away, we were able to get to the national park nice and early to experience the Pinnacles in the morning light.  We'd seen pictures of them, but like many places you have to be among them to appreciate their size and number. 

There are SO many of these huge limestone pillars rising from the shifting yellow sands.  There’s a 4km loop drive among them with plenty of chances to stop and walk anywhere you like. There are views of the ocean from the western side of the park.

 

Next we visited Hangover Bay which is on the other side of Indian Ocean Drive.  We followed the 4WD track and this enabled us to climb up a white sand dune to discover more dunes at the top.  It was fun,  these dunes are amazing.  

He made me do the Toyota jump ... 

Also in this national park is Lake Thetis which is known for its stromatolites.  We saw these for the first time up at Shark Bay but they were a different formation to these.  Again the water is super-salty, the only conditions that support their growth.

Stromatolites in Lake Thetis, Nambung NP

We then went to the Hansen Bay lookout for great views of the bays that are collectively Jurien Bay Marine Park, the township of Cervantes right on a point, Lake Thetis and the surrounding country.  There’s a great deal of sea grass in these waters, which is why it’s so rich in marine life and supports such colonies of sea lions. 

We liked Nambung NP, it had a great feel about it.