First stop on the drive further south was Sandy Cape. This
was 7km off the highway and was a lovely little spot to camp ‘off grid’ along
the beach – if we had more time this would have been a great stop to spend a
few relaxing days (particularly in the summer months). We walked along the pristine
white sand to the end of the beach, which was unfortunately littered with too
much seaweed for our liking (evidently common in Winter) and then hiked up the
sand dunes to the top of the cliff for an awesome view further south along the
coastline. We tried hard to spot a sealion, who evidently inhabit this area,
but alas, no marine life to be seen.
A further 10km down the highway and we arrived at Jurien
Bay. We went for a lovely stroll along the waterfront and then headed to the
harbour area for a little picnic on the sand, with the locals (seagulls).
The following morning, we headed off to see the Pinnacles,
only 15km south in the Nambung National Park. We were excited to revisit as we
had fond memories of visiting with mum and dad 30 years ago. The pinnacles are
believed to have been formed over 500,000 years ago during the Ice Age.
Evidence suggests that they were exposed around 6,000 years ago but were again
covered by shifting sands until only recently (a few hundred years). Scientists
believe the pinnacles were made when shell fragments broke down to form
fine-grained sand that was rich in calcium carbonate (lime). The beach sands
form extensive dunes along much of the coastline. As rainwater contacted the sand
dunes, it dissolved the calcium carbonate. As the dunes dried out, the calcium
carbonate recrystallized and cemented nearby sand grains together, forming
limestone, and thus the pinnacles. We enjoyed walking around the desert and
taking photographs in the sun.
It was then back to Cervantes for a visit to the Lobster Shack for lunch. I ordered a whole lobster, grilled in garlic butter with chips and salad – delicious! Poor Sippy was still suffering from a painful toe, caused by a gout flare up from too much lobster last week – so he ordered an angus beef burger. We did the lobster processing tour after lunch (ordinary after our Lobster Pot Pull tour last week in Kalbarri) and then spent the afternoon on the sun deck at the shack having a prosecco and craft beer. Not a bad way to spend a Tuesday afternoon!
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