23 October 2009
Our next visit was to the Nambung National Park just a few miles from the fishing port of Cervantes where we were staying.
First stop was Lake Thetis, a salt water lake where you can view stromatolites which are apparently the earth’s oldest living life form. These ones are about 3000 years old. There are fossilised ones that go back to about 6,000,000 years old. The only thing with viewing something of this age is that they don’t actually do very much but it was a pleasant walk round the lake and very interesting.
Next stop was the Pinnacles Desert which is also in the National Park. There are thousands of huge limestone pillars that rise out of the yellow sand. You can actually drive a route around the area and stop off whenever you want to. We took our time doing this and needless to say took lots of photos. They really are quite a weird sight – sand and pinnacles almost as far as the eye can see. What are the Pinnacles, we hear you ask. There seem to be several versions but nobody seems to totally understand. The quickest and simplest explanation is that they are some sort of vegetation that has attracted the wind blown sand and over thousands of years have formed these hard limestone formations.
In the afternoon we drove up the coast road towards Dongara and Port Denison. It was early evening when we arrived although we had been advised not to drive at dusk because of the wildlife on the roads, especially kangaroos. They can make quite a mess of your vehicle. In one handbook we read it said ‘They can be up to 7 feet tall and jump sideways from behind a tree’. Picture the scene!! The only ones we’ve seen on this route are dead ones. Makes a change from rabbits and pheasants.
