Pincushion full of Pinnacles

Manda writes:

A trip to The Pinnacles Desert was in store for us today. It's funny but when I think of a desert I don't automatically think of miles of sand neighbouring low-lying heathland or being situated next to the coastline. So as we drove into Nambung National Park and caught sight of kangaroo territory (judging by the roadkill) and the Indian Ocean, I was a little surprised to say the least. It certainly felt as warm and sunny as I'd imagined a desert to feel like - even in Winter, the temperature was bordering on 30 degrees Celcius. At 3pm, the sun was still high up in the cloudless sky and cast a golden glaze over the sandy landscape.

In the distance we could see the desert punctured with thousands of tiny needle-like columns. A bit like a pin cushion crammed with needles and pins. As we drove nearer, we realised that not all these limestone pillars were so tiny after all and some reached the five metre mark. Some of the taller columns had jagged sharp tops, while others resembled rounded tombstones. The tiny ones looked like fragile stalagmites, trying to blend in with the ground. This landscape reminded me of a much scaled-down version of Cappadocia in Turkey.

A 'field' of rocks - these are not the biggest of The Pinnacle formations.

Formation of The Pinnacles

The Pinnacles were formed millions of years ago from sands that originally came from ground sea shells. Vegetation that sat on top of this compacted sandy area was the catalyst for erosion - plant roots created cavities that, when filled with water, created ever widening gaps in the base. Over time, the surrounding sands blew away revealing isolated, hard columns, appearing as if they have sprung up from the ground.

Loop Circuit

What was surprising was that we could drive through the interesting landscape in a loop circuit with lay-bys to park up in. I was expecting us to have to park Ethel in a car park and wander around on foot. The narrow vehicle track was marked with small pebbles on either side and was quite close to the stones in places - I imagine accidents must have taken place here where motorists have been pre-occupied with looking at the stones and not on the track!

We parked up at several lay-bys to take a stroll amongst the stones. The rocks looked lovely and golden and really stood out against a vivid blue backdrop that was the sky. It was a perfect day for photos and filming. We must have gone around the track three times trying to get the best vantage points and lighting!

Above: how the light changes the view of The Pinnacles; Below: Ethel among The Pinnacles, her last outing with us (but perhaps not her last trip to this place?).

At sunset, the pillars cast long shadows which made for more eerie-looking photos. There were a few professional photographers there with their tripods and expensive-looking zoom lenses all set up, waiting for the perfect moment. Some were lying on the ground, angling their cameras in unusual directions to get the desired arty shot, something we probably would have done had we brought all our camera kit with us too. But there is only so much you can do with a point-and-shoot. Still, we were pleased with our pin sharp results of The Pinnacles!