The Pinnacles Desert
Viewing thousands of huge limestone pillars that rise from a stark landscape of yellow sand to form one of Australia’s most intriguing landscapes.
AUSTRALIA
Our last stop before we made it to the city of Perth was the Pinnacles Desert of Nambung National Park. This is one of the major natural attractions in the region. The park covers an area of 17,487 hectares providing natural habitat for an extensive array of native animals and bird life.
The Pinnacles within the park are amazing natural limestone structures, formed approximately 25,000 to 30,000 years ago after the sea receded and left deposits of sea shells. Over time, coastal winds removed the surrounding sand, leaving the pillars exposed to the elements. The Pinnacles range in height and dimension and dot the surrounding landscape. The park has an easy to drive sand road throughout with many turnoffs to park and explore. We found that either early in the morning or late afternoon were the best times to visit as the pillars would cast long shadows on the surrounding landscape.
We were lucky as we got to see a couple of the Western Gray Kangaroos feeding on some of the vegetation in the park and bounded across the landscape.
Seeing the contrast between the limestone pinnacles across the sand was a unique landscape visual and worth a stop as we explored the Australian west coast. Happy exploring!
