The Pinnacles are limestone rocks which could be described as limestone monolittleliths. The limestone pillars, of varying shapes and sizes up to 4m tall, rise unsupported from the honey coloured sandstone. There are thousands of them. We were able to drive amongst them and every time we turned around, we had a different view. There was very little greenery in the area and it was described in places as a desert. They seem to be confined to an area which is surrounded by white sand dunes. There is considerable debate and no certainty about how they are formed but accretion with limestone dissolved in slightly acidic water and then crystallising when the water evaporates, seems to be the process involved. The forms of the columns may have to do with ancient forests being covered by sand and the replacement of the organic material with calcium carbonate over time, followed by repeated wet and dry periods producing the final shape and size of the column. The Pinnacles are subject to continuing erosion by water and wind.
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| 170814 Wildflowers and sand dunes south of Cervantes |
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| 170814 The Pinnacles - or some of them |
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| 170814 The Pinnacles - a couple of larger ones |
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| 170814 More Pinnacles |
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| 170814 Plenty of Pinnacles - at the beach? |
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| 170814 The shapes were many and varied |
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| 170814 Baby Pinnacles? - yes, with pink bottoms |
After being thoroughly impressed by the Pinnacles and their presentation, we headed north to the Lesueur National Park. The Park is comprised of hills and sand dunes covered by heath. There is an 18km sealed road which goes through the Park. It took us an hour to go the first km, so prolific were the wildflowers. Stop, photograph, get back in the car, go backwards because we saw one we haven't seen before, photograph two or three more and move on. We stuttered our way along for a couple of hours until exhaustion caused us to say, "Enough is enough". What we can say with confidence are, "There are no Wreath Flowers here " and "We found an orchid". We had a late lunch amongst some native hibiscus. The photographs contain but a few of the flowers we saw, but we did include the Arrowsmith Spider Orchid. We were fortunate to cross paths with a botanist from time to time and she told us what some of the flowers were. We have forgotten most of the names.
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| 170814 Wildflowers in Lesueur National Park |
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| 170814 Wildflowers in Lesueur National Park |
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| 170814 Wildflowers in Lesueur National Park |
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| 170814 Wildflowers in Lesueur National Park |
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| 170814 Wildflowers in Lesueur National Park |
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| 170814 Wildflowers in Lesueur National Park |
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| 170814 Wildflowers in Lesueur National Park |
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| 170814 Wildflowers in Lesueur National Park |
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| 170814 A Kangaroo Paw in Lesueur National Park |
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| 170814 Wildflowers in Lesueur National Park - a relative of the Kangaroo Paw? |
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| 170814 An Arrowsmith Spider Orchid in Lesueur National Park |
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| 170814 A One-sided Bottle Brush - flowers on only one side of the stem |
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| 170814 Wildflowers in Lesueur National Park |
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| 170814 Wildflowers in Lesueur National Park |
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| 170814 Wildflowers in Lesueur National Park |
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| 170814 Curious kangaroos in Lesueur National Park |
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| 170814 (Faceless) Mum and baby |
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| 170814 An echidna crossing the road near Lesueur National Park |
Our final stop for the day was at Molar Lookout north of Cervantes. It overlooks the coast with views as far north as Jurien Bay. On turning to the east we could see the heathlands stretching back to Lesueur National Park and Lesueur Mountain itself.
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| 170814 Wildflowers and sand dunes from Molar Hill Lookout north of Cervantes |
What a day of superlatives. It was a shame the clouds rolled in late in the day with an attendant wind. No rain and we are home safe and sound.
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