Friday 16th December 2022
Last night the roads to the Pinnacles dessert was closed due to bushfires, so we were a bit worried our plans for today would be scuppered. Fortunately when we checked this morning, they’d now reopened up to Nambung National Park, which includes the Pinnacles dessert.
We set off in our big hire car, and shortly after we’d exited the built up areas around Perth the roads soon grew very quiet. It felt like driving into the middle of nowhere, with not a sign of any towns or villages in sight. The scenery was amazing, vast plains of nothingness and scrub land, with the occasional bright white sand dune.
There were also road signs warning of wildlife in the area. We didn’t spot any kangaroos, but were lucky enough to see a couple of emus very close to the road (although I was too slow to get a photo!)
As we got closer to the Pinnacles Desert Discovery Centre, we went past a road sign saying the road ahead was closed, which was slightly concerning. A bit further along was a barrier with a couple of guys in a truck. They asked where we were going and when we said the Pinnacles dessert they waved us through. Apparently that’s about as far north as they’d allow anyone to go.
There’s a fee of $15 (about £8) per vehicle to enter the Pinnacles dessert. The woman at the barrier informed us that the ticket was also valid for other national parks in the state, and there’s one we’ll pass right by on our way back to Perth.
Once you enter the dessert, you can drive around a one way route through the Pinnacles. There are plenty of places of the route where you can pull over, get out, and explore a bit more on foot. You can also do a 1.5km walking trail, but we didn’t bother with this as it was a very hot day and there’s literally no shade. It’s quite a spectacular place, like nothing I’ve ever seen before, and I’m very glad we visited.
We also spotted some emu tracks, but unfortunately no actual emus (although I think if we’d have seen one that nearby I’d probably have been a little scared!)
After driving / walking around the dessert, we went to the Pinnacles Desert Discovery Centre. It’s got a small exhibition about the history and local wildlife found in the area, which was quite interesting to walk around.
We then set off in the direction of Yanchep National Park, which is on the outskirts of Perth and where we could also use our entry ticket from today. On the way, we took a slight detour to Wedge Island, an absolutely stunning white sand beach.
By the time we arrived at Yanchep National Park it was mid afternoon and we were feeling quite hungry. We went to the visitor centre to try and book a cave tour, (but didn’t succeed as unfortunately it was full for the day) then walked to the Yanchep Inn for a late lunch. Yanchep Inn is a hotel with a huge pub restaurant and beer garden. We ordered a starter of pork belly bites to share, and then mains of a burger and a seafood basket. The food was very good, much better than I was expecting (especially the pork belly which was amazing)
We’d sat outside in the large beer garden, and there were a lot of beautiful parakeets eyeing up our food as we ate!
By the time we’d finished eating, the kangaroos were out and about. I was surprised how close they were, and how unbothered by human presence.
The kangaroos have free reign of the park, but there are also a few koalas that are in a separate enclosed area. The koalas were up in the trees and very difficult to spot, but I was still glad to have my first glimpse of an Australian koala.
We had another walk around the park before heading home. It’s a beautiful location with a lake in the middle, so very pleasant to stroll around.
We were lucky enough to see a family of kangaroos hopping past – mum, dad, and their little one. It was a very cute sight.
On the way back from Yanchep National Park, we stopped off at a supermarket to get a bottle of water. Some frozen dumplings caught our eye. Fortunately, we’ve got a studio apartment where we’re staying (at the Riverview on Mount Street Hotel) so bought a packet to cook for supper tonight.
Emma and Pete’s Asian Adventure 