Road covered today.
In the morning Alen feels much better and says that he's ready to go. During a brief visit to the dentist we find out that nothing serious has happened with his tooth, and that it will get well on its own. Nothing to stop us anymore, then.
We leave Perth and head towards the place called The Pinnacles. Once we pay the inevitable $12 fee and enter, we see a forest of weathered rocks sticking high up from the sand; more than anything, they look like someone's giant, rotten teeth.
The Pinnacles from the distance.
They are, in fact, the aforementioned Pinnacles, and they look surreal. The bright yellow sand around them exudes heat. We jump back inside the car and then slowly drive along the special path, stepping out only to take an occasional picture.
The Pinnacles close-up.
Of course, people are everywhere in the park, and I have to make efforts not to include anyone in the picture. Beyond the hot, sandy world of these stony fangs there is green bush, and beyond that – the Indian Ocean, bright-blue. The contrast of yellow, green and blue makes the place look even more surreal than it is.
The ocean beyond.
Once out of the park, we continue driving north. Alen tells me about his crazy week, and amidst all these talks we arrive at a town with an unexpected name of Cervantes: called after some ship, as it turns out, and not after the
Don Quixote author. Who could they possibly name the ship after, though? There we have lunch and move further, making just one stop in Geraldton to refuel. No other sights planned for today, and our only destination now is some homestead further down the highway where we plan to camp.
It's almost dusk when we get there… only to find out that the whole place is booked for the wedding, and there's no room for campers anymore. Either it's Alen's bad luck, or Saturday is simply not a very good day for happy camping. Still, we got to stop
somewhere, so we get back on the highway and retreat towards Geraldton. A brief stop on some beach where there is also a cheap campground; but I don't like the crowd and the general vibe, so we leave it as well.
We're lucky on our third try: the Drummond Cove caravan park is quiet and very nice, plus there are all the facilities we need. $30 is a bit steep for an unpowered site, but we have no choice now: it's getting dark very quickly. We put up the camp and finish travelling for today.
Too dark for good pics.
I make a half-hearted attempt to photograph the sunset, and it's already dark when I finally get to the shower. The amenities block is nice and clean (locked by a key with an enormous badge), but the shower taps are set very low for some reason: on a shoulder level, or something like that. We discuss all this, along with everything else, during dinner, then get back into tent and fall asleep quickly. Long day tomorrow.
The sun sets over the Indian Ocean.
- Distance
- 459.2 km
- Fuel
- $54.68 (Lancelin)
- $41.34 (Geraldton)
- Food
- $5.42 (Perth)
- $14.00 (Cervantes)
- Fees
- $12.00 (The Pinnacles)
- $30.00 (caravan park)