We have arrived in Perth at last, thus completing our visits of all mainland state capitals, however for now are just happy to be parked up in this very pleasant and unusual caravan park. We have weeks to discover all that Perth has to offer the likes of us.
Last night
we did venture out after dinner and stood above the weed shelf, gazing out at
the far off gas flare under the stars and moonlit night sky, as great flashes
of lightening added to the light effects. Back in the caravan, we tried to
listen to the television but gave up as hail fell noisily on the roof, the
first we had experienced during our Australian adventure. Instead we settled
for an early night, and were back out on the road before 8.30 am, soon heading
on south past Leeman and Greenhead, pulling into Jurien Bay, touted as the”Jewel
of the Central West Coast”. It may well be, although as we whistled through
this little settlement of 2,000 people, seemingly more modern than Dongara and
no less so than Port Denison, we were not drawn to linger.
Instead
we carried on a further twenty kilometres to Cervantes, named after an American
Whaling ship which was grounded off the
coast in 1844. It was not however until 1962 that Cervantes became a township
which would account for the fact that this place is also quite a modern little
settlement. Note I use the word modern loosely:
anything my age or younger is modern.
We
pulled into the tiny centre of this settlement, alighted from the cruiser to
find the Information Centre and were intercepted by a stout untidy local who
was concerned about our caravan. He had heard a terrible rattling in the
wheels. We drove a few metres with the windows open and could indeed hear
something, perhaps a handful of bearings rattling in the hubcap. The caravan
has very smart mag wheels, the sort that require the entire wheels to be
removed to check the hubcap. We asked about garages in the area and were told
that there was one chap back up in the light industrial area who charged like a
wounded bull. I suggested we do it ourselves, an operation that was not so hard
after all, and there we discovered the cover over the ball bearings was rattling around inside the hub cap. Fine workmanship indeed by Batavia Coast Caravan Land! I am sure I do not
need to tell you what Chris said about all that!
Aside
from being our makeshift workshop space, we were interested in Cervantes as the
gateway to the Namburg National Park and also, in part, to the fact that Lake
Thetis, located one kilometre from the town’s centre, is one of the four known
locations in the world where stromatolites can be found. You may recall that we
visited these riveting living creatures in Shark Bay? Even Chris who was more
excited about them that I, was not prepared to drive the short distance on dirt
road for a repeat performance so we left them for others who may not travel beyond
Cervantes.
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| The amazing Namburg National Park |
However
we were both excited about seeing the famous Pinnacles Desert, an area of
varying coloured sand bearing thousands of limestone pinnacles which range in
size and shape, some as tall as five metres and some up to two metres thick at
the base. They are as varied as the stromatolites in Shark Bay, but much more impressive.
Aboriginal
stories have it that the desert was tabu, and yet young delinquent males would
disobey this edict and simply disappear. The “pinnacles” are their fingers as
they attempt to claw their way to the surface as they sink into the sand. A
gruesome picture which surely would deter errant children.
In
geological terms, the pinnacles are very young and scientists today are just
beginning to unravel their many mysteries. The pinnacles are believed to have formed
underground, possibly up to 500,000 years ago during the Ice Ages of the
Quaternary period. They may have been buried for most of this time, or have been
repeatedly exposed and buried again over the millenia. Evidence suggest that
they were exposed around 6,000 years ago, but were again covered by shifting
sands until only a few hundred years ago.
Like the
other national parks we had left unvisited as we drove down this coast, the Namburg
National Park is also well-known for its wild flower displays, but not today.
It is one of the “pay” parks so again our pass served us well. While you can
drive through the pinnacles on the one way track marked out by stones, you may
not tow a trailer or caravan. We chose to walk the trail through the park and
were fortunate that the intermittent showers of the morning stayed away while
we did so. We also spent some time in the excellent interpretative centre with wonderful
displays of flora and fauna. There I learned a few more gems to add to my
cerebral library:
·
The bobtail skink, with its wide stumpy tail, which we have come across
several times at the roadside in the past couple of days, is the only reptile
species known to form long term monogamous pairs. Around September, the
bobtails form mating pairs, staying together until December, and have been known
to reunite each following year. Isn’t that sweet?
·
The tiny honey possums feed on the nectar and pollen of the lovely
sawtooth banksia, this particular banksia so much more attractive that the
variety that populates the eastern and southern shores of this land. The possums
probe the flowers with their long mouth and brush-tipped tongues; they are the
only mammals in the world to feed exclusively on nectar and pollen. They are
only found in south-western Australia and measure seven centimetres in length,
making them the smallest possum in the world. It has the smallest newborn of
any mammal but the largest sperm. The male’s testes are a significant portion of
its body weight. Now that’s very interesting.
The whole
park, established in 1968, covers an area of 17,487 hectares; the pinnacle area
alone, approximately 400 hectares. Although there are apparently a great number
of creatures lurking about the park, hiding in bushes, behind rocks and
generally out of view of the interlopers, we tourists. We spotted emu tracks
and little else.
We had
lunch in the car park and discussed our options for afternoon travel. We had
discussed the possibility of staying in this caravan park when we eventually
arrived in Perth, having spotted it in Camps 6 and received positive comments
when chatting with the Tasmanians last night. I had also emailed them for
tariffs as well as a few other parks about the city. The response from here was
most welcoming but we were reminded that the park is owned and run by the Seventh
Day Adventist Church. This means that alcohol, cigarettes, drugs and dogs (the
latter nothing to do with their religion) are all banned and the office has
limited opening hours and is closed on Saturdays, their day of worship. None of
this was a problem except for the Saturday closing; could we get to Perth
before 5 pm Friday? We consulted TomTom and all agreed it was possible, so set
off down past Lancelin and Ledge Point and turned east toward Guilderton through
to GinGin. It was a relief to leave the sand plains of the Indian Ocean Drive,
although south of Cervantes, we had been delighted to see the great forests of
black boys (or grass trees). Even as we drove through the sheep grazing country
inland, these fascinating plants were still everywhere, surely the bane of
farmers lives?
Near GinGin
we turned south having rejoined the Brand Highway, and then at Muchea, the
highway joined the Great Northern Highway. There we joined the busy traffic as
we headed into the Swan Valley, travelling through great areas of vineyards as
far as the edge of the city. Soon we were pulling into this park and pleased
with our first impression. We will be sharing the park with a group of Scouts
this weekend, a school group next week and another the following weekend should
we choose to stay on. But for now, we have only booked for one week, leaving
our options open.
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