The Comedian Bill Bailey visits the Pinnacles on his Australian AdventureTV programme, and after seeing the episode, these mysterious structures went straight on my list of things to see on our visit to Western Australia. As the Pinnacles are found to the north of Perth, technically they didn’t fit our road trip itinerary travelling south from Perth, however we didn’t want to miss them and so squeezed them in as a day trip from Perth, and we weren’t disappointed….
The Pinnacles are in Nambung National Park, about 200km and 2 hours 20 minutes north of Perth. You can drive it yourself in a normal car, there is a 4.5km loop track you drive slowly, and late afternoon gives you the best light.
The Pinnacles are found in Nambung National Park, about 200 km north of Perth. It would have taken us 2 hours, 20 minutes to drive straight there from our accommodation in Cottesloe Beach, therefore making a long day trip from Perth. We therefore decided to do some sightseeing along the way to break up the driving, and found some excellent places to break the journey.
You could extend the journey north to Exmouth, a 12 hour drive.
Getting to the Pinnacles, doesn’t just have to be a self-drive. If you would rather have someone else drive and give you a running commentary, and a chance to stargaze in this dark sky area, we have also taken a Guided Tour To The Pinnacles.
We got up early and drove 15 minutes north from our Airbnb accommodation in Cottesloe Beach to fellow beach suburb Scarborough, for breakfast at Cleopatras on the ocean front.
With a belly full of avo’ on toast, coffee and fresh juices, we set out to explore Scarborough, the namesake of a town close to our home in Yorkshire, England – just sunnier and a whole lot cooler.
The beach suburb of Scarborough has a younger vibe than Cottesloe Beach, with a feel reminiscent of Venice Beach in California. It has a beautiful stretch of soft white sand beach and turquoise waters, with lots of opportunities for activities such as beginners surf lessons, swimming in the ocean or at an Olympic sized beachside pool, heated to 27 degrees all year round. There are outdoor art sculptures along the waterfront and numerous places to eat and shop.
If you are returning to Scarborough on a Thursday evening at any point, you can catch the Sunset Markets between 5.00pm until 9.00pm between November and April.
Our next stop on our day trip to the Pinnacles from Perth was at Yanchep National Park, just 35 minutes’ drive north of Scarborough beach. Once off the main road, we drove through a dense area of beautiful trees to the entrance of Yanchep National Park. After paying our park fees we headed to the car park.
If you are wondering whether there are koalas in Western Australia, then the technical answer is no, as they are not native to Western Australia. However, you can see Koalas in Western Australia at the Yanchep National Park as they have a Koala Boardwalk which recreates the koala’s natural habitat. We spotted three very obliging koalas along the Koala Boardwalk, looking as happy as a koala can look hanging onto a branch.
Once through the Koala Boardwalk, we wandered around the shady parkland and spotted kangaroos bouncing in between the trees and noisy Kookaburras above our heads.
You can stay in Yanchep National Park which might be nice to do as it was such a tranquil place in the middle of nature. There are also caves which you can visit but we chose to miss these as we have caves coming up later in Margaret River on our road trip itinerary of the South West region of Western Australia.
We made a super quick pit-stop at Two Rocks for a photo opportunity with Neptune, a 10-meter-high limestone statue of the Roman God of the sea, towering above the abandoned Atlantis Marine Park which closed in 1981. To be honest, he looked a bit sad, but it was so random that I couldn’t bypass the opportunity for a photo.
Neptune is one of the very few Big Things landmarks in Western Australia. Keep an eye out if you can see anymore…
We decided to head to Cervantes (named after a US Whaling boat which sank in 1844) for lunch before visiting the Pinnacles at Nambung National Park, which meant driving past the Nambung entrance along the way. The road to the coastal town of Cervantes is a very long, straight stretch of road with striking colours to enjoy – red earth by the side of the road, green shrubs and an expanse of blue sky contrasting against white sand dunes in the distance, which was all quite lovely.
The place to stop for lunch in Cervantes is the Lobster Shack, which is both a factory and restaurant specialising in lobster rolls with curried mayo, using rock lobster (like crayfish).
You can sit inside to eat or wait for a table on the terrace outside. The advantage of outside is that you can gaze at the stunning turquoise waters and blue sky – this stretch of coast is known as the Turquoise Coast and from the colour of the ocean it is obvious why. The disadvantage is that you stand a good chance of your table being attacked by greedy seagulls!
After lunch, retrace your steps back to the entrance to Nambung National Park.
On arrival at Nambung National Park there is quite a long approach road to a car park and Visitor Centre. The Visitor Centre is not very big but is a great way to find out more about the natural phenomenon which you are about to explore – the Pinnacles.
The Pinnacles are thin, limescale towers, some over 4 meters tall, rising out of a floor of seemingly endless yellow sand. What makes the Pinnacles so impressive is that there are thousands of them spread out across the park, so what unfolds in front of you is a weird and wonderful sight – we’ve never seen anything quite like it.
What’s even stranger is that the scientists can’t agree on how these rocks were formed – are they petrified forest? or are they remnants of a meteor strike? or built up from deposits blown in by the wind? or were they left by aliens…
There is a 4.5 km track weaving its way through the Nambung National Park and the yellow sanded area covered in pinnacles. It is advisable to drive slowly around the track, stopping periodically to get out and take photographs when you see a view that appeals to you. When we visited, it would have been too hot to have walked around the track.
Whatever the origin of the Pinnacles, they provide a scene straight out of a sci-fi film or from the surface of Mars. They were very memorable and worth the 2.5-hour journey to see them.
Try to visit the Pinnacles in the late afternoon when the light is best for photographs.
We decided to complete our return journey in one go, driving steadily back down the Indian Ocean Highway towards Perth. All was fine, and the kids fell asleep in the back seats, until I had to make an emergency swerve to avoid hitting a kangaroo who innocently bounced out in front of the car. Everyone was awake then!
If you wish to continue your journey north, then the big road trip to do from here is to continue up to Exmouth on the Ningaloo Coast where there are amazing opportunities to swim with whale sharks and rays (subject to the time of year) or see dolphins at Monkey Mia.
Just to give you an idea of distances, it is a 12-hour drive from Nambung National Park to Exmouth but with plenty interesting places to stop along the way, such as Geraldton, Kalbarri, Cape Range National Park, Monkey Mia Dolphin Resort, Coral Bay so it becomes a trip in itself. For another time…
There are lots of options for day trips from Perth, Australia, if you want to get out and about, but most notably:
We took the decision not to visit Fremantle and Rottnest Island as day trips from Perth, but rather to move to a new AirBnB in Fremantle for three nights so that would immerse ourselves in ‘all things Fremantle’ and visit Rottnest Island on the shorter ferry crossing – 30 minutes from Fremantle, as opposed to 1.5 hours from Perth Elizabeth Quay.
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