Published:
Next article
A day trip to the Pinnacles Desert is one of those you simply have to experience when you’re in Western Australia. You can do a self drive yourself, but if you enjoy meeting new people, and exploring the area with a running commentary, then a Pinnacles guided tour is a much better move.
What I expected was a quick out-and-back trip. What I actually got was a full, immersive journey, from coastline to bushland to desert and to a sky full of stars. And honestly? That’s exactly why going on a guided tour from Perth ended up being the best decision I could have made.
(If this article convinces you, I’ve linked the exact Autopia Pinnacles Sunset & Stargazing Tour With Dinner I did below. Note that exact stops and timings can vary with seasonality).
I did consider driving it myself. On paper, it looks simple enough. But once you actually understand the scale of Western Australia, and then consider how long you have in the region, the idea fades slightly. You either go to Western Australia with the idea to road trip the place, or you go to explore Perth.
This isn’t a casual Sunday drive, it’s hours on the road, changing landscapes, wildlife risks after dark, and very specific timing needed to make sunset and stargazing work properly.
What the guided tour gave me was something completely different; the ability to actually experience it all.
Instead of focusing on directions, fuel stops and timing, I could just sit back, take it all in, and listen to stories about the land as it unfolded outside the window. And that turned the journey itself into one of the highlights of the day — especially with our tour guide Ellie giving an excellent commentary.
The total tour is around 9 hours, and unless you organise hotel pick-up/drop-off, you meet in Perth CBD, which is easy to arrange transport to and from (trains, ubers, taxi etc).
Leaving Perth, you quickly watch the city fade into open space. Suburbs thin out, the roads stretch longer, and suddenly you’re in that classic Western Australia landscape, wide, quiet and quite wild.
Our first proper stop was Guilderton, a tiny coastal village that has a permanent population of around 150 people, but can swell dramatically to 4,000 during peak holiday times. This is massively attributed to the Moore River Estuary, which is one of the last unspoiled river systems on the Swan Coastal Plain.
Guilderton is best known for where the Moore River meets the ocean, creating a striking contrast of colours. The water often has a deep, tea-like tone, which is completely natural, and is caused by tannins from the surrounding vegetation, which sits against bright white sand and the vivid blue ocean. There is also a sandbar that breaches and rebuilds itself during different tides of the day, it’s unlike anything I’ve ever witnessed (a recurring theme for this day trip).
I will note here however, depending on the season, instead of going to Guilderton, you may go to Lancelin, a beach town.
Not long after Guilderton, we pulled into a bushland lookout, and the tone of the day shifted slightly. Up until that point, everything had felt bright, coastal and almost carefree. But here, the landscape told a different story.
You could still see the scars from the wildfires, blackened trunks, patches of earth stripped right back. Stretching out across the reserve. And yet, right alongside it, there was life pushing back through. Fresh green shoots, new growth creeping across the ground, Banksias starting to re-emerge.
Our guide Ellie explained that this area, Nilgen Nature Reserve, was hit by fires in late March 2025, sparked by dry lightning during a pretty unusual storm front. With strong winds behind it, the fire moved quickly through thousands of hectares of coastal heathland and Banksia woodland. Emergency warnings went out, and while thankfully no major buildings were lost, it left a visible mark on the landscape.
But what stood out most wasn’t the damage, it was the recovery. Western Australia\s native vegetation, known as kwongan, is incredibly well adapted to fire. Plants here evolved with it. Some resprout from underground structures, others rely on fire to trigger seed release and regeneration. It’s all part of the cycle.
And, you can actually see this cycle happening in person. Just over a year on, the ground is already starting to come back to life. Bright green against charcoal black. New leaves unfurling from trees that, at first glance, look completely burnt out/ If you visit in spring, you’ll even start to see wildflowers breaking through.
This ended up being one of the most thought provoking stops of the day for me. Not just a viewpoint, but a reminder of how this landscape works, constantly changing, shaped by forces much bigger than us, and far more resilient than it first appears.
By this point, I was already pleasantly surprised by the Western Australian bushland and estuaries. But, I still didn’t expect to be wowed again by the dramatic coastline at Hangover Bay, found within the Nambung National Park. This place is just, wild, in the best possible way. A huge stretch of soft white sand, deep blue water rolling in from the Indian Ocean, and barely another person (other than our tour group) in sight.
We had time to walk along the beach, take it all in and just breathe for a bit, which honestly couldn’t have come at a better moment. After our previous stop at Nilgen Lookout, there was something reassuring about exploring somewhere that felt so calm and open.
Standing on the peaceful beach looking out across the waves, thinking about the scorched bushland, and devastation that must have occurred, creates a stark contrast. Western Australia doesn’t hide its extremes, it lets you see them for what they are.
There is also a bit of local folklore tied to the bay, and trust me, when you stand there, the feeling of spirituality is very present.
According to long-time residents of Cervantes, Hangover Bay earned its name from the aftermath of some pretty lively New Years Eve celebrations. The story goes that on New Year’s Day, locals head down here to recover, swimming in the water, stretching out on the sand and slowly easing themselves into the year ahead.
But the story is far more ancient than that. The Yued people, the traditional owners of this land, have long known this place as Ngoorndiny Wirn Ngoorbar, meaning Resting Spirit Bay, or Wattern Quaiart Ung Gnoodiner, meaning Bay of Rest.
These are two very different cultures, yet they show this Bay in the same light. There’s a real sense of peacefulness here. A kind of natural energy that invites you to reset, to just exist for a moment without rushing on to the next thing. And, after everything you’ve already seen on the journey, that feeling hits even harder.
The drive from Hangover Bay to the Pinnacles is just 7 minutes, and by this time it’s around the late afternoon. The sun is beginning to set on the horizon, with golden hour turning the sand a deep orange, making it feel like you’re walking on Mars.
All around you, are thousands of limestone formations that rise straight out of the sand, some small and jagged, others tall and pillar-like, scattered across the landscape. And, as the sun drops further, the light turns warm, shadows stretch across the sand, and the whole place takes on an almost eerie calm.
The guide on the tour will initially walk you into the desert, and explain the routes you can take. Then, you are given a couple hours to walk amongst the dunes and pinnacles yourself. Quite a lot of people decide to congregate on the middle platform for sunset, as well as a large rock outcrop. I found that the best places were slightly further to the right of the park entrance, where there was barely anyone else.
Our guide explained that this area once lay beneath shallow seas, filled with marine life. Over time, countless seashells and tiny organisms settled on the ocean floor, slowly building thick layers of lime rich sand. As the sea retreated, coastal winds carried those shell fragments inland, forming vast dunes along what is now the edge of Nambung National Park.
Then as nature took its course, rainwater seeped through the dunes, dissolving and re-depositing calcium carbonate, basically acting as a natural cement. Over tens of thousands of years those loose sand hardened into limestone, creating the foundation for what we see today. As wind and rain gradually wore away the softer surrounding material. These hardened sections were left behind, forming the Pinnacles themselves.
But, like all Australian landmarks, there is another story here too. The Yued people, mentioned in my explanation about Hangover Bay, knew this area as Kwong-kan, meaning Sandy Place. In their Dreamtime stories, this was once a sacred and restricted area. Elders warned young warriors not to enter, but they ignored that guidance and ventured into the shifting sands.
According to the story, the desert swallowed them. As they struggled, reaching upward and calling for forgiveness, their hands and weapons became frozen in place, preserved in the sand forever. The Pinnacles, in this telling, are a spiritual cemetery, which does add to the eerie nature of the desert.
After sunset, the tour guides provide you with a buffet styled picnic and wine. I had told them about my nut allergy on the Get Your Guide booking, and so they were able to accommodate my allergies quite successfully, but did warn that a lot of the food was May Contain which is a bit of a risk when you take into account the closest emergency centre is 35 minutes away (Jurien Bay Health Centre).
Then, while dinner is being served, the sky slowly darkens, and the stars begin to emerge. With virtually no light pollution, you get a completely unobstructed view of the stars, and it is incredible.
I’ve been lucky enough to stargaze in some amazing places, from Joshua Tree National Park (USA), to Grasslands National Park (Canada), and even back home in Yorkshire on a clear night, but this was something completely different. This was my first time seeing the night sky from the Southern Hemisphere in all its glory.
Instead of the familiar North Star and the Big Dipper, you’re looking at a completely different sky. The Southern Cross stands out clearly, and the Magellanic Clouds, which you just can’t see from the UK, are surprisingly bright and easy to spot once you know where to look.
Our guides set up a large telescope and started bringing the sky to life in a way you just can’t do on your own. They pointed out Jupiter, and we were lucky enough to make out its moons, along with some star clusters, passing satellites, and distant points of light you’d never notice without someone guiding your eye.
At the same time, they were sharing stories tied to the constellations, including Aboriginal Dreamtime interpretations. That part really stuck with me, as it adds a completely different perspective, as you’re joining in on oral traditions people have shared for thousands of years.
It actually reminded me of when I was stargazing in Joshua Tree National Park, where our guide shared oral traditions from Serrano, Cahuilla and Chemehuevo peoples of the Mojave Desert. Different sky, different constellations, but the same human instinct to look up and create meaning from it all.
There is something quite grounding about that. No matter where you are in the world, be it the Greeks, the Aboriginal People, or the Peoples of the Mojave Desert, people have always looked at the night sky and told stories.
This day trip was my first time doing a guided tour alone, with a bunch of strangers. It would set the tone for my trip across Australia. I came away from this tour completely convinced I made the right call choosing this Get Your Guide activity.
As a solo traveller without a car while I was in Perth, this was seemingly the most natural way for me to experience it, and without the tour visiting Nilgen Lookout, and the Hangover Bay, I definitely wouldn’t have had the spiritual awakening that I did. Here are some other reasons why I think it worked for me:
That said, if you’re a confident driver and prefer total flexibility, a self drive can work. If you want to see if it’s for you, then check out this other blog we have:
If you’re a tourist in Western Australia, I’m sure, like me, the idea of accidentally running over one of Australia’s national animals is not on your bingo list. This is another reason why having an experienced driver makes doing a guided tour all the more attractive.
Once the sun sets, roads like the Indian Ocean Drive (Perth – the Pinnacles) change completely. There are no, or very little street lights, and Kangaroos & Wallabies have a tendency to run into car lights, just like hares and deer do in the UK.
In Australia, Kangaroos are responsible for the majority of animal related vehicle collisions (around 90%). It’s such a known issue that local authorities regularly warn drivers about wildlife along this exact stretch of road.
Unlike hitting a hare in the UK, a Roo Strike at speed can cause serious damage to a vehicle, and more importantly, a real risk to the people inside. Studies from Royal Perth Hospital have shown these incidents often result in injuries to head, face and limbs.
Travelling in a larger vehicle, with Roo Bars (Bull Bars) installed, driven by an experienced driver who knows the road and understands where wildlife is most likely to appear, takes a huge amount of stress away.
New to our website? Learn to create the perfect travel plan:
