Tuesday, 4 December 2018

Day 16 - Gravel Pit near Nilgen Nature Reserve to Sandy Cape Recreation Park - Wednesday 24th May 2017

After setting off this morning we once again stopped briefly at Nilgen Nature Reserve so that Sue could take a short walk to a lookout which had views over the ocean and nearby sand dunes. Then it was another kilometer down the road to access a public dump point, whereupon I sprang into action on chemical toilet detail. This chore done we headed off to the Pinnacles in Nambung National Park. This is an area of extraordinary beauty with thousands of ancient limestone formations rising out of the yellow sand surrounding them. There are walking tracks through the desert as well as an unmade road one can drive if unable or unwilling to walk. The photos speak to the beauty of this unique location. Heading further north we had a brief stop at Lake Thetis near Cervantes to inspect the ancient stromatolites formed by cyanobacteria in the shallow waters at the lakes edge. We then stopped for lunch at the beach in Cervantes before then heading north again to Jurien Bay. Here we visited the local Parks and Wildlife office, did some grocery shopping at the IGA, refueled the motor-home and then drove to the boat harbour nearby. We'd looked up WikiCamps and learned that we could obtain potable water here so we took the opportunity to fill our fresh water tank. And as an added bonus we also learnt of a hot shower that is used by the local fishing folk and we were able to access this to have a wonderful hot shower before setting off again. I should note here that while I was filling up with water I met Gary who is the caretaker at Sandy Cape, our next destination, who was doing the same i.e. filling up with water. Sandy Cape by road is only another 18 km north of Jurien Bay so we were there in no time and, as previously arranged, we caught up with our friends Pete and Helen who had left Perth a day or two before us. Gary the caretaker and his wife arranged for our campsite to be beside Pete and Helen's and once we'd settled in it was out with the Weber BBQ and a bottle of wine to sit around the fire Pete had built. We had time before cooking dinner to walk to the top of a nearby sand dune with a boardwalk and lookout on top for some spectacular views. This is an absolutely delightful spot right on the Indian Ocean with a fairly sheltered beach courtesy of the headland hosting the lookout.











































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