CERVANTES AND SURROUNDS

It was decided to take off along the Brand Highway passing through very pleasant scenery and to evaluate possible stopping places as we went, and it turned out to be the township of Cervantes-so named after a dutch ship which foundered on one of the reefs that run down the coast of West Aus.  We booked into the Pinnacles C/park - $38 per night for very ordinary accommodation and $5 for washing machine
Not deterred, the next day we traversed along 16 klms to see the Pinnacles Desert in the Nambung National Park and what a sight!
We learned that these amazing structures are pillars of limestone created from ancient shells and over the millions of years any soil and bushland were removed by fire/wind etc. to leave just the creamy/golden coloured spires/pinnacles showing, sitting atop the desert sand.  There was a beautifully constructed walkway to view them and also a designated drive through them.  Using our imaginations they looked like ruins of an ancient city, or maybe a church graveyard.  We gazed and marvelled and our cameras worked overtime - once again.  There was a well appointed Discovery Centre and many metres of well built boardwalks.
Glimpses of pure white sandhills surrounded us as we checked out Lake Thetis and its ancient fossils called Stromatolites and Thrombolites once again walking along a very well constructed and no doubt expensive walkway over the lake. 
There were some other lookouts and we checked out the wondrously beautiful sandhills and the ocean breaking over the reef.  In one of the bays we had another contact with dolphin mother and offspring, cruising along look for "dinner".