Skip to main content

The Batavia Coast, Geraldton and the Pinnacles

Geraldton is known as 'sun City' and it's very obvious why. I've never seen such a beautiful sea surrounding a built-up area. Perth and Fremantle clearly get votes, but the beach just south of Geraldton where we stopped for a picnic lunch, really is spectacular. It is several miles of pristine white sand, open to the ocean rollers and with spring temperatures in the mid to high twenties, it was lovely.
The objective was to visit the Pinnacles at Cervantes, to arrive mid afternoon. Most of this coastline is formed of massive sand dunes. They stretch for mile after mile, pushing up from the bush at the side of the road and occasionally forming really high mounds. From a distance they look like a glaciated area of mountain.
The Cervantes Pinnacles are a vast area of limestone pillars that have been exposed from within the sand. Origins are unclear but they are thought to have been formed in the Cater Quaturn Quaternary period which is apparently 1.8 million years ago and if you disregard this as being too young in geological terms, you are a time-snob.
Access is on foot from a visitor centre and also there is a car circuit. We did the walk first and then the car circuit twice and the second time was when the sun was dropping and we were able to stop and soak up the scene.
What can I say?
.




There was a fantastic moment at twilight when Dawn spotted four Emus running across the sand about 300m away from us. One was clearly an adult and the rest Emu kids. It was amazing to see, but too far away for our little camera to focus on.

Earlier, in the car park, we had an up-close view of a 'roo with Joey.

After that we headed for Fremantle to arrive on Friday 1st Nov.

Comments

peelie jnr (2) said…
great shot of joey! and of you both behind the giant tooth. loving it! x x
Phil said…
Like being on the moon? Wow. You must be coming home soon. I bet that feels weird. Enjoy your remaining days. Px
Amanda said…
Wow - those pinnacles look amazing.....in fact, everything looks pretty amazing!
Thanks for the comments Amanda, and peelie jnr (2) - please identify yourself!
Joanna Peel said…
I thought Peelie jnr was Charlie - might be wrong though!! Lovely to see your photos and here all about your trip. Have a lovely last few days xx
Anonymous said…
Hi Tim & Dawn

Jan and I are enjoying the blog. Looks like you're having a great time. Let's catch up / get together when you get back. Mark M.
Hi Mark & Jan, it's great to hear that you are having a read and thanks for letting us know. Yes a meet up soon would be great. Best wishes, Tim

Popular posts from this blog

Potes and environs

Potes is a bustling town that’s clearly ‘in the mountains’ but isn’t quite a mountain town. Well that was what we thought until we went for a walk. More on that later. First we got to know the site ( Camping La Viorna ) and the neighbours. After the squeeze of the first night near the pool, we were upgraded to a pitch at the end of the lowest terrace which had a superb view of the eastern massive of the Picos. So although this was still a squeeze pitch, somehow we felt good about it. The ‘squeeze’ happened later in the day. ☺️ Happily our immediate neighbours were quiet Dutchland people who like to eat their tea early and retire in good time. They always enjoy taking to us Brits, rather than those Germans and soon I was engaged because I was asked a question. “Why do you have a UK flag on your number plate, rather than a Welsh Scottish or English flag?”. Tricky! I explained that England isn’t a country like Wales or Scotland. They have their own  parliaments and make rules for them...

First views of the Picos

 Santillana del Mar comes as a surprise to those of us that haven’t done the prep and read about this place. Fancy having planning controls going back to the 16C. when you have such amazing stone buildings. This town is a tourist town certainly but it’s thoroughly deserved. Beautiful sturdy Cotswold stone coloured buildings are everywhere. The stone quoins, lintols and supports are impressive but there’s plenty of substantial hefty cross sections of wood too. We wander the streets, looking at the wares aimed at us tourists but encounter cascades of water from the roof tiles. It’s raining and there are no gutters! The bar is welcoming and we cleverly order dos caƱas de cerveza  having learnt this glass size from a bartender in Tenerife. We are rewarded with a plate of crisps too and settle on the bar stools, wondering whether to eat here. Unfortunately we discuss this for too long and the tables fill and we are left on the bar stools until we decide to wander again. Inside...

Lago del Valle

Continuing the walking theme, the next day we drove up another of the five valleys that connect with Pola de Somiedo, to get to a suitable start point. This was just below the last hamlet, Outeiro which is at the end of the tarmac. The intention was to walk from there, up to the corrie / cwm of Lago del Valle. The snag of the day was that as we set off to drive the narrow steep road up the gorge from the campsite, we immediately caught up with a full size concrete lorry, This was making its way to that last village and el driver was  not in a mood to pull over. So we had time to look at the gorge-that-becomes-a-high-valley. It’s hard to describe these landscapes. They are severe, incredibly scenic, remote and completely unspoilt. They are also so near the ferry ports of the coast that only £800 separates them from more campervan travellers from Great Britain (& Northern Island). We started the walk and soon saw the concrete which had already been dropped for the pad of a build...