Recently I have been mostly writing about all those great places I came across here in Japan, so I think it's time for a change and so we're deep heading south to the other half of the globe to Australia.
It's been some time since I had the great fortune to spend some time Down Under and before the memories fade even more, it's probably better to refresh them a bit. And what better way to do that than to chisel a post onto the blockchain, and share some of my memories with you.
Therefor Australia, it's been over 15 years but at moments it seems like it was yesterday because my stay down there was the prelude to something longer and bigger. Without my time in Australia I wouldn't be in Japan now, but to explain these connections in more detail I'll probably make a separate post at another time.
I was very lucky to be able to spend several months down there, and I got to see some different places and areas of that huge continent. About in the middle of my stay I was on the west coast and after a few weeks in Perth I traveled up the coast together with a New Zealander, our destination was left open.
After leaving Perth, we reached the Nambung National Park which was about 245 kilometers up north, where the main attraction are the Pinnacles, which are up to four meters high fossilized and weathered limestone pillars, which give the landscape there a very special touch.
Australia has been abundant with nature and beauty and in many corners of the country you can find great places that make you marvel and rave. The Pinnacles are one of them and that's why this destination was first on our list.
These limestone pillars were formed by fossilization and erosion. About 500,000 to 50,000 years ago the earth between the roots of the plants growing there at that time hardened in the most extreme way, the following erosion in this area could remove the surrounding layers, but the compact limestone layer lying between the root balls remained until today and can now be seen as pinnacles. A very interesting spectacle that nature offers us there again.
There is a little sand road winding through the area which allows you to get a close look at the scenery.
But have a look yourself, I hope you like the pictures...
[//]:# (!pinmapple -30.619194 lat 115.151687 long The Pinnacles - A very special place in Western Australia d3scr)
The vegetation adjoining the Pinnacles is rather sparse and low, and as in most of Australia, it tends to be dry and arid, but no less inviting and tempting than the rest of the country.
Thousands of larger and smaller limestone formations lie scattered across the landscape, the largest up to 3.50 meters tall and quite impressive. Also, as in many other parts of Australia, the vastness and size of the whole area managed to put my head back in place and showed me that we are, after all, only a very small stone in the great game of life.
We were not completely alone, beside a few other visitors, which we could only see from a distance, we had company from some cockatoos, which did not let themselves be disturbed by our visit and our strange appearance, and had taken their safe observation point on top of a pinnacle.
Especially at sunset the Pinnacles put on a great show, when the different limestone formations cast longer and bigger shadows and the light becomes more and more intense and pleasant.
Unfortunately, it was time for us to leave, because we still had to find the intended place for our night camp. Hotels are rather hard and rare to find in this corner of the country, for this reason we also had our own tents with us in the back of the car, I was supposed to use my tent very extensively in the coming weeks.
If you ever set out to explore the west coast of Australia north of Perth, I highly recommend a stop at the Pinnacles. Those who travel in Australia are usually not in a hurry anyway and a few hours or maybe even days more are often not that of a deal. The way is the goal and if you are in a hurry, you are not traveling at all, you are just fleeing.
Even if you won't be able to come to Australia at all, please regularly take a closer look at the places you pass and make a longer stop to pause and let the surrounding scenery have its proper effect on you.
I really hope that one day I will be able to travel to this wonderful corner of our planet again, because even if there is so much I still have to discover, it is sometimes so much better and so much more intense to walk on your own tracks from the past. At least that's what I've noticed with myself, and my longing now seems to draw me increasingly to such places that I had already visited once before.
I will be back with another episode of my time in Down Under soon, my memories are just being warmed up again and that shows me that I am on the right track.
See you soon !
Please let us not forget, wherever
we travel, let us protect our
beautiful planet and let us only
leave footprints.
Thanks a lot!
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