Pinnacles

Lonely Planet review

The Pinnacles are typical of the kind of eerie landmark this ancient terrain throws up - anomalous pillars of sandstone spread over the desert like soldiers petrified by an angry god. The geological explanation for these striking formations is, if anything, more wondrous than any supernatural provenance.

The Pinnacles are the high point (pun reluctantly acknowledged) of the Nambung National Park. While the Indian Ocean is close at hand, it's hard to credit the fact that these towering stacks, some as high as 3m, are actually formed by crushed sea shells. Compacted by rain over countless millennia, the sand, harder in some areas than others, eroded to form the pillars that stand today. It's worth timing your visit for spring (roughly August/September to October/November), when you won't be completely fried by the sun and the wildflowers that have evolved to exploit niches in the poor, sandy soils are in vivid profusion. Sunrise and sunset, when the pillars bask in the rosy light, are also the quietest and most spectacular times to visit.