And so another day in Kalbarri dawned, but sadly this would be our last, and we had a long drive back down to Perth ahead of us. At this point, I’d had a very sweaty night, and when we’d got back the night before I’d barely been able to lift my wine glass to my mouth to drink it, tired as I was. This was perhaps another warning sign that I was seriously under the weather.
But we got up, packed up and left the building by 9am and set off for Perth in plenty of time to fit in a few fun stops along the way. the great thing about the coastal highway is that not only is it an incredibly well maintained road for its length (this is probably owing to the humongous road trains that use it – see ‘Road to Kalbarri’ entry).
Our first stop was Geraldton again (151km south) for some fuel for us (McDonald’s) and for the Juggernaut (diesel). I was feeling pretty rotten so attempted a cheese, ham and tomato toaster, but really what I needed was the milkshake and coffee. Still no real appetite for solid food.
While we were driving, Michael’s flat was literally being sold and contracts were circulating, so we had to find somewhere along the way to stop and sign. I suggested the stunning salt lake we’d stopped at on the way up on the Eneabba Colimba Road. While I walked slowly and carefully around the edge for some fresh air and to stretch my legs, Michael signed the contract online to sell his flat!
Pinnacles Desert
From here, it was another 94km south to our first ‘attraction’ stop along the way – the Pinnacles desert. A strange and unexplained desert full of rocky pinnacles that look like they’ve poked up through the sand. You can buy a ticket/day entry pass for $17 and then you get to drive around the pinnacles on a one-way track they’ve set out. You’re free park where there’s room and get out to walk among them and take pictures. So that’s exactly what we did!
It was fairly breezy, but not cold, and it was nice to be able to wander around and see the sea in the distance at points behind these weird alien-like rocky mounds and daggers sticking out of the sand. It’s very surreal as you drive in, and then you somehow start getting used to seeing randomly shaped rocks sticking out of the sand for no reason after a while…
Another 79km south and a little dogleg took us to Lancelin Sand Dunes, which we’d seen from the car as we’d been driven north a few days earlier. The bright white of the dunes against the surroundings and turquoise water of the sea seemed too good to miss.
Lancelin Sand Dunes
We pulled up to what felt like the set for Mad Max, with quad bikes and large off-road vehicles like the Juggernaut randomly driving around. The only real sign we could see was one that said NO REGO NO RIDE, which means unless your car has a registration plate or is registered, you can’t drive on the dunes. Our car was very much registered but we didn’t fancy losing the car on our second to last day of hire, after such a wonderful journey with it. So we spoke to a man in a kiosk who sounded very French, and he said we could either park up and walk or drive the off-road route on the sand.
So, we parked up and walked, enjoying another opportunity to stretch our somewhat weary legs.
Trigg
Once we’d sat and stared at the stunning dunes for a while, it was about 4:45pm and we knew it was time to get back on the road again. I started the 119km leg of the journey, but feeling tired as I had been for the last few days, and knowing that I wouldn’t have much left in the tank for dinner time if I carried on driving all the way, I let Michael take over for the last half-hour so I could at least give my mind a rest from concentrating on the road. We found our Air BnB on Giles Street in Trigg and I quickly put on some war,er clothes seeing as we’d be imminently heading to the beach for the sunset.
We tried to find a little gap in the rocky outcrop to shelter from the wind and take in what could be our last sunset, depending on tomorrow’s weather. It was lovely, but not the best yet, and frankly we were both exhausted, so as it disappeared we went off in search of food. I still had very little appetite, but thought maybe an Asian soup would help bring me back to life and warm me up from the inside. Trying to navigate my body temperature has been a bit of a battle the last few days, not helped by the actual changes in outdoor temperature and winds blowing through WA.
Anyway, Michael found us somewhere to eat and we sat down for a meal. But all I could think about was curling up and going to sleep at this point. I took the sofa bed in our air bnb and Michael took the bedroom, which had the adjoining and only bathroom, so I had to wake him up at about 11pm to go for a week on account of drinking so much water through the day and having soup for dinner. Oops!
Lights out for now and hopefully feel better tomorrow…
Blonde on a Road Trip 
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