Tonight we drink to youth
And holding fast to truth
I don’t want to lose what I had as a boy
My heart still has a beat
But love is now a feat
As common as a cold day in LA
Sometimes when I’m alone, I wonder
Is there a spell that I am under
Keeping me from seeing the real thing?

Love hurts…
But sometimes it’s a good hurt
And it feels like I’m alive.
Love sings,
When it transcends the bad things.
Have a heart and try me,
’cause without love I won’t survive.

I’m fettered and abused,
I stand naked and accused
Should I surface this one man submarine?
I only want the truth
So tonight we drink to youth!
I’ll never lose what I had as a boy.
Sometimes when I’m alone I wonder
Is there a spell that I am under
Keeping me from seeing the real thing?

Love hurts…
But sometimes it’s a good hurt
And it feels like I’m alive.
Love sings,
When it transcends the bad things.
Have a heart and try me,
’cause without love I won’t survive.

Continuing from the great picnic lunch and ocean dip at Hangover Bay, it was time to press on and head over to Nambung National Park, home to the Pinnacles Desert. Without the stop at Hangover Bay, it would probably be about 3hr drive north from Perth City towards the coastal town of Cervantes.

The Pinnacles Desert was added to the existing National Park that was named after the winding Nambung River. Nambung means crooked in the local Aboriginal tribal language. It is a park with a 26km stretch of sparkling coastline bordered by rolling ancient sand dunes that extend inland into banksias woodlands.
credit: Wikipedia

One of Western Australia’s most unique landscape and tourist attractions, the Pinnacles is a desert area scattered with a series of limestone formations shaped like termite hills. They vary in size but can be up to 3.5m high.

It’s believed the Pinnacles were created millions of years ago as seashells were broken down into sand and then eroded by water and wind.

If you’d like to read up more about the desert, near the entrance to the trail is The Pinnacles Desert Discovery, where they house displays and literature providing an insight into the natural processes that formed the pinnacle structures.

The best time to visit the Pinnacles Desert is at dawn or dusk when it gives the limestones and sand a orange/yellow colour wash on the back of a blue sky. Shadows too will make quite interesting photographs.

There are two ways to go through the Pinnacles, either by foot or by car.

If you’re walking, don’t forget to keep yourself hydrated, wear a cap and some sunblock; it can be hot out there!

If you’re going by car, there is only one access road (and one way) into the Pinnacles Desert, which is about 27km long. There are stopping points if you’d like to get down and take photos.

This is the sort of place you’d go once, and that’s it.

I recommend planning other activities around the trip. Don’t just drive 3hrs all the way from Perth just to see the Pinnacles because you might be disappointed.

Driving Directions

1. North along Brand Highway
2. Left at sign to Cervantes
3. Head south 2km to Nambung National Park boundary
4. Continue further 14km to pinnacles

I made pancakes with strawberries, bananas and blueberries on top, you like?

Hangover Bay is a ten minute drive from the entrance to the Nambung National Park, or 3 hours from Perth City. This place was perfect for all kinds of water fun like swimming, windsurfing, snorkelling.

Apparently, based on the Perth tourism website, you can even spot bottlenose dolphins or a local sea lion playing offshore.

Hangover Bay’s white sandy beaches stretches for miles and the crystal clear waters were so inviting on that hot afternoon. When we were sure the coast was clear, I stripped down to our under garments and took a dip because I forgot to pack in bathers. Oh don’t give me that! It’s the same thing as wearing a bikini!

There are a few picnic tables and barbecue pits, but since it was a weekday, there was no trouble finding a vacant spot. We ate leftovers from last night’s Ciao Italia dinner, and did I mention how reheated Ciao Italia tasted just as amazing?

I took tons of photos at Hangover Bay, especially the combination of the beach, water and sky. It was just a beautiful palate of blues and beige, it was hard to stop at just one angle/perspective.

Picture top right above is of me walking on a giant patch of seaweed which got washed up on the beach. You could hear the seaweed crackling and drying up under my feet.

Bottom right picture: I wasn’t the only one leaving footprints behind

Method: How to make banana tart tartin

To make your caramel bananas
1. Preheat your oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4.

2. Cut your butter into cubes and put into a sturdy deep-sided baking tray approximately 19 x 30cm.

3. Place the tray on a low heat, let the butter melt, then add the sugar and stir constantly until completely combined.

4. Continue to cook for about 5 minutes or until the sugar has all dissolved and the mixture is golden and caramelised. By the time this happens the mixture will be roasting hot so be very careful and whatever you do, don’t be tempted to put your fingers in the mixture as you’ll give yourself a nasty burn.

5. Meanwhile, peel the bananas, halve them lengthways, and lay them carefully on top of the golden caramel.

6. Remove from the heat, then sprinkle over the cinnamon and finely grate over the zest of half your orange.

To make your pastry topping
1. Dust a clean work surface and rolling pin with flour.

2. Rather than putting your pastry down flat and rolling it out, place it on its side and roll it from there, as this will give you a lighter, crisper texture.

3. Roll it out until you have a rectangle shape about the same size as your tray and about 0.5cm thick.

4. Drape your pastry over your rolling pin and carefully lay it on the baking tray, gently tucking it around the bananas to make sure they’re well covered, with no gaps.

5. Using a knife or fork, prick the pastry a few times.

6. Place the tray at the top of the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes, until golden.

To serve your tarte tatin
1. When your tarte tatin is ready you must turn it out at once or it will end up sticking to the baking tray. Again, you want to be very careful and make sure you don’t burn yourself on that hot caramel mixture.

2. To turn the tart out, cover your hand with a folded tea towel, carefully hold the tray with a serving plate or board on top and gently turn it over.

3. Using the tip of a knife, pull a corner of the pastry up to check if it’s all cooked underneath (if not, pop it back into the oven for another couple of minutes), then ease the whole thing out of the tray.

4. Put your crème fraîche into a bowl, grate over the rest of your orange zest and stir well.

5. Serve your tarte tatin with a dollop of crème fraîche and eat immediately!