In a place in Australia, whose name I do not want to recall

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I was in Cervantes by lunchtime, and checked into the (justifiably) award-winning Pinnacles Backpackers. Cervantes is so named because of a ship that was wrecked off the coast, however the local council took things one step further by deciding to name all the streets after places and people mentioned in de Cervantes' 17th century classic "Don Quixote".

Cervantes relies on tourism generated by the nearby Nambung National Park, which contains the Pinnacles desert, a sandy expanse dotted with thousands of menhir-like limestone pillars. The pillars were originally formed underground, but the constant inshore winds have gradually blown away the surrounding sands to reveal them. There's a 3km one-way loop winding through the Pinnacles, with regular parking bays where you can stop and go for a wander. Especially when the sun drops lower in the sky and the shadows lengthen, the place has an eerie atmosphere. Unfortunately the moon didn't oblige with a great deal of light after sunset, but it was still an enthralling few hours walking among the rocks.

I'm unclear why non-Australians have such a fascination with the didgeridoo. Fine, go and watch a recital or even buy a CD of the music, but why purchase the instrument itself and then choose to play it (badly) at a tourist attraction, as a chap decided to do at the Pinnacles while his girlfriend took photos? I would hope that any of my friends would give me a good slap if I did such a thing. This type of ludicrousness, I should add, is on a completely different level to something like, say, cuddling a koala.

Back at the hostel, a group of backpackers in the common room were having a discussion about "Home and Away", which I soon realised I was not qualified to contribute to when I suggested that Natalie Imbruglia used to be one of its stars and was roundly criticised for that assertion. Seeking refuge in the paper, I found an obituary for a woman about whom it was written "She was far and away the best spoons player in Australia", an accolade accorded to very few.

The sweetie machine in the hostel is a classic. Presumably due to technology limitations earlier in the history of mechanised confectionery dispensers, all items have a nominal cost of $2 but the appropriate change has been Sellotaped to each candy bar so that you end up paying the correct amount overall.

The evening consisted of watching the highly contentious World Cup game between Japan and Australia, the last 6 minutes of which provoked great scenes of excitement among the Australians in the room. I struggled through half of the subsequent Czech Republic-USA game before realising that I didn't really care about it, so headed off to bed with the drive back to Perth on the agenda for tomorrow.

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Photos

The Pinnacles
With warm filter

Street signs in Cervantes
Spot the theme

The Pinnacles
Messing around with my camera