At home we have a book about Australia that shows ‘the pinnacles’ on the cover: Australia, Beyond The Dreamtime (https://www.globetrottingbooklovers.com/books)A nice change from always seeing Uluru on anything Australian and these pinnacles are every bit as unique. I often wonder what it would be like to be the first to come across a place like this. Normal scrubby desert and then, bang - bright yellow sand with thousands of stone pillars.
We drove to Nambung National Park to see the Pinnacles. Scientists are not sure if they are stone (shell and sand) structures around which the soil has eroded. Or if they are fossilized wood. I would have thought it’d be easy to determine that, but apparently not. But, whatever it is, it looks cool to be surrounded by these pillars. We walked almost 4 KM among them, in the heat.
In 1846 a Spanish monk made his way to the new world after having been given the task by the pope of establishing a monastery in Western Australia and converting Aborigines to Christianity.
Dom Salvado had a somewhat unique view for his time. He did not try to convert and preach very hard but worked with the native population to win their trust. He appreciated the wisdom of the native population and made friends with them. Salvado eventually founded a small town in the Australian bush. New Norcia is a Benedictine monastic town. Separated from the Catholic church, these monks live in the town permanently and actively work to earn their own living. They grow and press olives, have a beautiful bakery and make a renowned wine and beer. It’s like a small Spanish town in the Australian bush country, with old mission buildings and palm trees.
We took a tour of the churches and several other buildings now used by educational institutions for retreats, etc. You can even spend the night in the monastery. If we weren’t running out of time, we would have stayed and experienced that. A night’s stay includes a small room, and three meals a day with the monks, time for meditation and prayer and just quiet time to relax and reflect. Salvado made several trips back to Europe to raise funds for the small village. By 1900 on his 8th trip he passed away in Rome and was eventually buried in New Norcia.
We had the opportunity to stay with new Australian friends nearby. It was lovely to meet Aussies. They always seem so laid back and cheerful. They have a very admirable tight-knit community and take pride in building their own facilities like tennis courts, playing fields, a recreation hall and library.
We stopped at Yanchep National Park and, finally, saw koalas! They are so cute, clinging to the tree in their sleepy positions. They look as if they will crash to the ground at any moment.. They’d move to a more comfortable fork in a tree, once in a while.
