Road trip to Jurien Bay

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We decided to go for a road trip toJurienBaywhich is about 2.5 hours fromPerth. On the way we noticed a lot of sand dunes in the middle of the bush which looked really surreal and more like snow capped hills. We stopped off for information and a map when we got there then drove to Sandy Cove andDynamiteBaywhich were both gorgeous beaches further upIndian Ocean Drive. We stopped off for a sunbathe then carried on further up north where we followed a dirt track road to discover a (salt?) lake which was pretty vast but really shallow.

Afterwards, we followed a very long and bumpy road toStockyardGullyCavewhich was a bit of a disappointment. We finally got there and there were warning signs about not disturbing the large feral bees. When we reached the cave we saw these big beehives high up by the cave entrance and could hear them, but managed to avoid them on the ground. We walked into the cave but it was so dark and we only had a small light from our phone so before long we turned around and carried on back up the bumpy road. One thing we did see a lot of on our way were ‘christmas’ trees which have big yellow flowers on them. We carried on driving toCockleshell Gully Road, inbetween Mt Peron and Mt Leseur where there’s a wild flower reserve. It was out of season for the flowers but we still saw a few. The best thing about the drive was that we saw ten kangaroos either alone or in pairs jumping past the vehicle or in the bush. They got so close we had to break so we didn’t hit them! Afterwards, we drove back toJurienBaywhere we had booked a motel for the night. We checked in then went to eat tea at the Sandpiper restaurant which was pretty good especially the prawns and squid.

We were really tired after our long day of travelling so we had an early night and the following morning signed up for a trip to swim with sea lions. We jumped aboard the ‘Hot Tuna’ boat which took us 30 minutes away from the Harbour to a small island inhabited by sea lions. There were loads and some of them came into the water when we stopped. We had hired flippers, snorkels, and wet suits so we put these on and swam with them for what didn’t seem long, but was probably near enough two hours. They were really playful, especially with each other and some of them came up really close to us and jumped out of the water. This was the highlight of our trip and I would definitely recommend it!

By the time we got back to the Harbour it was noon so we drove to the Lobster Shack in Cervantes where we did a tour on how they process crayfish and then we sat down and ate some with chips. It was the best tasting seafood I’ve ever had! Once we’d finished we drove to see the Pinnacles which were pretty cool then Greg enjoyed a bit of off-roading in his 4x4 at the Lancelin sand dunes which were really picturesque and overlooked the ocean. After this we set off back toPerthfor a much needed rest!

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