Jurien Bay – The Travel Bee

National park visits are a must when staying in and around Jurien Bay (between rain showers as is the case for us). The Nambung National Park situated 40km south of town is home to the Pinnacles. These strange and mysterious limestone rock formations look like something from another world. While modern science still hasn’t definitively uncovered what the pinnacles are, you can read all about the theories as well as the animals that inhabit the area in the modern interpretive centre.

After taking a short walk through the pinnacles nearest to the car park, we realised the best way to see the desert is to hop back in the car and drive the circular dirt track. This way you can stop at various parts of the desert to admire pinnacles of all shapes and sizes. I even found one that had a face!!

For national park number two, we visited the tourist information centre here in Jurien, where an enthusiastic and helpful guide showed us a route through the Lesueur National Park. Lesueur is located 27km north east of Jurien and is home to some 900 species of flora and a couple of ‘mountains’. With black clouds surrounding us we decided to risk it and set off with a plan to drive the scenic loop, walk the 2.5km Gardner trail and head to Green Head for lunch.

After making our way down a muddy red dirt track (Cockleshell Gully Way) and with our white vehicles now no longer white, we arrived at the Drummond rest area. Hoping for a dry half hour we set out on our walk. Although there was a fair amount of puddle hopping, we managed to complete the circuit without getting wet. It was well worth the effort with stunning views and an array of flora to capture our attention.

Famous for wildflowers in late winter and spring, we assumed it would be another case of ‘wrong time of the year’. However we were pleasantly surprised…… although only early July, the bush is already beginning to erupt and if you kept your eyes peeled, there were beautiful little flowers all over the place in an assortment of colours. I imagine in a few more weeks the whole place will be a sea of colour.

From here, as planned, we drove back towards the coast and enjoyed lunch at Dynamite Bay Takeaway – Green Head. The food was great and likely one of the biggest burgers Mr Travel Bee and our travel companion Master J have ever encountered! Dynamite Bay itself was a stunning surprise and offered yet another blast of wind in the hair.

So much beauty…….. even in the middle of winter.

TTB

With the Covid pandemic still rampant and travel restrictions frequent, July has called for another holiday at home here in beautiful Western Australia. Whilst we would have liked to find a hot and sunny location to brighten the winter blues, in reality it has been a battle to find a destination at all. With everywhere in WA booking up earlier than usual and only a week to play with, our choices were limited.

In the end, a cabin at Jurien Bay tourist park, four and a half hours from home, seemed as good a place as any…… and it would have been……. until the forecast showed a massive storm front rolling in affecting the whole south west corner of WA. We were worried.

We arrived late on Saturday evening and knew Sunday may be our only sunny day in which to explore what Jurien has to offer. After a good sleep, we headed down to the beach (some 200m) from our cabin door and discovered the monthly markets. We strolled through an array of soap, bag, toy, art and craft stalls before filling up on a yummy stuffed potato then grabbed a coffee and headed out to explore Jurien Bay jetty.

When you come from Busselton, jetties can often be quite anticlimactic (after all we have the longest in the Southern Hemisphere at home) but this one offered something different….. a curve. Why, I am still not sure but I am assuming it must be something to do with prevailing winds… and wind there has been. On subsequent walks along this jetty we have been soaked by freakish waves and had trouble staying upright while being hammered by gusts. This has made for a rather exciting time walking along the 162m jetty and is likely a highlight the kids will remember.

As the pictures show, in summer Jurien would be a wonderful place to chill out by the beach, fish, cycle, swim and enjoy the good old Aussie bakery pie. There is a snorkel trail with an artificial reef just north of the jetty which boosts underwater signage and many varieties of sea creatures. In fact, I didn’t realise this whole bay from Wedge Island to Green Head in the north, is considered a marine park offering fantastic snorkelling, diving, fishing and swimming as well as being home to large colonies of Australian sea lions. My heaven in summer!

In winter, however it is a whole other story. When the rain set in on Monday our choice of activities became very slim. At the best of times teenagers can be difficult to please. When there is rain, wind, intermittent wifi, no games consoles, no bookshop and more rain and wind, it can be quite a battle to keep everyone happy. The Travel Bee and friends have had to get a little creative.

Out came the games…. Uno, Trivial Pursuit, Bananagrams, a deck of cards and Beat the Parents. Although reluctant at first, even the teenagers are discovering games can be quite fun. Things are getting quite competitive and rather loud in the evenings.

The kids are learning some old ways to have fun and the parents are just glad to be away from the pressures of home and work. This is a true holiday, full of rest and recuperation….. just what the doctor ordered.

TTB

Tag: Jurien Bay

Nambung and Lesueur National Parks – Jurien Bay – Western Australia

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