Day 3 - 15 Apr 2009

Swimming with Sea Lions

This was our final day at Jurien Bay so we decided to spend the morning swimming with the Jurien Bay Sea Lions. There are several places with Sea Lions but we went to the Essex Rocks - just about four nautical miles south of Jurien Bay.

We joined a boat from Jurien Charters. Operators were quite friendly and fun.

As the water is really cold we had to rent wet suits. Everyone decided to go into the water except Ma (yes, even Will!).

Here is Will 'piloting' the boat to Essex Rocks

Here is Dave, almost taking the wheel ;-)

Feeling a bit seasick on the way back.

Glad to be going ashore !

Ma and the Captain

Day 2 - 14 Apr 2009

Jurien Bay - Pinnacles


Next morning we went to visit the Pinnacles at the Nambung National Park. It was only a 20 min drive along the Indian Ocean Road to Cervantes and thence onto the Pinnacles Drive.

Kevin

Dave
Will

Lake Thetis

Next we ventured to Lake Thetis where there are colonies of Stromatolites and Thrombolites (rock-like buildups of microbial mats that form in limestone forming environments). Very interesting structures that are apparently very ancient 'living rocks'. Though the water there is very saline, there are small fish in the lake.

Fishing attempt on the Jetty at Jurien Bay

After that it was already around 2:30pm. We headed back to Jurien Bay where we decided to try our hand at some jetty fishing!

With the frozen bait in the freezer and some rudimentary lines and hooks we trudged to a nearby jetty.

After about 10 minutes of no bites, Will proclaimed that we should give up on fishing! Ultimately, we did not manage to catch anything although some others on the jetty (who had presumably been fishing for much longer) did have better luck. We concluded that late afternoon is not the best time for fishing on jetties.

After dropping off the stuff at the 'hotel' some of us went to the beach to try to catch the sunset - which happened very quickly.

Day 1 - 13 Apr 2009

Willetton - Gravity Discovery Centre

We left Willetton in the morning.

First stop was an hour away at the Gravity Discovery Centre near Gingin.

Gravity-Space warp model. Kids get to throw ping pong balls into the top and watch as they spiral down into the funnel.

Gravity Discovery Centre - Gingin

Next stop was LUNCH at The Gingin Hotel in Gingin town.

Lunch was..interesting. Food was quite good except for some less than cooked Fish & Chips :-p

Gingin - Jurien Bay

After lunch we continued our journey to Jurien Bay. We arrived at our 'hotel' close to 5pm.

61 Bashford St @ $90/night - very good value as it sleeps 8 and has cooking facilities. Even had fish bait in the freezer!

However, grocery prices at the local nearby IGA was significantly higher especially for fresh vegetables! Next time we will buy from Perth and bring along with us.

After 'checking in' we actually managed to catch an impressive view of sunlight breaking through some clouds with the ocean horizon as a backdrop.

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