First School Holiday - Day 1 - Yanchep National Park, Lancelin, The Pinnacles, Jurien Bay

April 11-13

Destination: Exmouth (with several stops along the way).

Satellite Map of WA, Australia

Standard Google Map of Waikiki to Exmouth, WA

The first 10 weeks of school is done and we are off on another adventure, this time to the northwest part of Australia.  Our first stop was about an hour north of Perth, at Yanchep National Park which is known for its koala sanctuary.  Koalas aren't native to WA, but have thrived in this little area that was designed specifically for them.  We spotted 8 koalas in total, all sleeping in various poses high up in the trees.  It is really quite amazing how they can sleep balancing on a tree branch without falling out of the tree.  

Sleepy koala.

Kookaburra.
This guy came looking for some free handouts at our picnic lunch.

Yanchep Golf Course
Who needs grass on the fairways?  It just slows the ball down.
 You can really tell that fresh water is a precious commodity in WA, because even the greens were brown here.  On the plus side, you don't have to worry about replacing your divots.

After Yanchep, we drove an hour north to a small town called Lancelin.  There is really nothing here except one strip mall with about a half a dozen shops.  But it has one of the most bizarre natural phenomenons you will ever see.  On the outskirts of town, out of nowhere appear these enormous white sand dunes.  You feel like you did time travel and you are suddenly in the Sahara Desert. It has the softest, whitest sand in this one spot.  There is absolutely no vegetation on the hills even though they are surrounded by green scrub brush on all sides. They even change shape and size with the wind, and they are great for sand boarding, which is WA's version of snowboarding. (see below)

We rented two boards from the surf shop in town, drove to the base and walked up.  A sandboard is essentially a snowboard, with 2 straps to slide your feet into.  It's slow going unless you have fresh wax on the bottom (yes Amyot's, the wax goes on the bottom)! I had to fight the fear of falling. I kept thinking it would take off several layers of skin if I fell, like sand paper. But that wasn't the case. It was very soft, and made for a nice cushioned landing. The only consequence was being completely covered in sand from head to toe and everywhere in between.  And I mean everywhere!  Oh, by the way, the only way to stop was to fall as there were rocks and hard compacted earth at the bottom of the hill.  You could also sit on the boards like a toboggan, and go barrelling down the hill too, which was a lot faster, and more fun.  After only an hour we were exhausted, hot and sandy, so we called it quits.  But it was a riot!  We had so much fun!!

One of the Lancelin sand hills (as seen from miles away).

The sand hills in Lancelin.  The sand is white as snow and soft like flour.
Noah, Suzie and Ellise are climbing at the top and preparing for their first decent on the sand boards.

Suzie putting her snowboarding skills to work on the sand.

Noah preparing to head down the hill.  Notice how small the cars look in the distance. 

Getting down was easy.  Climbing back up, not so much.
It was steep, and soft.  For every step you took, your foot slid back down about a half step.

Ellise having the ride of her life!!!

This is one of my favourite pictures so far.That's the Indian Ocean at the far left.

Next stop: sunset at the Pinnacles in Nambung National Park.  The Pinnacles are limestone formations that arise from a small isolated desert region.  Another bazaar nature phenomenon, because this is the only place in WA where these unique rock outcroppings are found. 

The kids horsing around.

The sand is totally different here than in Lancelin.
It is very brown and coarse.

The Pinnacles at sunset.

After the Pinnacles, it was a short drive to our accommodations for the night, at Jurien Bay Caravan Park. We lucked out with our accommodations, it was right next to the main beach with a large park.  There was also a beautiful running path along the water, and a big "Jumping Pillow" right outside the front door of our cottage. The kids spent a LOT of time on the jumping pillow while we were there.

Jurien Bay jetty and waterfront park.

The old jetty which is now a prime snorkelling spot.

Unfortunately, Ellise and Suzie went for a swim Saturday morning and Ellise got stung! A stinger (type of jellyfish) got her across the front of her neck.  She was very uncomfortable for a few hours, but the pain eventually subsided, and she was off jumping again on the giant pillow.