Leaving the flies behind at Lesueur National Park, it was not a long trip to Sandy Cape Recreation Reserve on Friday (3/10/14) evening. As its name would suggest, Sandy Cape is on the coast, where sand features strongly in terms of quantity, and in activities. Yes, this is another place where fun can be had sand boarding!

It is quite a popular place for families to stay, with the sheltered bay and the sand hills both providing suitable entertainment for kids. We ended up staying a couple of nights at Sandy Cape, deciding to have a bit of a relaxed easy day Saturday (when we shot the 3 month video interview!). Though we did move to a different campsite after the first night, to avoid another night of being kept awake by a baby!

These pics are from atop the nearby sand dunes, which are a very short, but steep, walk from the campsite.

Of course the bulk of the boys excitement came from sand boarding. It was interesting that their speeds seemed to increase the longer they were doing it. Perhaps the underside of the body boards were being polished smoother the more runs they did? By the end they were getting very high speeds – just as fast as the waxed up specialised sand equipment others were riding! There were some families with proper sand boards, and sleds, and the boys got some turns on them too. We met a nice couple with kids from Perth, and I had a go on their proper sand board.

There were several hills to board down, but the clips below are all on the one hill.

Sunday morning we awoke to rain! That’s the first rain we’ve had this trip! It was also quite windy to top it off. Nevermind, we continued our trip further south as planned. It wasn’t a long drive to Nambung National park, and its star attraction, The Pinnacles. These are pointed mounds of something (source/material is unknown!), that protrude up out of the sand dunes.

We paid yet another $12 entry fee, had a look in the info centre, and headed out on the walk braving the strong winds, cloudy weather, and chance of pouring rain. There is a drive that takes you through the park (instead of having to walk, though you’d probably get out at times), but for some reason our motorhome was wasn’t allowed…. (they also don’t allow any trailers)

Nearby, almost in the town of Cervantes, is Lake Thetis (also part of Nambung National Park). This is another high salt concentration lake, that contains some stromatolites (one of just 3 locations), however, they are not as stunning here as they were back in Hamelin Pool. The freezing strong wind mixed with some light rain, along with the rather uninspiring view, ensured our visit here was kept short!

Following the coast south we had a look at several coastal towns, such as Jurien Bay (well actually it was on the way to the pinnacles), Cervantes and Lancelin. Most of the coastline along here does not have good surf, as there are reefs off the shore (which cause the waves to break out there). Lancelin seemed to be a bit of a surf town, but we didn’t see good beach breaks; perhaps they have a beach with good breaks somewhere! The coast itself tends to be a mixture of rocky headlands, with some sandy beaches in between.

We finished the windiest and rainiest day of our around Australia trip by stopping the night in a caravan park in the little town of Guilderton.