On the long weekend in October, we ventured three hours north of Perth to the small holiday town of Jurien.
As it was a long weekend, the town caravan park was completely booked out, so we travelled 13 kilometres north to a recreation park with camping facilities called Sandy Cape. It was lucky for us that town was booked out because Sandy Cape proved to be very beautiful and relaxing. The recreation park is also family friendly – our two pet dogs were allowed to come with us!
We arrived at sundown on Friday night and set up our tent by the glow of our headlights as the park has limited facilities – a water tank and toilets, but no power.
The next morning we woke early as the day started to heat up. Outside the tent, the sun was shining and the little bay over the sand dunes had very enticing blue water. We went for a long walk to the other end of the bay, over the sand dunes and down the other side to yet another pretty beach for our morning swim.
On arrival back at camp, we cooked breakfast on the barbecue and packed some lunch for the day’s exploring. There are several 4WD tracks around the area, one of which led us to North Head, a lookout facing back to Jurien town site. We explored the remains of two concrete radar stations that were erected in the early 1940’s to detect the presence of invaders off the coast. North Head is also a place to reflect as the RM Bartle Memorial stands in memory of a local who was killed by a shark while skin diving off the coast.
A visit to town makes obvious the laid back atmosphere of this fishing community turned sunny holiday destination. Fishing is a must when visiting Jurien whether it be off the iconic Jurien Jetty, the groins or just off the beach. By accident, we forgot our fishing gear and didn’t have the chance to catch our dinner!
The next morning we woke early again and after another walk and swim like the morning before we set off through wildflower country to Stockyard Gully National Park. Spectacular plantations of purple flowers put on a show for us as we drove down an inconspicuous dirt road to the Stockyard Gully Caves. What a great experience the caves were. A seasonally running river has formed underground caves through the granite rock formations. We grabbed our torch and ventured under the rock cave for about 100 metres of absolute darkness. I was quite scared as the sign at the entrance says to look out for bees and bats, which got my imagination running wild! The bees we saw, but thankfully the bats stayed asleep. We spent around an hour exploring the caves before a leisurely drive back to camp, stopping to get some wildflower snap shots along the way.
The afternoon was spent at the beach, exploring the coast and playing Mr Sqiggle in the sand before a relaxing night around the camp. We meandered home the next day via Cervantes and the Stromatolites at Lake Thetis. The last stop was a quick look at the Emu Downs wind farm, 40 kilometres west of Cervantes before reaching home. What a great place to visit, so close to Perth yet such a relaxing holiday atmosphere.
