Swimming with the Sea Lions - Jurien Bay, WA

A week ago was a long weekend in Australia to celebrate the Queen's birthday. We thought it was time we got out of town. We booked 3 nights at a villa in Jurien Bay, about 25o kilometers north of Perth. It was a great little place to stay. Just a short walk from the beach, restaurants, and shops.

Jurien Bay is no fancy tourist spot but it was just right for our weekend away. T booked a SCUBA outing for Saturday morning and a few hours later the kids and I joined him on the boat for the sea lion snorkeling tour. This was so cool! We boated out to an area near some tiny islands where a colony of sea lions lives. C fell asleep in my arms (can you imagine?) on the way out so I passed him to T and struggled into my wet suit. I had not worn a wet suit before. When I snorkeled at the Great Barrier Reef, the water was warmer and I wore just a stinger suit. Wet suits are not easy to get into!

The tour company did not have wetsuits for kids so we hadn't planned on D getting in the water. But, the kind skipper showed us to a floating ring with a clear plastic bottom that she could sit in. Once I was suited up and D was in her suit, she and I got into the water. We began to paddle around. Soon, T appeared beside us. Very surprised and wondering where our son was, I looked back to the boat. There was C, sound asleep in the boat captain's arms. Actually, Ian, the kindly captain had laid him across a pillow, on the bbq, on the back of the boat, and was standing with his arms still around our sleepy, little boy. It was hilarious!

So the sea lions swam up to us, around us, under us. They were friendly and fun and playful. The water was chilly, and D was just in her bathing suit, but she was having too much fun to notice the cold, little waves that consistently splashed over her. What an experience!

Those lumps on the sand are not rocks- they are lazy sea lions!
I had been in the water for about 30 minutes when I heard C waking up. He had fallen asleep in my arms, and woken up in the arms of a strange, bearded man- so he wasn't happy. I left D with T and returned to the boat. Snapped this after C had calmed down. C couldn't stay mad with all those funny sea lions swimming around.

The ride back was lots of fun for the kids. C had become good buds with Ian and hit him up for a turn at the wheel. And then D had to have her turn. Hard to photograph but these were dolphins playing in the water on our way back to the boat harbor.

Sunday was a drive out to The Pinnacles. These are limestone rock formations that are left behind after the sand that once surrounded them blew away. They cover a large area inside a national park.

The warm afternoon was spent at the beach. Ahhh! This was fantastic.

D let us bury her in the sand for the first time. I had to pay her 50 cents. But she loved it and laughed her head off.

Monday brought rain, so we packed up and headed back to Perth early. We stopped in Swan Valley for lunch and made it home with enough daylight for D to ride her new bike for a bit and for T and I to unpack and do laundry. Wish we could get away every weekend!