One of my fave places in the whole world is just 90 minutes north of Perth. It is a paradise for folk who want to roll into town, stay a week or two and have something to do every day. The children and I discovered Lancelin in spring 2012 when we decided to go to Cervantes for a jaunt. When we parked at the cafe near the jetty and walked down to the ocean we were blown away by the water. The colour of it was so blue and it was so clear. Unlike anything we’d seen in Australia. We didn’t stay there that time but we’ve been back many times since.
Easter 2013 was our next visit. Thanks to a girlfriend from work who has a fabulous holiday house there we have spent at least two Easters and two New Years, a few long weekends and even solo nights. The house is perfect with two double rooms and a dorm for the kids. It’s on a huge block, one street back from the water and walking distance to the jetty and town.
A trip to Lancelin always involves a box trailer to take boards, bikes, scooters, skate boards, kayaks and all the other stuff. The house also has fishing gear, sand boards and spare body boards. So, we usually head to jetty almost as soon as we get into town. Jetty jumping is a fave pastime and draws a crowd. All the kids have done it but I’m not silly enough. The jetty is also perfect for fishing. Nighttime is the best although it can be cool. Last time we were there we saw the manta, the seal and dolphins all around the jetty at night. And The Piper was catching fish left, right and centre.
Each day usually starts with a surf on Back Beach. It is my most favourite beach in Australia. I’ve swum there, surfed there, driven my car there and climbed the dunes there. I have had some of the best moments of my life there. The waves are always fabulous, the water is clean and clear, and the beach is big enough for everyone. People kite surf, jet ski, surf, swim, ride dirt bikes and horses, drive and play. There are dogs, kids and even sharks. The girls were scared silly by a shark alert but I’ve swum there since and I’ll swim there again.
The sand dunes are another huge draw card for the town. People get out there from very early morning through to late evening. There are sand boarders, dirt bike riders, sand buggies and 4WDs galore. Some of The Drummers greatest moments on a sand board have been had there. It’s a great place to get an amazing view of the island and some day I’ll stand there and watch the moon rise. I’ve watched the sunset from there over the ocean. You can almost hear it sizzle.
Lancelin Island is a place we’ve really only discovered this year. It’s been out of reach, across the water because we don’t have a boat. But now I have a kayak that’s changed. We’ve paddled there twice. It’s a perfect distance. The Piper can manage it with ease and once we’re there, the island is a great place for a snorkel (there’s some more gear you have to take). Our last trip over involved a wonderful snorkel for half an hour or more. The fish were big and little, shiny and colourful, shy and also everywhere. In water just waist to shoulder deep. I’m hoping a future paddle to the island might mean we get to see the seals.
All this fun makes you hungry. The Endeavour Tavern boasts the best beer garden in Australia. I think it could be right but I’ll let you know when I’ve finished my travels around Australia. The Lancelin Beach Hotel has a great view and we’ve enjoyed dinner there for the last 2 New Years Eves so it has special memories for me. A recent find is the bakery and coffee shop at the south end of town. This place has the best and cheapest bacon and egg muffins for brunch after a surf. Their iced coffee is fabulous too. Finally, for a view of the jetty, Kerfuffle is a great spot for a toasty sandwich and they do super take away coffee first thing in the morning. There’s no shortage of the good food in town. When we’re in town, I like to buy food there, alcohol there and even clothes in the boutiques and surf shop. It’s great to leave my money in such a great place.
The only times we’ve left town to do something else is to go to The Pinnacles. I’ve been there 4 times now. I’ve heard people run this attraction down. I think it is fabulous. It’s a really great place to go and have a look, have some fun and take some super photos. One day we went there twice (so that actually makes 5 times). We went back for the sunset and to take some photos. Across the highway from The Pinnacles turnoff is the turnoff to Hangover Bay. This is a little gem of a place on a beautiful spring day and the dunes between the highway and the bay are great for sand boarding.
I can’t wait to go back to Lancelin. This year it won’t be as often but we were there for New Years (2014), the March long weekend and Easter so we haven’t missed out. I would like to go watch the Lancelin Ledge Pirates play AFL but we’ll see of it works out this year. If not, there’s always next year …
Our latest trip to Lancelin was for the colour run in February 2017. We left it a bit late to book a bed in town so we stayed out at the Back to Nature Caravan Park at Gingin and drove down to Lancelin for the day. The colour run was a blast and as usual we also had a surf on Back Beach and lunch at the south end of the town beach. Lancelin put on a great event, with no one safe from a good dose of colour. It may take a while to get the orange out of the car seat cover!
A quick trip in June 2020 to check out the beached and burned out yacht on the northern beach. The Drummer and Ralph came along for the ride.
Of course we keep going back to Lancelin, most recently for the 2021 colour blast that was as much fun as the 2017 event. This time we had The Drummer and the Piper’s girlfriend. I am going to call her The AFL’Wer. She is a great Australian Rules Football (AFL) player. The W is for “womens”. She plays at the competitive, selective level. Like us, she had a great time in the colour.
The Solo Avocado 