The next morning dawned grey and miserable, and it had rained overnight - the first rain we had seen for weeks. We moved on to Green Head, the next small town. This had a few beaches, but it was really not a beach town. Most of the beaches we had seen in this area had a lot of seaweed, which apparently is a seasonal thing. Wrong timing again.

'Town' consisted of one fast food shop and a chemist. A café / restaurant looked quite nice, but didn't open until 11 am. There was also a sculpture gallery - which only opens on Saturdays. Moved on fairly quickly.

We then arrived at Jurien Bay, where we expected free camping again as advertised in the brochures. When we checked at the Tourist Info Centre we were told this was 30 kms out of town in the middle of the bush. Cervantes, the next town 25 kms away, also had a bush camp miles out of town. So, we were forced to stay at caravan parks again anyway. Oh well, we tried!

We booked a couple of nights at Jurien Bay as it was cheaper, and used it as a base to check out Cervantes as well. Cervantes is known for the Pinnacles, an unusual rock formation a few kilometres out of town. We had done this on our previous travels, but had not really seen Cervantes itself.

It is a very small town, named after a Spanish ship that had been ship wrecked on the reefs here. Hence all the street names in town had a Spanish theme - Catalonia, Cadiz etc. The beach near the caravan park is pleasant, but again, lots of seaweed. The weather was beginning to clear, but still too cold for a beach day. We drove to another beach around the point, and finally discovered why this area is called the Turquoise Coast. Here the sand was white (with no seaweed), the water was clear and the most wonderful turquoise colour, with hints of Coral Bay. (Although not quite as good.)

Cervantes' other claim to fame is the Lobster Shack, a family business that had started in the 60s with one guy on a boat fishing for lobsters. Now it had developed into a lobster catching and processing plant that supplied lobsters to areas all over Australia and internationally. They had also set up tours of the facility, and a large al fresco dining area. This was very popular, especially with Asian tourists, and they were bussed out from Perth by the hundreds every day. Although the tour included commentary in their own languages, they seemed to be keen to rush through this part and get straight into lunch. The lunch was very good.

Jurien Bay was also a lovely little town. Again, the beach near the caravan park was pleasant and had an old jetty. But around the point was another glorious beach with white sands and turquoise waters. This was more like it.

The best thing in Jurien Bay was a tour we went on to see the sea lions. These are Australian sea lions, which are an endangered species, and there was a colony living on an island not far off the beach. We took a small boat out with another couple and a Canadian lady called Felicity. First stop was a squid trap which had caught a small octopus. He was too small to keep so was sent back to the water, but not before saying hello to everyone on the boat.

As we approached the island the sea lions slipped into the water to welcome us and to play. They are the most inquisitive, curious, playful creatures we have ever come across - like small puppies. We all jumped in with wet suits and snorkel masks and they came right up to us, swimming around us, looking us in the face, doing twirls and nose dives and barrel rolls around us and each other. It was the most wonderful experience.

We had swum with the manta rays and turtles in Coral Bay, but they were just swimming and minding their own business, with us tagging along behind. Here we were really interacting and connecting to these amazing mischievous creatures. Although the day was sunny it was still a bit cool so eventually we reluctantly hopped back into the boat. The skipper told us we had been in the water for over an hour and a half. It felt like ten minutes. And the sea lions kept coming back, enticing us to stay a bit longer. We went back in time and again, but eventually had to drag ourselves away. This has been one of the most wonderful experiences of the whole trip.

GeorgeY's bit

Cervantes is the gateway to the Pinnacles. Having done this tour it was Pinnacles Shminnacles and hello Lobster Shack. The tour was good but the lunch was scrumptious.

We stayed a few days in Jurien Bay waiting for weather suitable for snorkelling, and it was worth the wait. We have seen sea lions before on Kangaroo Island and other places, but they are the New Zealand type - bigger than All Blacks and just as smelly. Our own variety is smaller and has a cute puppy dog playful character. The short leg between Cervantes and Jurien Bay provides the opportunity to experience the best in marine life in two very different ways. Unless you are allergic to shellfish or can-not snorkel it is the quintessential bucket list item. Such a powerful experience. Eva later received a text message saying 'You left your hat', she told me that I lost my hat. Later I found mine and Eva did not. This time I did not need to use my senior citizen status as an excuse.