Girls Road Trip to Lancelin

The Trip — Girls Road Trip to Lancelin

Duration — day trip

Origin — Perth

Type of Trip— Day Trip, Road Trip, Koalas, Kangaroos, Dunes, Sandboarding, Pub, Group

Average temperature— 35 degrees in Yanchep, 30 degrees in Lancelin

Mode of Transportation — 5 seat car

Cost — $250 including entry to Yanchep National Park, sandboard hire for 4, fuel and lunch

General Route — leave Perth around 10:30am –> Yanchep National Park –> Lancelin town –> Dunes –> Home

Accommodation — none required

Main Activities — koalas, caves and kangaroos in Yanchep Park, sandboarding in Lancelin

Food and drink Highlights — Endeavour Tavern, The Cabin Small Bar

Ratings

Rate the overall trip — 8/10 A super fun road trip for 4 girls! Not too much driving, great mix of wildlife, scenery and light sports and I love the outdoor area at Endeavour Tavern

Rate the activity on your trip — 8/10 The koalas at Yanchep are underwhelming, not the koalas themselves, but rather the very short boardwalk and viewing area. It felt more like a zoo enclosure. Sandboarding is always fun, hilarious and challenging.

Rate the ease of logistics — 10/10 Easy driving, easy directions.

Luxury factor — 2/10 It’s not that kind of daytrip! But we had a lovely dinner at the Cabin Small Bar in Perth when we returned.

About The Traveller

Age
34

Gender
Female

I’m from
the Canadian Rockies

My favourite trip as of late
beach and culture in Sri Lanka last year

I often travel…
For work, and then extend my trip to explore

I would class myself as
an experienced traveller

I regularly go on the following types of trips
Culture, sporty, beach, gourmet, relax

It’s a dealbreaker when
my accommodation or the restaurant is dirty

Continent I know the best
Asia

Want to hear more about Marla’s experience on this trip? Click here for a more detailed itinerary

Our Experience

My sister and 2 friends were visiting over Christmas,

and I wanted to show them something that I find particularly special in Western Australia - the sand dunes. We made an easy day trip of it, having a civilised breakfast at home and hitting the road in a 5 seat Hyundai at around 10:30 am. First stop was Yanchep National Park, only a 45 minute drive from Perth. Yanchep was extremely beautiful with a large, marsh-like lake being the most interesting for us because of the reeds, trees and fascinating birds. Yes, we initially went because we wanted to see (well, hold) koalas, and although we got to see them, it was a bit underwhelming. We realised we had unreasonable expectations a. because we wanted to hold or at least touch them, b. because we thought there would be a lot (there were only 3 or 4) c. we thought they would do something (they didn’t even flick a fly) and d. we thought it would feel more natural (it felt a bit like a zoo enclosure). It was really hot out, so we went back to the car fairly quickly and drove around to the caves. We didn’t actually go in the Crystal Cave which is the main one, because there wasn’t a tour scheduled when we were there. We drove around and were delighted to come across a bunch of wild kangaroos, some of whom we realised after looking at the photos we took had babies in their poouches!

Another hour and 15 minutes and we arrived to Lancelin and drove to the General Store to rent sandboards and then head to Endeavour Tavern for lunch. I love the outdoor seating area. The food is pretty average, but the views are gorgeous and the sea air the perfect relaxant before taking on sandboarding!

A 5 minute drive farther and we arrived at the sand dunes. 4x4 vehicles can drive right up to the dunes, but as we were in a rental car, we parked and walked the approximately 400 metres more with our boards (don’t forget the board wax they give you at the general store in the car!) We spent a good hour and a half sandboarding and watching others do it.

We wanted to go on to Cervantes to see the Pinnacles and have lobster at the Lobster Shack, but the extra hour and a half one way didn’t appeal as it would have meant returning at dusk and in the dark on the highway which is full of kangaroos. So instead, we drove home and made it back by 7pm, in time for our 8pm dinner reservation at the Cabin Small Bar which was delicious.

Why We Loved It

It was a perfect day trip with a variety of activities, learning, fun and exercise. Sandboarding is actually really hard and exhausting, so we had a sense of accomplishment when we finished. It’s a really cool feeling as well, to be sat out in the dunes, with the ocean in site. It’s hard to believe the land can change from ocean to dunes so quickly and I know my visitors were both impressed and in awe.

Drawbacks

It was really hot out when we stopped at Yanchep which made us a bit lethargic and less interested in exploring. Fortunately we were all on the same page otherwise we would have had to compromise. Sandboarding is really hard and exhausting as I mentioned! At the rental shop you have the option of either a sit down or stand up board. The difference being the sit down board is wider and has a pad for sitting while the stand up board is narrower and has 2 loops to put your feet into like a free binding. I find sitting a bit boring after the first run, and prefer to stand up using the sit down board because I find the loops too restrictive. I’ve done it before so managed to succeed, not without a couple of epic bails for which I received applause from the onlookers! My friends weren’t able to do a full run which can be frustrating. Patience and practice is required! Plus, you eat a lot of sand from falling and you leave a few kilos heavier from all the sand you pack home. Bring a scarf to wrap around your head if you like! I got a bit battered from my falls, and would caution anyone from doing standup boarding who has an injury or is injury prone. The temperature by the time we arrived at the dunes (around 3:30pm) had dropped and with the wind it was perfectly cool, around 30 degrees. Take water though, and a snack if you plan on spending any length of time. It was a shame we couldn’t actually 4x4 n the dunes. That was my original plan - a private 4x4 day adventure, but after hours of searching and speaking to operators, a couple ‘offered’ to do it for us, but at a cost of minimum $1500 for the day trip, including a picnic! Our only other option was to join one of the bus tours but we didn’t want to share the day with a bunch of strangers, and surfing the dunes in a suped-up bus just seems out of place. It also felt like a bit of waste to not see Cervantes on the same trip, but we left too late in the morning to do it all in one day.