Dongara

The final destination is Hutt Lagoon but considering the driving distance, it makes sense to break it up a little with a stop in Dongara. A few websites and blogs gave me the impression that a lot is happening in Dongara and we can walk around town – no, please drive around.

On the way to Dongara, we stopped at Jurine Bay, and Google Map forgot to tell us that we are turning left to a 4WD-only track. The first 200m was sand and gravel then it got worse, and there was no turning back. We got to a spot with a few campers and 4WDs, they were surprised on how far we’ve come and survived. By the time we go to the beach, the wind was strong, the tide was low, but we attempted to snorkel anyway – we’ve got this far. Ten minutes later, swept 200m sideway, being caught in thick bushes of seaweed, it was time to give up. I did see a school of tiny fish.

Few lookout spots to check out on the way to Dongara: Molah Hill and Grigson.

We had a nice dinner in Dongara Hotel (TripAdvisor) – ticked all the boxes for food, drinks, atmosphere, and service – we missed the live music because it’s not a Saturday night.

Let’s start the morning right with coffee, sand, and water. Seaspray Beach Cafe (TripAdvisor) is a cute little spot with front-row view of the beach and a notice that they’d close if the mercury reached over 36c. With a high-expectation of the previous cafe we visited (in Cervantes), one person got our order all wrong but then the second person made it all ok and our breakfast ended up being $10 cheaper – winning! If you’re lactose intolerant drinking almond milk, remember to mention that you can’t have full-cream icecream or cream on your iced coffee because diarrhea. The easy solution is actually asking of iced latte.