Swimming with Sea Lions is a must do for every marine enthusiast. Just 220kms north of Perth in the tiny coastal town of Jurien Bay you can swim with wild Australian Sea Lions!
The swimming with sea lions tour departs early at 6:45am because the Sea Lions are more active in the morning. The day we chose to go we were blessed with glorious weather to be on the Indian Ocean for another Aussie Marine Adventure!
After boarding the vessel Captain Pete gives a short briefing before casting off on an adventure to swim with Sea Lions, the puppy dogs of the sea! The Captains daughter Karri-Skye handed out snorkelling equipment and wetsuits to guests. We then had time to enjoy the short ride to the snorkel site upon the bow of the vessel.
As we approached the little Island where the Sea Lions live, we could see them leaving their sunbaking on the sandy beach to swim over and greet us! The Sea Lions were just as excited to see us as we were to see them!
Deckie Dan picked up the mooring and secured the boat at the site. Anchoring damages the fragile sea bed so having a mooring to hang the boat off is much better for healthy sea grass.
Karri-Skye then announced that the pool was open! In her snorkel site briefing we were instructed not to touch the Sea Lions, but Karri-Skye forgot to tell the Sea Lions. They did their best to cuddle and kiss my camera! I fell in love with them immediately!
I found Sea Lions to be the absolute best models to photograph as they are definitely not camera shy. They twirled about under the sea around us and jumped playfully out of the water doing backflips and turns. It was an absolutely magical experience to be with them!
Other guests on the tour included an older couple, a Taiwanese couple and a young Japanese family with an adorable 5-year-old daughter. Deckie Dan carefully watched over us all in the water from a kayak we could hold onto for a rest if needed.
We stayed in the water for what seemed like forever playing with the sea lions. As the other guests went back to the boat one by one for a hot shower to warm up, Karri-Skye issued us fluffy towels, hot drinks and Tim Tams! It was also a great time to view the Sea Lions from the boat. They come to the surface so frequently that even non-swimming guests get a great experience joining their family on this Aussie Marine Adventure.
The team were all very knowledgeable too and we learned how to tell the difference between males and females by the size of their faces and colourings, and how to spot a juvenile from an adult Australian Sea Lion. And male Australian Sea Lions can grow up to 300 kilograms!
We also learned a lot about the local history of Jurien Bay. Jurien Bay was little more than a sleepy coastal village until the 1950’s when the town boomed with the building of a port for the professional Cray fishing industry.
On the journey back to the marina we were lucky to see some Bottle Nose Dolphins cruising past too as an added bonus!
Swimming with Sea Lions in Jurien Bay is something we will definitely be doing again! Thanks again for the great Aussie Marine Adventure Captain Pete, Karri-Skye and Dan!
