Dunsborough with kids is a piece of cake.
You know that little knobbly bit that sticks out on the Western Australian coastline down South, well that’s the beautiful little coastal town of Dunsborough. Well known for it’s beaches, surfing and sunny days. Well that’s the vibe we got we visit every time.
And just a shirt drive from Dunsborough is the town of Yallingup. Yallingup is a quiet town filled withbplenty of trees and wineries. Some of the Western Australia’s best.
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WHAT TO DO IN DUNSBOROUGH
What to do in Dunsborough with kids?
We visited Dunsborough one year when Jordan was just a baby. We left on boxing day for a spontaneous road trip that we only planned the morning of. We packed the porta-cot, the pram, all the baby bottles and set off on the great Australian road!
Where did we end up? Dunsborough! After visiting Kalgoorlie, Kambalda, Margaret River and Esperance we landed in Dunsborough for our last stay. We were lucky to get accommodation being the Christmas holidays. We snagged a really nice hotel along the beach.
So this time we were a little more prepared, well we had two more children and we came with a 22 foot fully self contained caravan…our home on wheels.
MEELUP BEACH
Dunsborough with kids…..Meelup Beach is perfect.
This is a tourist beach and was pretty busy when we arrived. Set up were lifesavers and the safety swim flags, SUP (stand up paddle boarding) hire, ice cream trucks, and plenty of families having BBQ’s and chilling on the beach. It was a good atmosphere. Our kids had a grand time catching the waves in.
CENTENNIAL PARK PLAYGROUND
centennial Park Playground was the first playground we found on google maps. I don’t know about your kids but mine love a playground, the bigger the better! This one was mediocre but still did the job at keeping my 8,6 and 5 year old occupied.
With swings, a pretend shop, climbing frames, rope course, it was great. Although I really do wish those toilets were built NEXT to the playground. Nothing worse than everyone going to play to then pack up everything and drag everyone over to the toilets for someone to poop!
COUNTRY LIFE FARM- Dunsborough with kids
Country Life Farm is not only popular with the tourists but it is popular with the locals. When I got there I could see why, there is plenty to do here. We were here for about 3 hours. From feeding and patting the animals, rides, bouncy castles, a large inside play gym, outside picnic area and play area.
Although for our family of 5 it cost us just shy of $100 for entry. It was a pricey day. Our children spent more time on the bouncy castle than anything else but they had a blast. If you are still umming and arring about whether you should go, head on down and check it out for yourself.
NEXT LEVEL MONKEY BUSINESS
Right next door to Country Life Farm is Next Level Monkey Business. Which is an outside rope, zip line and rock climbing course. It is one for the adrenaline seekers and is for ages 4 and up.
We passed on this activity as the price put us off at well over $200. Although our youngest wasn’t too keen on the zip lining or participating at all. Maybe next time we can go and get him to come out of his comfort zone.
XSCAPE AT THE CAPE FUN PARK
Dunsborough With Kids……is at Xscape At The Cape!
This place is a lot of fun for everyone! With mini golf, waterplay, trampolines and much more. When we went it was a scorcher of a day!!! Oh golly gosh, we were so grateful for the waterplay area to cool us down after bouncing around outside on the tramps. Be sure to take a hat and plenty of sunscreen.
For some relief, the golf is mostly shaded and is suited for small children. Our youngest really enjoyed this, although his independent streak kept us there longer than we wanted too. Nothing a persuasive ice cream didn’t fix. Check out the pricing here
DUNSBOROUGH TAVERN
We love a good meal and a cold beer and the Dunsborough Tavern had both PLUS the best play area for kids. We can’t remember the last time we enjoyed some time to ourselves enjoying a relaxing drink and meal than when we were here! It was brilliant! Make sure you check out the daily specials, when we went, there was a kids eat free option. I am sure you don’t want to miss out on that special! Dunsborough with kids can be fun??? Right!
WALK AND COFFEE ALONG THE FORESHORE
Nothing beats a nice walk along the Geographe Bay foreshore. Grab a coffee and head on down with the kids bikes or scooters if you have them. If not the kids can stop along the way and play at the Centennial Playground.
When we went down to the foreshore the tide was way out and we were able to walk across to a sand bank where we set up our tent. It was really cool because it was like we were on an island.
Although be prepared Geographe Bay is known for its seaweed and some months are worst than others. Heading out to Eagle Bay or Meelup Beach is where you will find the white sand and blue waters.
So what is there to do in Dunsborough with kids? We think a lot. Not far from Dunsborough is Yallingup, I have combined these two towns together because they are within driving distance to each other.
WHAT TO DO IN YALLINGUP
Yallingup is just a short drive from Dunsborough and when I say short I am talking about 10 minutes! So like I mentioned earlier I am going to combine both towns into one blog post.
Yallingup is known for it’s breathtaking caves, stunning sunsets, it’s blue beaches, world class wines and top rated surfing spots, it’s no wonder nature lovers are attracted here.
It really is just so chilled and it really does take you back to nature that upon entering you can feel all your stresses just melt away.
YALLINGUP MAZE
We chose to tackle the Yallingup Maze as we thought this would be a great family day to work together towards a project.
Upon arrival we paid and were then distracted by the little games that were on the cafe tables. Before we entered the maze we all sat and tried to work out the puzzles together. Let me tell you they say ‘easy’ and for under 8 years old yet none of us could work them out. So we gave up!
The maze has 4 different pillars that you must work out how to get to. Plus there are water guns that you can carry around to keep yourself cool or just squirt each other with. We figured out 3 or the 4 and cheated on the 4th, we had spent an hour trying to find the way and eventually gave up.
I won’t tell you anything and am not going to give away any door hints! Afterwards we grabbed some lunch and the kids hit up the jumpy castle. All in all it was a great day!
NGILGI CAVES
The Ngilgi Caves used to be known as the Yallingup caves. Upon entry there is a guided tour of approximately 15 minutes that gives a short speech about the caves and then you can wander around on your own. There are some really low parts and lots of stairs. So if you are after a good leg work out, here is the place to go!
The cave is lit up with lights so you can see where you are going and it has the lights through out the cave which reflects well on the lime stone walls and the crystals. Some of the lights are coloured and make for a really cool photo, so don’t forget to charge your camera.
This is a paid point of interest and here is where you can find out the costs
TORPEDO ROCKS LOOKOUT
Along Yallingup Beach Road is a lookout called Torpedo Rocks. The lookout overlooks the beautiful Yallingup Beach. There are some chairs that you can sit and watch the sunset while enjoying a glass of wine.
We thought about taking a picnic here and the kids could have a swim but the day kind of flew away from us and we found ourselves watching the sunset from our camp-site.
This is the starting point for the 3km hike that takes you along in a loop around the coast. Check out more details below under Torpedo Hiking Trail
TORPEDO HIKING TRAIL
Torpedo hiking trail is not something that I have any experience in as there was no way my children were going to walk 3km.
But I thought I would add this in here as I think it looks awesome.
The Torpedo Trail is a 3 kilometre, grade 3, hiking trail, estimated to take between 1-3 hours. I have included the link for you to read to find out all the information before leaving on the hike. Good luck!
WYADUP ROCKS- INJIDUP SPA
The famous Injidup Spa…..it is breath taking and just sooooo relaxing…well I imagine it would be. Our family story of our adventure was a little different.
When arriving at the Injidup Spa carpark, the rocks are hidden and is about a 100 metre walk around the back of the hill. It is not right in front of you and there are no signs. We wouldn’t have been able to find this if there weren’t other people there. Follow the already walked track, which is on the left and after walking about 50 metres, veer to your right and keep walking.
We ventured down there with our children, towels, and a back pack. Our children were 8, ,6 and 5. All was good UNTIL our two youngest seen crabs and they were not getting in the water. Which is a little hard because you have to walk through some water at some stage (for the easiest way).
Dan and I carried them across. Once across you can set yourself up on a nice warm rock and watch the waves crash through the gaps in the rocks and watch the water gush in and fill the rock pools up. The water was a tad icey though, but still swimmable.
Highly recommend if you are in the area
BUNKER BAY
Bunker Bay is a little bay located at the tip of Cape Naturaliste, a 12km drive from Yallingup. This little bay is famous for it’s turquoise waters and white sand. There is an opportunity for snorkeling and children can play in the shallow waters of shore as there are no waves. The bay is sheltered from the wind which makes it the perfect location for a day on the beach.
Which also makes this a very popular beach, many many tourists and locals drive from a far to spend time at Bunker Bay. So if you are wanting a beach to yourself this isn’t for you.
If you are wanting a beach that is a little more quiet then Eagle Bay might be right up your alley. Eagle Bay is still a lovely beach but has more space to spread out.
It has all the facilities of a cafe, toilets and showers and a playground.
Between Yallingup and Dunsborough there are plenty of free and paid attractions to keep your family busy on your next visit. Check some out and I would love to hear your feedback on the places you have visited in the comments box below.
