Lancelin - WA

Heading north from Perth Lancelin is the first of the larger Mid-west coastal crayfishing communities. It has numerous accommodation, hospitality and service facilities lying just three kilometres off the Indian Ocean Drive. Its name originates from nearby Lancelin Island named after P.J. Lancelin, a scientist with French Captain Nicolas Baudin in 1801.

The area was initially a holiday camping place through the 1940s and sqatter shacks were built in the area; it was soon designated as a rock lobster industry port and was gazetted as a townsite in 1950. It has a permanent population of over 600, which swells to over 2,000 during the peak holiday period around Christmas.

Lancelin is a world renowned kitesurfing and windsurfing destination. 4WD opportunities abound on the beaches and in the dunes behind the town. Lancelin Island Nature Reserve (just off shore) is an important conservation reserve for a variety of seabirds and reptiles and for a population of vulnerable Australian sealions.