The coastline between Kini Bay and Sardinia Bay is completely wild. There are no access roads and no parking lots along this 20km section of coast, which means it remains unspoiled, only frequented by the occasional fisherman or those who venture on foot. To reach Laurie’s Bay, the closest place to park is at Kini Bay beach parking. From there, we headed east along the beach.

After about 1.5km, we reached some beach shacks on a hill. Although it might be tempting to walk up to the shacks on the high and dry jeep track, it is private property, so we stuck to the coastal trail, which can be a little boggy from the last high tide. But, it was nothing our Merrell’s couldn’t handle, though.

At 2.5km, we arrived at Laurie’s Bay. We timed it for high tide for the best snorkelling experience. The bay is almost completely encircled by rocks, so we were protected from the strong ocean surges.

A highlight is the old Laurie’s Mansion at the head of the cove. There is some fascinating history behind it of how Dr Laurie was gifted the land from Mr Lovemore because he saved his 4-year-old son’s leg from being amputated. It is basically a ruin these days and very dangerous with rotting floorboards and tumbling staircases; not suited for exploring. Thankfully, we had a beautiful ocean as our playground.

The trail is out and back, a total of 5 km. Mostly, we walked on the beach, but there were sections of boggy ground and sections that required rock hopping. As we clambered onto rocky outcroppings for that perfect photo, we were glad to have grippy Vibram soles so we could feel confident on our feet.