Busselton and Margaret River Region

 

Saturday the 24th October we left Bunbury for Busselton. We checked on the way, looking for a reasonable price van park which we were not finding. Looked on Wikicamps and found the Anglican Church Campground. It had power and water at $25 a night. Comments were good. Could not get them on the phone so just rocked up and it was all true. Right on the water. It is run like a regular van park, but the one caretaker does everything. A real good bloke. It's great.

That afternoon we went back out on the highway to Bunbury to the Old Cheese Factory. We had gone the alternate route to Busselton through the Tuart Forest which was beautiful but therefore missed the factory on the way down. We bought some beautiful cheese there. We also had a look in town and visted the inforamtion centre.

Sunday we went for a drive to Dunsborough and to Eagle Bay. This area is on the Geographe Bay and is north facing and so whilst it is open to the Indian Ocean the waters are calm. It is actually the beginning of the Margaret River wine region.

Monday we took it a bit easier and just went for a walk out on the Bussleton Jetty. The jetty is 1.8km long which is the longest one in the southern hemisphere. There was part of the old wooden jetty still in place and seagulls were nesting on it. There were two seagull chicks there.

On Tuesday we went and saw the lighthouse at Cape Naturaliste and did the tour. Following that we went down to Sugarloaf Rock. The coastline and water is just beautiful.

After that we went for lunch at the Eagle Bay Beer Brewing Co. Had a pizza and a couple of nice beers with a nice view.

After lunch we went a bit further down the coast to Canal Rocks. The wave erosion has worn away rocks along fault lines to creat these canals in the rocks forming islands. I don't think we have this sought of coastline on the east coast. Interesting stuff.

 

 

Wedenesday we went to the town of Cowaramup which is south and on the way to the town of Margaret River. The name of the town does not relate to cows at all but the people there have filled the town with statues of cows. It is aboriginal for a place of a particular bird that frequents the area.

We went to a cheese factory where ther were some real cows, these cute little jerseys,

then to a nut factory, silk factory, winery and a pottery place. The farms and paddocks around there are absolutely beautiful. Found out that down in the south west it is all green now but it will all brown off over summer, as is the pattern. There are so many 'black boys' in WA and a good representation here.

Friday the 30th October we left Busselton and went the 45 km or so to the town of Margaret River and then the 10km beyond to the Big Valley Farm Stay Caravan Park. Only $30 a night powered, and such a beautiful property. It is a working sheep farm.

 

 

It was only about our third day of rain in the six and a half months we have been away.

Next morning went to the Margaret River Farmer's Market that is held every Saturday am. Food market only thankfully, otherwise Linda would have had a long look which saved me getting excrutiatingly bored. We then went to Prevelly on the coast. Really nice spot. Alot of the towns on this coast have been settled because of their naturally protected bays because of how they face and usually a reef that creates a breakwater. They are great holiday towns for families with great safe swimming for kids.

There happened to be a surf carnival going on at Prevelly. A big bunch of Kombis rocked up on queue.

Another protected little bay called Gracetown.

That afternoon we went to a couple of wineries and to a coffee house for coffee tasting and drinking. That night being our 34th wedding anniversary we went to Mikos Japanese Restaurant and had excellent food. Linda had been really disappointed earlier in the day when we left a message with them for a booking and they called back to say they were booked out. Apparently you need to book well ahead. They rang in the afternoon and said they had a cancellation and could fit us in. That night we stayed up to watch the Wallabies get beaten by the All Blacks in the RWC. Actually we went to bed at half time which was 1am here being three hours behind NSW. We were to upset seeing us getting robbed with a missed All Black knock on and a forward pass and knowing that is what normally happens for the Wallabies and couldn't bare seeing more of it.

I've got to say that this Margaret River region is one of the most beautiful areas of Australia. It is not just a good wine growing area. The countryside is lush and green, at this time of the year anyway. First thing Sunday we went to the Voyager Estate winery. They have done a great job of their gardens and buildings. You can imagine them being fully booked with weddings etc, every weekend.

The wineries are great but the forests are beautiful as well. This is the Boranup Karri Forest. The trees are enormous.

 

 

Another of the protected bays I was referring to earlier, Hamelin Bay. There was a big jetty there in the earlier days which serviced the export of Karri timber to Europe. It was used up until Jarrah became the preffered timber which was then taken from the forests around Busselton and Bunbury.

We then went on to the town of Augusta and took a walk around the Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse. It was very interesting seeing and reading the history.

This very south western corner of the continent is where the Southern Ocean and the Indian Ocean currents meet. You can actually see where the oceans meet, not indicated by the blue sign, but by the foamy water in the second photo (not very evident but it is there, and more noticeable at other times of the year because of the greater variation in water temperatures).

The water supply for the Lighthouse and town in the early days.