16 – 23 Sep, Perth to Augusta

Hi there, everything is simply great out here in the west. Robyn arrived on time and we have had a simply fabulous holiday so far together.

First up we spent the Thu & Fri in and around Perth. Walked the city, visited Kings Park (the wild flowers were in bloom in the Botanical Gardens) took a ferry down the Swan River to Fremantle. Then a a free bus around Freo, had lunch at the jetty and visited the WA Shipwreck Museum. Then a stroll around Freo and the train back into Perth for a night of rest.

Robyn says it took her a couple of days to recover from the jet lag. Yeah, yeah some jet lag a massive 2 hour difference. I think it was more the excitement of being with me again, yeah, yeah I here you say.

We collected the campervan on the Saturday morning, went through all the familiarisation, did some shopping in Rockingham (a little south of Perth) then headed into Bunbury for the next two days. The van is great, although a little older then expected and I have been sent to Siberia for the nights. You see I am in the bunk above the drivers cabin, Robyn is in the bed that is made from the seating and table area. As the beds are only 1.2m wide and we normally sleep in king size bed, I am in Siberia.

Sunday we took a walk around pleasant Bunbury, had coffee on the foreshore, then took a 100 odd km drive in the hinterland, out to Donnybrook and Collie before retiring back at Bunbury. The next morning a cruise ship had docked and it was visible from our van, quite unexpected.

We headed out again continuing our trip S down to Busselton where we visited a heritage homestead (national trust) and a bird hide over a natural wetlands. Then to the campground where we had a walk on the beach and out to the old Jetty.

The Jetty is the longest in the S hemisphere, but is undergoing major reconstruction work so we could only take in the interpretive centre – in other words, the history of the jetty and the surrounding town.

Tuesday saw us head to Cape Naturaliste and the lighthouse.We took a lengthy walk around the lighthouse through the ocean heath land, sighted a couple of whales on their S migration and totally enjoyed the environs.

Following this exercise we headed down to Surfers Point where we had lunch on the headland watching board riders catch breaks 100’s m off shore in around 3m waves.

The coastline in this whole Margaret River region is just spectacular, but the region itself is so different to the rest of WA that I have experienced. I keep repeating to Robyn that this is nothing like the rest of WA.  It is quite lovely with forests, grasslands, wineries (lots of wineries) and small villages.

Margaret River is the largest town, but it is the whole region from Bunbury/Busselton in the N down to Augusta in the S and then across to Albany (not actually in the MR region).

Margaret River has done a lot to promote itself, but it is the region as a whole that is fascinating. Nothing is too far away if you have wheels. So the last two nights we based ourselves in a campground about 15 minutes N of MR and headed out from there for sightseeing, wineries, chocolate factories, olive oil soaps & vinaigrettes, etc, etc, etc.

Today, 7 days since Robyn arrived we are in Augusta for the night. We spent time walking through Mammoth Caves (fabulous limestone caves, one of many sights on this limestone coast), had lunch by the Hamelin Bay (very windy so we ate in the van), walked around Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse (the tallest in Aust) and the SW most point of mainland Australia, where the Indian and Southern Oceans meet.

 

 

The weather has been superb spring conditions, the days in the mid-20’sC and the nights around 9C. We have had sunshine all the way, just a continuation of the fabulous weather that I have experienced on the whole trip. Everywhere is lush and green, but the locals say come summer this will all burn off and become quite dry. They have missed a lot of the usual rains over the winter months and are concerned about the water shortages.

Robyn has said that she is unexpectedly enjoying the surrounding. She had not thought that the landscape would be as beautiful as it has been. She says that she has a feel for just how vast this land is, and I can only agree especially when you contrast this to the N of the state.

So for now, I hope you have a sense of this last week, the natural beauty of this region, and the joy that I feel having Robyn with me to experience just a small part of this great land.