We set off for south of Perth in our new car and headed for Bunbury (all those who like “The Importance of Being Ernest” will understand!!). We drove past a few “towns” which were mixtures of industrial sites and big beach complexes. Mind you we didn’t see much as it rained quite a bit and very hard at times. Most exiting event of the day (if not the holiday) - Rachel drove in an automatic and abroad! Bunbury is rather appealing; quite arty; and enough cafes and restaurants that stay open after 5pm! Lovely lighthouse and 2 spots where you can climb up and view the area. The basalt rocks on the beach were fabulous and like a baby Giants Causeway.
When we got to Margaret River we were seriously impressed. Just what you need in a holiday spot. It is still a real life town with proper people who live there with a mixture of everyday shops and touristy places and cafes / restaurants…and get this…the supermarket is open til 7.30!! Our villa is huge with 2 bedrooms, 2 toilets, bathroom, large kitchen/ diner and massive lounge with balcony. Not to mention washing machine and tumble dryer. We got a great deal paying a 1 bed villa price and when we asked to stay 2 more nights she knocked another 20% off!
Bussleton was OK. You had to pay to walk on the longest jetty in Oz - mind you, UK Health and Safety people would have shut it down years ago! So, we declined paying even more to go under the jetty to look at some fish. The Art Gallery was based in the old Court House and Jail Cells and was interesting.
On Tuesday we drove north along Cave Road to Cape Naturaliste which has the shortest lighthouse in Oz at about 13m. We went on a very good guided tour around it, followed by a walk to the whale watching point. Sorry there are no pictures but we saw about 10 humpbacked whales (and I actually had my binoculars with me!) Brilliant. From there we went to see the caves at Ngigli. We thought that they were the best we had ever seen with so many different and usual formations. If you ever come over to Oz this is definitely a place to visit! On the way home we stopped at a farm shop and bought 2 venison steaks and 2 ostrich and venison pies for a total of about £7. And they were yummy. Gordon even put the steaks on the bbq.
The next day we went south to Augusta. Here the Indian Ocean meets the Southern Ocean and the beaches and views are wonderful. We followed a path along the Blackwood River estuary to where it meets the sea and walked along the spit. Shells like you have never seen. I didn’t know how to control myself. After lunch we drove to Cape Leeuwin lighthouse (the tallest I think) to see an old waterwheel built in the 19th Century which is turning to stone because of the calcite from the lime stone in the water. The rocks here were so different from the rest of the area and we spent ages walking across them. Lovely place to mooch and waste time doing nothing.
No comments:
Post a Comment