20^th September:Margaret River

The Margaret River Region hassuch a variety of things to explore. There are the wineries, oodles of them – half a dozen or more down every side road – and the dairy farms producing milk, cheese and butter. However, as well there are the forests, mostly protected now, and the beaaaches which are beautiful.

We drove to Busselton this morning. There is a very long jetty there – 1938 metres long, extending into Geographie Bay. No longer used as a port, there is an underwater observatory there and a little train that runs out to the end. But it all costs: $14 to ride the train, $6 for children and $4 to walk out! (Even the cost of camp sites around here double in school holidays which start in a week's time. So unfair for families!) But the beach is free and it is lovely and the parks are great! We said goodbye to Murray and Lorraine today as they were taking the Bitz van back and flying home on Sunday – Murray's birthday.

We then drove down the Caves Road to Augusta, calling in at Mad Fish to buy something I had decided I wanted and some of the beaches. We stopped at Gracetown which is on a little protected bay, and given that a fierce wind was blowing, it was lovely to sit at a picnic table that was buried up to the seat in sand in the sun. People were swimming and snorkling; the waves were crashing on the cliffs to the north and south but not here.  It is quite a sizable village with a number of larger weekenders I think!

 

Then we went to Hamelin (through the beautiful forest of karri trees at Boranup) where there had been a jetty to export timber, karri, in large quantities to England and Europe. Did you know that some of the streetgs in iknner London are still paved in Karri from these forests here! What a waste! The jetty is gone now but it is a pretty place with Foul Bay around the corner behind protecting hills. People were swimming there too. It was a bright sunny day – if you could get out of the wind. 

The Boranup Karri fores

 All that remains of the jetty at Hamelin Bay.

We then went to Augusta and Cape Leeuwin. We had afternoon tea in a little park beside the Blackwood River where we learnt that a pelican is called the Pelicanus conspictulatus and the Black Pacific Duck is a Anas supercilliatus!! We then went on to the Cape. It was stunning there but so windy, I was nearly blown off a rock! I wanted to photograph the meeting of the Great Southern Ocean and the Indian Ocean which I did by climbing around the rocks outside the fence. You have to pay here too even if you just want to walk to the lighthouse to take a photograph. They say it is for the maintenance of the grounds etc but $10 just to take a photo is a bit much! So we climbed around the rocks! We didn't get to the end but I was able to take some photos!

The meeting of the oceans.

 Cape Leeuwin from a distance!

 Flinder's Bay - the start of the Great Southern Ocean in Australia.

We drove home then and battened down the hatches as thunderstorms, high winds and rain are predicted as a cold front moves over early tomorrow morning. I hope it is not as bad as the one we had at Gingin but we are more protected here!