Once settled in, and with our nerves slightly settled, we ventured out for some sightseeing. We drove into Busselton first to see the Jetty. We decided against the walk/tour of the Jetty as we decided $30 each is excessive. We took a few pictures from shore instead. Stephen is having some trouble with his car's cooling so we drove around a bit to find a place where he could have it worked on. Can't get it done until Monday so we will need to book in for a couple of extra nights. Not a problem as we have found quite a bit to see and do in the area.
On the way back from Busselton we stopped briefly in Dunsborough before heading out to Cape Naturaliste. We were too late to do the lighthouse tour but will come back later in our stay to complete. Headed home for some wine and cheese. Found some beautiful cheese made locally at the visitor centre. Had tea in our caravans as it has begun to cool off. Had another poor night as the wind howled and the awning flapped much of the night.
Friday we headed back into Busselton where Sandra had her glasses repaired. She had lost a screw in them a couple of days ago and was using sticky tape and rubber bands to keep them together. Decided to take a drive out to the Cheddar Cheese Factory and did some tasting and purchasing of beautiful Cheddar Cheese.
We stopped in Dunsborough again on our return trip to do some grocery shopping. Returned home for a quick lunch before visiting the Ngilgi Caves at Yallingup. They were very interesting and we descended some 40 meters into the ground. Very impressive and we got a few decent photos.
Drove to Canal Rocks and Smith's Beach on our return to the campground. The water was really beating against the rocks at Canal Rocks while we were there. Quite overcast so we may return if the weather clears up. Enjoyed some more cheese for happy hour before a quiet meal in our caravans.
The wind was a bit kinder during the night and both Sandra & I had good sleeps. Sandra even had a bit of a sleep in. Once we got up and moving; the four of us drove out to the Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse again for the tour.We enjoyed touring the original 1903 Lighthouse and the original Lighthouse Keeper's residences. Was still a bit overcast and a 50km southerly blowing when we climbed the lighthouse. The lighthouse itself is not that tall because it is situated on a 100m hilltop. Quite interesting to hear how it was manually operated without electricity up until 1978. What a horrible job it would have been until then.
Once we finished the tour we had a cup of tea before heading out on a 4km walk around the Cape. Quite windy as we started out but it turned out to be a blessing; because as soon as the wind dropped the flies showed up in the thousands. We had our fly nets on for the return trip and caught a few smart comments, but I bet they would have paid "BIG" money for them by the time they finished their walk! The walk was very enjoyable except for the flies. It would be a great place for whale watching in season.
Once we got back to the car we drove to Brunker Bay where we did a very short walk to the bay and Shelley Cove. Lovely, but of course windy! From here we headed back to the caravan because Carol was "Starving"!
Had an easy afternoon (I even had a nap). Terry & Di made it to Yallingup although they ended up staying at a different caravan park as ours was full. Had afternoon Happy Hour with them.
From there we got back onto the sealed road and headed to Gracetown. The November fires had come very close to this town as you can see from the photos. The surfers were again out in large numbers enjoying the waves. Stopped at a couple of lookouts here to view the surf and the fire damage.
Next stop was Prevelly which had felt the full brunt of the November fires. A lot of fire damage here. We took a walk down to the beach through burnt out brush before venturing to a lookout and then onto the rivermouth. Once again the waves were pounding and the surfers were trying to take advantage of them. The Margaret River didn't quite make it to the ocean when we were there. There was a lot of more relaxed activity (canoeing, kayaking, etc) on the river side of the beach. You can see a lot of damage along the river but it is amazing how quickly new growth appears again.
Back on the road to Margaret River where we enjoyed a picnic lunch at the Rotary park right on the river. Walked the length of the main street to find the markets we had seen when we arrived had just closed. Girls managed to find a gift shop on the way back that provided suitable retail therapy to make up for the missed markets. Took a trip south to visit the largest shell collection in Australia. Unfortunately Rans had read that it was free when it actually said fee. Oh what a difference one letter can make. We decided to forego the fee and enjoyed a good laugh at Stephen's expense for most of the trip home. Stopped at Canal Rocks again as the sun was shining and the sky was bluer than our last visit. Sandra got some more photos of the water crashing through the rocks. The colour was much better than our first visit. We headed home where Stephen & I enjoyed a snorkel down at the beach. Very nice! Had a nice steak BBQ and caught up on some computer work.
Monday morning the six of us are off on an all day bus tour of the Margaret River Vineyards, Brewerys, Chocolate and Cheese factories. We get picked up at our respective caravan parks at 10:45am by Bushtucker Tours. There was a total 18 people on the tour from a variety of locations (Australian & International) and quite diverse in age etc. The picture below was taken at the end of the day when we knew each other better and had numerous tastings under our belt!
Within 30 minutes we are at our first Vineyard, Cape Naturaliste. This was a smallish vineyard with a number of awards, and we were lucky enough to have the owner, Jenny, doing the tastings with us. She was very good and showed us how to properly taste wine. The key thing she emphasised was always tasting a wine twice to get the true flavour on the second taste. The other great bit of advice was that the best wine for you is the one that you enjoy the most. If that happens to be a $5/bottle one; that is just fine! We sampled 3-4 whites & 3-4 reds at each stop and there was a good variety of sweet and dry wines. I skipped most of the Sweet Whites & Rose wines; while Sandra skipped most of the Dry Reds.
Next stop was Driftwood Estates which had a bit of a Greek look and feel to it. Quite reasonably priced with a few award winners, and a few wines that Sandra & I liked. Had a nice desert wine as an extra treat. Sweet but good! Peter our bus tour guide gave us a quick tour of the wine making area which was interesting.
Off to our next Vineyard which was Knotting Hill Estate. This was a relatively modern vineyard but also had numerous award winners. Apparently the Margaret River region only produces 3% of Australia's total wine production but 25% of Australia's Premium wine comes from the region. After another round of several tastings we were happy to have our lunch break here. It was a beautiful setting with a large pond in front of the Cellar Door/restaurant. The lunch was interesting with both Kangaroo and Crocodile on the menu. There was also a number of unique native peppers, bush tomatoes, and other interesting bush tucker. The girls were catered for Gluten Free as well although they thought there could have been a bit more food.
After our lunch break we were off to Grove Estate where we were royally entertained by host and owner, Steve. The fare here was primarily ports and liqueurs. Our host had a sharp wit and tongue, with most of us receiving a shot or two from him. Sandra managed to pour one of her liqueurs down the front of her shirt! The ports and liqueurs were very nice but on the expensive side for purchasing.
From there we toured a cheese factory and the Margaret River Chocolate Factory. This was a good break after all the wine, port, and liqueur tastings. I enjoyed a Simmo's Ice Cream at the chocolate place. Was on the must do list I received from Al Pierson before I left work. Verrrry Tasty!
Last stop was at the Duckstein Brewery/ Saracen Estate. The boys enjoyed a beer at the bar while the girls toured the gardens etc. Took some photos before loading us all back on the bus for our return trip home. A very enjoyable day and a great way to do the vineyards. No worries about driving, lots of great tastings, and personalised service for the tour group by the Cellar Doors. Recommended.
Tuesday as you may have guessed we decided to stay on an extra day. We needed to do some cleaning, laundry, and shopping before hitting the road again. Sandra had a busy morning with the cleaning and laundry before we took Carol and Stephen into Busselton to pick up their car which had it's repairs finished. Sandra & I did some shopping in Busselton before doing some additional sightseeing at Cape Naturaliste. We toured a number of new residential developments before heading out to Meelup Beach. The beach was beautiful but crowded with 3 busloads of kids there.
From there we drove a very short distance to Castle Rock. Beautiful beach here again and not so busy. Wish we had brought our swimmers as it was beautiful.
We toured through Eagle Bay next before heading to Sugarloaf on the opposite side of the peninsula. Sugarloaf was an incredible sight. Rocky cliffs with the most beautiful coloured water. Sandra & I ventured down the rock boulders to the water's edge. Again we were regretting the fact that we hadn't brought our swimming gear. Got some nice photos before heading back to Dunsborough. Did a bit more grocery shopping at Coles before returning to Yallingup.
We had cheese and biscuits with Di, Terry, Stephen, and Carol with happy hour. Did quite a bit of our packing up before having an easy tea. I managed to get a sunset and moon photo at beach after tea. Off to Augusta area in the morning. We have really enjoyed Yallingup and could see ourselves spending more time here.
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