Day 674 - Margaret River - Perth, Australia

Day 674 – 13th April 2007 +7:00 GMT

Had to check out the resort first thing in the morning and we made our way North back to Perth. We had booked in to stay at Cottesloe Beach for a few nights. We checked into the hostel and then went for some food at the adjoining bar. We Sat On The Beach and watched the sunset.

Jill On Cottesloe Beach

Sunset on Cottesloe Beach

Sunset on Cottesloe Beach

Martin and I then headed to Burlwood casino where we played some Blackjack, Craps and Slots. I cashed up over $600 so was having a good night. We got back to the hostel at 4:30am.

Day 673 - Margaret River, Australia

Day 673 – 12th April 2007 +7:00 GMT

Drove up North today to Busselton which is famous for having the longest pier in the Southern hemisphere. On route we stopped at an electrical store for Martin to do some shopping, he spent a fortune and bought a new ipod, a psp and a new hard drive. We then took a walk along the beach at Busselton and had some food at a restaurant on the beach.

Busselton Pier (Longest Pier In Southern Hemisphere)

After dinner we decided to wlk the 2km long pier, usual a train runs along the length of it but it was not running today, so we had to walk. The water is so so clear you can see the sea bed so clearly as you walk along.

The Crystal Clear Water

At the end of the pier is a sea life observatory which is on the sea bed and you can pay a fee and wander down and watch the sea life.

Looking Back From The End Of The Pier

We walked back along the beach.

Busselton Waterfront

Busselton Pier

Busselton Waterfront

Then drove to Dunsborough beach as we wanted to watch the sunset, unfortunately the beach was North facing so we had to drive on so we drove to sugarloaf rock which is by Cape Naturalist lighthouse but there was no beach just rocks.

Sugarloaf Rock

We got back in the car and ended up driving to Yallingup beach, which was gorgeous. We sat here and watched the sun set.

Sunset At Yallingup Beach

Sunset At Yallingup Beach

Sunset At Yallingup Beach

It was a lovely sunset and I took some great photos.

Sunset At Yallingup Beach

Yallingup Beach

Yallingup Beach

Jill And I At Sunset At Yallingup Beach

Sunset At Yallingup Beach

Sunset At Yallingup Beach

We then drove back to the resort and went out to the local café for a beer and some food.

Day 672 - Margaret River, Australia

Day 672 – 11th April 2007 +7:00 GMT

Got picked up in the morning by Cheers wine tours, they drove us into the centre of Margaret River and stopped at the river banks.

Margaret River

Here we all took seats and they started to cook us some dinner and proceeded to explain about wine tasting and the plans for the day. We had a quick feed of steak, chicken and fish then loaded into a minibus and headed to our first winery. The first place we visited was Watershed Winery, this is a large winery processing around 1200 tons of grape. The wine was very good and we bought a bottle, the grounds here are amazing and they have their own restaurant.

Watershed Winery

We then headed onto our second winery which was Red Gate, here they process around 200 tons of grape they also sell soaps and lip balms etc. Next we visited a Venison farm and got to try all different types of Venison. This persuaded Martin and I to buy some meat for the evenings meal. We headed on to our third and final winery which was Bettenays which is small winery processing only 20 tons of grape a year. The guy who owns it is slightly crazy and made everyone laugh with a few jokes, we had a good tasting session and Jill and I bought a few bottles especially liking the Chardonnay and Hot Chilli Port. Our next stop was the Margaret River Chocolate Company, this was the same as the Swan Valley chocolate factory. We helped ourselves to several samples but did not purchase anything. We got back into the minibus and then headed to the Cheese Factory, yet again we got to try many samples this time of cheese and yoghurt. We then stopped at the small village of Cowamarup here we got to look around a few boutique shops and then we made our final stop at colonial brewery.

Martin, Jill And I With Our Paddles Of Beer

Here we tried a paddle of their five beers before getting dropped back off at the resort.

We walked down to the beach and watched the sunet.

Sunset

Martin and I cooked our venison and then played some Backgammon before sleeping.

Day 671 - Margaret River, Australia

Day 671 – 10th April 2007 +7:00 GMT

We set off driving south and stopped at Caveworks which is a company that has tours of four different caves in the area. We paid to visit Lake Cave and while we were waiting for our tour had a look around the information centre that explained how the caves in the area were formed and the creatures that live in the caves.

Lake Cave Entrance

We had to climb down 300 steps to meet our tour guide who then lead us down a further set of steps into the cave. The cave had some amazing stalactite and stalagmite formations.

Stalactites

Stalactites

We walked to the end of the cave and then the guide lit up different parts of the cave so we could view the formations.

Lake Cave

Lake Cave

It was fantastic to see but the tour was only around one room and only lasted about 20 minutes which is not very long for the money we paid.

Lake Cave

We then left and drove the scenic route through Boranup Karri Forest. We kept driving until we reached Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse which is on the most South Western point of Australia where the Indian Ocean meets the Southern Ocean.

Me At The South Western Point Of Australia

We had some lunch here and then had a walk up to the lighthouse, it is very windy in this area presumably due to where the oceans meet.

Jill And I At Cape Leeuwin

Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse

Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse

We then drove a little down the road to see an ancient waterwheel which used to pump the water to the workers who built the lighthouse in 1895.

The Old Water Wheel

We then made our way back North to Hamelin Bay which is a gorgeous beach with shallow waters often full of Sting Ray which are hand feed so you can go out and stroke them.

Hamelin Bay

It had started to rain so we headed back to Margaret River, we then went into the local bar and had some drinks and some food.

Day 670 – Margaret River, Australia

Day 670 – 9th April 2007 +7:00 GMT

Martin and I got up and drove to the Margaret River golf course. We played a round of 18 holes, the course was lovely but we both had pretty awful rounds with myself going around in 124. We then went back to the hostel and had some lunch then we all went into the town and booked a wine tour from the information centre for Wednesday. We then sampled the local beer in a nearby pub and headed back to the hostel. We stayed in at night and watched some Television.

Day 669 – Bunbury – Margaret River, Australia

Day 669 – 8th April 2007 +7:00 GMT

Happy Easter. Had to get up and check out the hostel, loaded the car and headed south about 125 km to Margaret River. Here we checked into the surf point resort which is like a holiday park with communal toilet blocks, kitchen, games room etc. I spent the afternoon playing backgammon with Martin. Had a quiet evening in so we just cooked some food and had some beer.

Day 668 – Bunbury, Australia

Day 668 – 7th April 2007 +7:00 GMT

Walked across the town and along the beach until we got to the Dolphin Centre. We had a drink and then had a look around the dolphin centre. Here the dolphins swim up to the beach every morning sometime between 8am and 12pm and if you are lucky enough to be here when they arrive you can wade into the water and stroke them. We then left the dolphin centre and walked back into town, we walked around the shops in the town and bought some groceries. We then walked to the top of the observation tower and looked at the view over Bunbury.

View From Bunbury Tower

360 Degree View From Bunbury Tower

Bunbury Tower

We then got a call from our friend Bruce so went to meet him in a nearby pub and had a beer and a game of pool. Then went to an Indian Restaurant for some food. The food was disappointing for the price as they had a buffet on and the food had no real taste. Jill and I then headed back to the hostel and Martin and Bruce went out in the town.