The drive to Busselton from Perth on Thursday 21st was mostly down a freeway which made for a fast trip but not a scenic trip. We only skirted the outskirts of Bunbury which was disappointing, but I guess we have to leave somethings to see next time we visit. Anyhow we had an interesting time trying to find the "Mandalay Holiday Park", but when we did, we found this five star rated Park to be everything it advertised. The sites were grassed and shaded by Peppermint trees, the amenities are fantastic, beautiful pool's and camp kitchens and games rooms. The manager told us about a colony of an endangered species of little possums who reside in the park, he even showed us a couple of them sleeping in a staghorn. He also warned us that we might hear them of a night as they eat the peppermint leaves over the caravan and poo little balls, which drop onto the top of the van.
We found out later that night that he vastly understated the activity of these little cutie's. We counted 6 up in the tree above us and the amount of poo and pee they excreted was amazing. The poo is like a hard little ball that hit the top of the van and then rolled off, this happened all night. The pee is sticky and smelly. Lucky the buggers are cute because after 4 nights a lovely possum stew was quite on the cards. Anyhow the quality of the park offset the annoyance and thanks to Greg Pinner who arrived the day before we left we managed to wash the van and car with his extendable brush.
Anyway we decided to use this Park as a base to tour the area and so the next day we set out to drive through Margret River to Augusta. Augusta is a little town perched beside the sea adjacent to the Leeuwin Naturaliste National Park (named after two French ships who investigated and charted this area prior to a colony being established at Albany). Spectacular scenery was a highlight of our drive to the Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse, this lighthouse is the tallest in the area and is open to the public and for a modest fee you can climb to the top of the 39 metre tower and walk around the balcony. I do not know if I have mentioned before that I have developed vertigo over the years, so after a stiff climb up 167 steps stepping out onto a balcony off the side of this lighthouse I was gripped with terror and if any of you reading this ever go there you will find my fingerprints still in the steel of the handrail, and the most hurtful part of this is that I paid money to do it. Another life's decision was made on this day, no more towers for me, this little fat feller is staying on the ground from now on.
This Lighthouse is also the point where the Indian Ocean meets the Southern Ocean and noticing a couple of old guy's within earshot I began telling Jude that you could actually notice the joint because of the difference in salt content of each sea, we wandered off leaving them trying to see the difference. One of the most photographed items in W.A is a water wheel also at this location, the wooden wheel was used to pump water to the lighthouse site during the construction, the wheel is now encrusted with calcium and makes for a great photo.
On our way back we visited a couple of winery's and a coffee and cheese outlet and also a fudge factory. The coffee was a delight, the cheese ok, the wine crap and the fudge to sickly, I really am turning into a C.O.B.
Next day we traveled to Dunsborough and Yallingup, one of the highlights of the day was a visit to a Wool Exhibition and shearing display. The shop and shearing shed is on a working property and is well worth a visit. The shop has an extensive range of quality woolen products and the shearing exhibition is a must see. Firstly we were given a small dish of pellets to feed the sheep out the front and they are well used to being fed and will jump up on the fence and whip the pellets off your hand in no time. The shearing display was followed up by a display of sheepdog skill's after which Judy was pulled aside together with others to assist in the next display which was hand feeding lambs, she did a great job and after the lamb finished feeding the guy picked the lamb up and plonked him on Jude's shoulder to burp. One of the funniest sights I have seen for a long time.
We visited another winery the "Swooping Magpie" and were very disappointed with the quality of the wine. Off into Dunsborough for a "Sushi" lunch which we both enjoyed very much. Then on to Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse and then down to a rocky lookout where we spotted a pod of whales playing, we sat and watched until the cold wind beat us, then on to a olive farm for tastings, very yummy. We have over the last two days covered a lot of ground around the Margret River Area and must say that we really enjoyed our time here,but, it is very touristy and the many places available for tastings do put a lot of pressure on to buy their products, we find this unattractive and feel the pressure.
Our last full day we unpacked the bikes because in Busselton there is a bike track all the way along the beach. So we rode into town and visited the market, which we found was a good one with much local produce and other nick naks, we then rode to the jetty, which is currently closed for renovations and so we rode to the new boat harbour and back to the Park. We rode about 30 K's and we were feeling it when we arrived back to find Greg and Sophie had arrived and so we proceeded to a beaut happy hour where we forgot our tired legs. It is great to catch up with friends from home and compare travel notes, we never seem to run out of things to talk about.
Next day after washing the car and van we left to travel to Walpole but along the way we came across a little place called Pemberton and liking the look of the place we decided to stop a couple of days but that's another story.
We had a busy but great time in Busselton, but now "we're on the Road again"
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