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Published: September 2nd 2009
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After spending a fair amount of time in and around Perth we decided to venture further afield and so caught the bus down to Margaret River (5hrs away) Very weird.....because we were able to leave our big rucksacks back in Perth we set off with only a small daypac between us...(why can’t it be like this all the time!) The journey down south gave us our first glimpse of life in Oz outside of Perth...in some of the places that the bus passed through it was very isolated but with amazingly beautiful scenery. As we approached Margaret River we could easily have been back in England as the countryside was green and lush with rolling pastures and hillside.
Arriving in MRiver we were collected and taken to the Lodge YHA our first venture into an aussie hostel. Dropping our stuff off we headed back into town via the shortcut across the fields and woods (wouldn’t really want to be doing this in the dark!) The town was more of a tourist destination than a town in its own right and most of the shops consisted of souvenir shops or shops aimed at the tourist market. Didn’t take us long to wiz
around it then..ending with the obligatory visit to Coles supermarket.
The next day we decided to hire bikes and cycle down to the beach which by our reckoning wasn’t too hard a cycle. After first heading through some parts of a wood which all seemed to be downhill a niggling doubt started to creep in about how hard the journey back was going to be. Also John was having real difficulties with the gears on his bike too (I think its because he drives an automatic car so never has to bother with gears!!)After lots more downhill stretches we eventually arrived at Prevelly park, a gorgeous stretch of beach with only a few people on it. I have a quick dip in the ocean but its absolutely freezing so don’t manage to stay in for too long (John just stays sunbathing!) After a few hours we begin our slow ride back and begin to realise just how many hills we have come down. We are absolutely knackered!! Finally we make it back to town and reward ourselves with the numerous free samples of fudge being given away in the fudge shop. All our good work gone to waste but definitely
worth it!
We’signed up for an organised wine tour as Margaret River is a renowned wine region and for most people this is one of the main reasons for visiting the area. By going on a tour neither of us would have to drive either so we’d be free to sample as many of the wines as we wanted. After being collected from the Lodge and then picking up various other people we were made to introduce ourselves to everyone else on the minibus. We discover that its a real hotchpotch of people..English, Irish, Scottish, Kiwis, and a few Australians thrown in for good measure. Turns out 2 people are also from Oxford (my home town) - small world!! At our first winery we are given a quick masterclass by Sylvano (our driver) in how to taste wine properly- how to hold the glass, the sniff test, how to swirl it around our palette..oh yes never again will we just neck a glass of wine in future!! And so began our first tastings of 6 different wines...and it was only 11 oclock in the morning!!(We didn’t have to spit out the wine either and there really was no pressure on
us to buy any of the wines!) Our visits to the various wineries were broken up by a visit to the Chocolate factory (free tastings...mmm) a dairy (lovely feta cheese) and lunch- well we needed something to soak up all the wine. The lunch provided was delicious...cold salads, lovely pesto breads, roast beef, wild turkey and....kangaroo!! We both gave it a try and surprisingly it was actually quite nice (sorry skippy!!) With our bellies now full Sylvano produced the piece de resistance... a huge whitchety grub!! Hands up any volunteers to taste it - my hand stayed firmly down but John bravely volunteered. “It tastes just like hazelnut” he insisted...ok I believe you - not!!
The day drew to a close with our final stop at a brewery where ‘paddles’ of small beers rounded off the day nicely as we relaxed out in a lovely beer garden. Our journey home included everyone being in fine spirits, with a little bit of a sing song and John being presented with a souvenir “survivor” t shirt (for eating the grub) Needless to say sore heads all round the following morning!
The only way to really get around this region is by car
as there isn’t really a bus service. We hired a car for a day so that we could get out and see some of the many caves that are renowned in this region. Our first stop was Mammoth cave, a 15 minutes drive outside of Margaret River. Here a self guided audio tour explained how the caves were formed and also how they had been discovered. From here we drove down to Lake Cave, a stunning pristine chamber with enormous weathered stalactites. The lake in the cave refects all the formations, including a suspended table formation that somehow hovers over the water. The roots of the huge karri trees seen at the entrance to the caves also descended deep into the cave and were clearly visible underground.
As we continued driving further south we passed through the Boranup forest which led us along extremely isolated stretches of road towards the Jewel Cave. This cave seemed to defy nature and dwarf anyone entering the chambers deep underground. Its W Australia’s largest show cave and home to one of the largest straw stalactites (hollow tube formation) found in any tourist cave in the world. As we passed through the various chambers all
MMMMMmmmm!!!
Tastes of hazlenuts I think! of the different formations could be clearly seen - as could the possum skeleton (how long had that been there?)
Our final push south saw us passing through Augusta and onto the magnificent southern ocean coastline. As we approached Cape Leeuwin lighthouse(situated on the most south westerly tip of Australia where the Indian and southern ocean meet) the views were absolutely breathtaking. As we climbed up to the top you could see why its Australias tallest lighthouse as the winds were extremely fierce and to just circle around at the top took a great deal of effort with the wind literally holding you back as you tried to walk.
As the day drew to a close we headed back into Augusta and watched the sunset over Flinders Bay whilst eating a bag of fish and chips..the perfect end to a perfect day.
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