Tuesday, August 14, 2012, Southwest Australia

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Today was a busy for Michael and I. We covered a lot of ground.

Since Michael and I bought groceries bought groceries Monday afternoon, we cooked breakfast at the apartment. I had eggs and toast, Michael and Cindy’s Dad ate oatmeal. I wanted to save a little money this morning since breakfast is so expensive.

We dropped Cindy’s Dad off at work and Michael and I headed south on route 10 to start our touring. Prior to stopping at our first area, we stopped at a McDonald’s. We always have to visit McDonald’s in each country we visit. This one was not much different other than the food selection was slightly different and the coffee was flat white. I ordered a large flat white (not to bad however Henry’s was better) and Michael ordered a frozen coffee type drink.

Today there was a 90% chance of rain. In Bunbury there was a light rain, nothing serious however the further south we drove it seemed to clear up. This is funny because the locals told us that it should rain more to the south and less in Bunbury. Go figure. About an hour out of Bunbury Michael and I saw the brightest rainbow I have ever seen. It was so rich in colors. Michael tried taking pictures from his phone, however it did not show up.

Our first stop on our journey today was Eagle Bay. Everyone keeps talking about this area and very high end homes on the sea. We were not disappointed. My initial expectation was going to be homes on canals like Ft. Lauderdale Florida, however I was wrong. There were very expensive (these are holiday homes) on the side on hills overlooking the Indian Ocean. Incredible. One of Cindy’s Dad’s employees told me that there is no public water system to the homes in this area, rather everyone has water tanks. Please pay to have their water brought in and loaded in the tanks.

After driving through Eagle Bay we stopped at a highly recommended Cave. The cave we visited was Ngilgi cave in Yallingup, Western Australia. This was quite a site. We spent an hour here walking through narrow passages observing some of nature’s most beautiful sites. I have attached several photos for you to review. I also attached a website for you to read more about the cave, http://www.mybunbury.com/ngilgicave.html . Michael had never visited a cave before so he really enjoyed himself and taught this is an excellent stop. While in the cave there was an area where you can crawl through on your stomach, Michael went through this area and tried videotaping the experience.

Once we were done at the cave, we drove further down the coast to see some of the high surf. This area is one of the top 5 areas in the world for surfing. You can tell. Some of the swells were about 15 ft or higher. I attached a few photos of this area. Really neat stuff.

It was lunch time once we left the cave and watching the waves, so we stopped at a hole in the wall place called Yallingup General Store, see the attached photo. The place was a hole in the wall, but had the best burger. Michael and I ordered the Kitchen Sink Burger which consisted of Hamburg, Egg, Cheese, Lettuce/Tomato, and three slices of bacon.

After lunch we drove about one hour south to Augusta Western Australia. Here was a famous lighthouse sitting at the southernmost tip of Australia. The lighthouse is calledCape Leeuwin. This location is also where the Indian and Southern Oceans join. They say certain times of the years we can see the combining of seas, however today this did not happen. Michael and I spent about 45 minutes here walking around the area taking photos. Here is a website link with more information regarding this lighthouse. This was a treat for me because I love lighthouses. http://www.lighthouse.net.au/lights/wa/Cape%!L(MISSING)eeuwin/Cape%!L(MISSING)eeuwin.htm

We drove back to Bunbury and arrived at the apartment around 545pm. It was about a two hour drive for us. We quickly dressed and then headed to dinner to eat several more employees’ Cindy’s Dad co-workers. Unfortunately I did not write down the restaurant we ate at; however the meal was probably the best of the three company dinners. This was Michael’s favorite dinner night because the employees were the most interactive with him and I. We all had a great evening.

Everyone was back at the apartment at 945pm and soon after that, in bed. I stayed up until 1130pm working on my online class.

Wednesday will be our last full day in Bunbury. Michael and I are planning a trip to Margaret River area to visit a bird sanctuary and then a winery. Stay tuned for my next update.

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