Today we're on the road again. Still heading south and stopping at Augusta to visit Jewel Cave (without Jane) and Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse, where the Indian Ocean meets the Great Southern Ocean. Lots of great photo opportunities and less rain. We also drove through a Karri forest full of beautiful tall, white bark covered trees.
We started the day though at our last winery stop, Cape Mentelle, again a very nice winery which obviously impressed Craig because he brought lots of wine.
PS. Only 2 more days until Amy's Birthday....
We couldn't believe it but today we didn't get out of bed until 11am. It was a very noisy night with lots of heavy rain that kept waking us up. We slept in and were then haapy to lie in bed and read.
After we did get going we headed for a drive to Prevelly Beach, the closest beach to Margaret River. Then we went to explore Mammoth Cave and afterwards went to visit more wineries. We did Leeuwin Estate and Voyager, both beautiful properties and okay wine. The rain was still heavy on and off all day. We ended up with a trip to the Candy Cow and the Gourmet Food shop and then to the Margaret River Hteol for a pre-dinner drink....yes, we obviously needed to drink more.
Today the rain came down but that didn't worry us. We were continuing our journey south and stopping at what took our interest. Firstly it was the Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse and Sugarloaf Rock. Then we found the wineries, the chocolate factory and the cheese factory. More wineries and finally arriving at our destination for the night, the Margaret River Tourist Park.
Washing, washing and more washing and then drying.....catching up day today and also a day of rest with a little exploring. We spent the morning doing stuff...Kyle read and played, Amy and I read our books in between washing the clothes and Craig just played. After lunch we went for a walk on the Busselton Jetty, a 2km wooden jetty out over the Indian Ocean. The underwater observatory was closed due to the wind and rough ocean so that was a shame.
Amy and I walked around the shops later in the afternoon and I got a haircut 'cause my hair was annoying me. I really liked Busselton, the campground was different (we were parked next to the cemetary), the beach was full of seaweed and cuttlefish, and I could imagine how popular it would be in the summer.
Today we left Fremantle and headed further south, driving through coastal towns for about 2 hours before reaching Bunbury. Here we stopped for lunch and sorted out what we'll do next. On the drive down we were comparing towns to those that we know back home. Rockingham was the Bateman's Bay of WA, being only an hour from Perth it looked and felt like a seaside holiday destination. Mandurah was definitely the Noosa of WA's south coast. Apartments everywhere with great views of the Indian Ocean and ritzy cafes and big houses.
We also stopped in at the Yangolrup National Park and saw the Thrombolites, round rocks that form from the calcium carbonate sitting in the lake. They are growing rocks that increase in size about 2mm every year.
On we drove, the kids watching a movie in the back of the motorhome so no complaints from them. We decided to stop at Busselton, the site of the longest wooden jetty in the Southern Hemisphere. We camped across the road from the ocean and enjoyed an afternoon rest.