Cowaramup

Tuesday, 14 June

Today we visited Busselton, about a half hour drive from  Cowaramup. The sun was shining and I even had to put my sunglasses on to drive!

Our first stop was for coffee at The Lockup, a cafe in the old courthouse.

Second, and most important was the famous Busselton jetty, the longest timber-piled jetty in the Southern Hemisphere, built around 1865. We decided to walk out and catch the little train back. It was so good to walk that jetty on a sunny, calm day.

Quarter of the way I took photos looking back and forward. We stopped to talk to a couple of blokes who were fishing for squid, with no success. They said the water was too murky. We finally reached the very end after about 40 minutes and a distance of 1.841 km.

There were some paintings of the local whales which showed their size. Judy stood at the tail end of the humpback whale and I took a photo from his nose.

The little train was an easy ride back and took more than 15 minutes. It’s a very long jetty!

As we wandered down the Main Street the sky clouded over and we made it into a cafe just before a most tremendous downpour. The people on the jetty would have been drenched!

By the time we’d finished our cuppa the sky had cleared enough for us to get back to the car without getting wet. We headed back to Margaret River to check out the weir but the road that Google insisted was there, wasn’t. As it was raining again we gave up and came back to our cabin for a cosy last night in Cowaramup. It has been a very pleasant stay in this part of the world.

Cowaramup

  Monday, 13 June

The day started with me finding my missing sock in the laundry. A good start. The next good thing was how unexpectedly wonderful Canal Rocks was.

Once again we were dealing with wind, rain and the intervals in between. We watched the waves breaking over the rocks for a while and then headed up to a lookout spot for a different view. Got chatting to a bloke who was sitting watching the waves and he pointed out a boardwalk and bridge on the other side of the car park that we hadn’t noticed, so back down we went and oh how glad we were. The boardwalk took us to a little bridge over a “canal” through the rocks. Judy and I both took a ridiculous number of photos of the waves crashing and sending torrents of water through the canal. We couldn’t get the smile off our faces as we returned to the car.

Yallingup was our next destination but only rated a drive through and out. By this time we were ready for our morning coffee and we found it in Dunsborough.

On the road north once again for the 15 minute drive to Cape Naturaliste. I am pleased to report that its renovations were completed in 2019 so we were actually ably to see the 20 metre high limestone lighthouse. I like it’s bright red door.

From here we called in at Bunker Bay, which look an ideal spot for a summer picnic. There was a sign showing the catch limits for abalone, which I didn’t think anyone could take without a licence. A little further along was Eagle Bay, notable for its very luxurious residences. We later heard it referred to as “Ego Bay”.

Back through Dunsborough and heading south again we stopped into today’s winery. A couple that we had in mind were closed so we wandered into Domaine Naturaliste. It was quite a small winery but we really enjoyed our tasting and chatting with Pasquale, who looked after us. I mentioned the rosé we had in Domme and she knew the place, as she had spent a few weeks in Sarlat. Some of the Domaine rosé will be on its way to my place soon but unfortunately I have to share it with Judy.

A quick stop at the M R Dairy Company to taste today’s cheeses and into Cowaramup to pick up some supplies of pate, cheese and soup for a meal at home tonight. Thanks for that recommendation Pasquale. And of course we had to stop at Millers to try a different ice cream.

The soup is almost ready now so I’m rapidly losing interest in writing. That’s it for today.

Cowaramup

Sunday, 12 June

It was a night of heavy rain and a morning of thunder, rain and wind, so we gave ourselves a leisurely start to the day. Although it’s been bleak there have been intervals between the stormy showers, so the weather hasn’t stopped us from doing anything. 

This morning we drove into Margaret River and walked down and up the length of the Main Street. We were fascinated by the pizza place with bathtubs full of plants out the front. It wasn’t open, I think because it was short of staff. A little further up was a shop with pink Argyle diamonds that I was curious to see. They were lovely but we were really impressed by some of the beautiful timber furniture.

Had coffee in a cosy cafe and I got Wordle out in two rows. Chatted with women at another table, some of whom had not known about Wordle. They got a lesson from their friend so now there are a few more Wordle aficionados in the world.

After coffee we drove the few kilometres to Gracetown to see how rough the sea was. They have recently had a surfing competition there and there was certainly plenty of surf. There was a plaque remembering the Gracetown cliff tragedy. A section of limestone cliff broke off and killed  nine people, including four children.

By now we thought it was time to visit a winery, so we went to Vasse Felix, which had been recommended by Judy’s daughter in law. Just made it into the building before the rain came down hard again. Tasted a few wines and liked the sparkling best.

Next it was the Margaret River Dairy Company for a cheese tasting. We bought a small cheddar to have with some biscuits later on. All of these places are within an area of about 20 km so it was a day of lots of short drives.

The next short drive was to Millers’ Ice-creamery. We can definitely recommend their product. While we were there sampling the quality of the ice cream there was a violent rainstorm but fortunately it finished at about the same time as we finished our ice creams and the puddle around the car was not too deep to negotiate.

Back to our cabin for a cuppa and to do some washing before another meal at the Social Club.  We were stopped for a random breath test on the way there. It was much quieter than last night, when they were having the special prize draws. We’ll have to find somewhere else to go tomorrow night as they are closed on Mondays.

Pemberton to Cowaramup

 

Saturday, 11 June

I forgot a couple of things about Pemberton. There are hundreds of acres of avocado trees and we learned that kookaburras are not native to WA and are considered a pest that you are allowed to shoot.

A good drive this morning on a beautiful road to Augusta. Scones, jam and cream at last and good coffee!! We couldn’t find the information centre but a nice couple in the cafe, who explained that it has closed, were able to give us all the information we needed.

A few kilometres down the road was Cape Leeuwin, the most south-westerly tip of Australia, and the place where the Indian and Southern Oceans meet. As we approached we could see a huge black monolithic structure where there should have been a lighthouse. Could they have built a multi storey hotel there? Of course not, it was scaffolding covering the whole lighthouse, which is undergoing a 12 month restoration.

We braved the wind and walked out to the point to see the spot where the two oceans meet (still scanning the sea for whales). Kept thinking about “The light between oceans”. It was beautiful and rugged and invigorating. In one of the old keeper’s cottages there was an excellent display about the history and lives of the lighthouse keepers. See below for pictures of what we should have seen and what we did see.

There are over 100 caves in the Margaret River Region and our next stop was one of them, the Jewel Cave. The guided tour of this magnificent cave was fascinating. There are three large chambers with all sorts of formations and they even found skeletal remains of Tasmanian tigers in there. They had fallen through a small hole in the roof of the cave and couldn’t get out.

The cave was cleverly lit and we followed boardwalks and staircases for about an hour, which was fine on the way down (832 feet below the ground) but less fun on the way back up the 734 steps! It was very good to be back above ground.

Once we’d recovered our breath we headed through Margaret River to Cowaramup and our cabin home for the next three days. Had a great meal at the Cowaramup  District Social Club.

I think we’ll both sleep well tonight.

Pemberton

Friday, 10 June 

Our motel is only about 1.5 km from the Gloucester Tree so we got up and walked there this morning. A lovely path through the karri forest took us there and what an impressive monster it is. I had no inclination to try and climb it though.

Next we took a trip on the tramway through the forest to the Cascades, passing the old timber mill which made the sleepers for the trans continental railway. There were old timber workers’ cottages too. Mr Tram Driver gave an entertaining commentary.

This afternoon we had a look at Big Brook Dam and Beedelup Falls. There were masses of maidenhair ferns growing all along the paths at the falls and some dazzlingly orange fungi.

Tonight we dined and drank at the Treehouse Tapas and Wine Bar and had a great conversation with a couple from Perth.

Walpole to Pemberton

 Thursday, 9 June

After a pleasant drive with views of the Walpole Inlet and an undrinkable coffee at the bakery in Walpole we headed away from the coast through beautiful karri and tingle forests to Northcliffe and then back down to the coast at Windy Harbour. There was some heavy rain when we were driving through the forest but it magically cleared in time for us to explore the area around Windy Harbour.

We drove on a red dirt road through streets of little old beach shacks to reach Cathedral Rock. From there it was a short drive to Point D’Entrecasteaux and a short walk to the Nature’s Window. There is a great walk along the cliff tops there.

We met three Western grey kangaroos as we returned to the main road.

Back though Northcliffe we took the road to Pemberton and once again there was rain as we drove through the karri forest which stopped when we reached Pemberton. The rain didn’t spoil the beauty of the forest.

Dinner tonight was at Jasper’s Whisky Bar and we were surprised (shocked) to be seated at a table that was under cover but completely open air. They gave us knee rugs and there were some radiators but it was pretty chilly. Fortunately we were moved to an inside table closer to the fire before our meals arrived. Very good tucker and a nice glass of Pinot.

Albany to Walpole

Wednesday, 8 June

A shorter drive today meant that we could do a number of detours to explore little beaches. We took the not all that scenic route to Denmark, our morning coffee and Wordle stop. It was quite a trendy, “roast our own beans” little cafe.

Then down Ocean Beach Rd to see where the Wilson Inlet meets the ocean and back into Denmark to the Information Centre. We got a great map there and some advice about a couple of pretty beaches, so off we set to see them.

The first was Waterfall Beach, which had a lovely little waterfall trickling down rocks, onto the beach and into the sea. Judy waded through to explore and got a bit wet but soon dried out.

A short drive away was Green’s Pool and Elephant Rocks. It was quite a trek down some steep steps to the bottom, where there was a sort of canyon you could peer through to see the beach. A little way above that was the main lookout over the Elephant Rocks. If there’s one thing they do well here it’s rocks!

Back in the car we drove on to Bow Bridge where we turned off to Peaceful Bay. A nice place to camp and enjoy the beach in summer but no stunning views. We backtracked to the Highway and crossed over onto Valley of the Giants Rd. Here we found the tingle forest with its huge, knobbly trees from 30 to 80 metres high and with a circumference of up to 20 metres. They can live for around 400 years. 

We arrived just in time for a guided tour through the forest with another expert and enthusiastic guide and were surprised to learn that there are quokkas all through the south west. Our guide, Helen, showed us the Grandmother tree which appears to have a face, and explained how the trees become hollowed out by white ants and fire. Many of the hollows are big enough to stand or shelter in.

After this we braved the Tree Top Walk which took us way up into the canopy on a metal walkway which was 40 metres above the ground at its highest point. It was like walking on one of those swaying suspension bridges, and sway it did. Apparently that was not to scare the pants off you but to give the sensation of being in the canopy. I can’t say that I loved the see-through decking but it was worth it to see this amazing forest without damaging the very sensitive, shallow roots.

We were very ready for a reviving cup of something as we departed, only to find that the coffee van had closed while we were doing the walks. Had to wait until we got to our motel in Walpole. Our room is a bit of a comedown after the lovely cabins we’ve been staying in, but it’s only for one night, it’s clean and it’s attached to a hotel, so only a few steps to dinner in about half an hour’s time.

Another great day.