Margaret River:

Our campsite here was on a working farm 10klms from Margaret River and when we
arrived they were shearing. Our site overlooked the paddock where all the shorn sheep and their lambs were grazing. What a racket as the mums were trying to find their babies. Reminded of my childhood days on our farm!!

Tuesday was a lovely sunny day and as we were leaving Capel, Matt (Tracy’s husband) decided that we needed to taste abalone which is an expensive delicacy. So they came to our campsite armed with snorkelling gear and took us to a lovely spot on the coast. We had to scramble of lots of large rocks to get to the water’s edge and I certainly wouldn’t have liked to be entering here as there was quite a swell. Matt spent about an hour finding abalone while we enjoyed the sunshine and the scenery. You are only allowed to collect them at certain times of the year and you are limited to 20 per dive. We then went back to our camp for the best part – preparing and eating.


Matt removed the innards, then pounded them with a mallet, rolled them in flour, added some garlic and chilli and voila! We had a gourmet meal. I must say the abalone itself actually didn’t have much flavour but with all the added condiments they were nice.

The next day we decided to explore the rugged coastline. The cliffs along this coast
consist of limestone and as most of the area is national park the drive into each little seaside hamlet is pretty with the vegetation dotted with wildflowers. We came to a little beach called Gracetown which is a good surfing beach. There is one shop and a few houses. This is where a young surfer was taken by a shark about a month before. The beach was closed and shark warnings everywhere but still a few guys were surfing. From the lookout we saw some whales.

The next beach was Prevelly which is at the head of the Margaret River. By now it was quite blustery and the surf was pounding on the shore. You can imagine how rough it would be when the winds are really strong as often happens in this area.

We continued on passing through some beautiful forests of the Karri Tree and then came to a place that sells magnificent timber products. We saw some stunning tables made from Karri as well as Marri and Jarrah. All these timbers grow in the south west of WA and are all very hard wood.

We then visited a winery which had a beautiful formal garden and some magnificent roses. There was a very posh
dining room and Brian decided he wanted some dessert (which was very expensive.) We ordered trifle to share. Look what we got but gosh it tasted good.


There is lots of beautiful countryside around Margaret River with green fields, cows and sheep grazing and some stunning trees. Of course the wineries and chalets are dotted everywhere as well as the magnificent coastline. A walk from Cape to Cape takes you right along the coast and takes about 5 days. A road runs parallel to the coast but to get to any of the beaches you have to drive in and out through the national park.
After a busy day we were glad to get back to our peaceful campsite overlooking the rolling green pastures. To get there we had to pass through tall forest brightened by wildflowers
.
The next day was overcast, raining and very blustery and we were heading to Augusta and Cape Leeuwin which it the very tip of WA where the Indian Ocean meets the Southern Ocean.

On the way down we stopped at Mammoth Cave and I went on a self guided tour with an audio set which explained all about the cave. It is a massive cave in which they found important fossils which are evidence of the existence of giant kangaroo wombats and lizards in the area. A board walk took you through a gigantic cavern and I was feeling a little uncomfortable thinking of the fragility of the limestone and being the day the Chilean miners were rescued.

From here we passed through beautiful karri forest again and then went into a beautiful little bay called Hamlin Bay where there is only a caravan park. The limestone cliffs are very fragile and can collapse without warning. A large island near the shore added to the scene.

On to Augusta and out to Cape Leeuwin where we were surprised to see lots of people on mountain bikes and found out there was a four day bike race starting from here and going to Cape Naturaliste. It was very very windy and cold.
The historic lighthouse is very important as this is a very dangerous part of the coastline with rocks and reefs waiting to ensnare passing ships. You can really see
where the two oceans meet and the waves seem to crash together. The lighthouse is the tallest on the mainland, was built in 1895 and sits on the tip of this spectacular peninsula. You can look out at a huge bay but it was misty because of the inclement weather.

Back in Augusta we called into Flinders Bay which was named after Matthew Flinders. A little information area here showed some historic photos of ships at the jetty and the importance of the timber industry in those days.

We had an Augusta pie from the bakery which was delicious and then headed back to the campsite.