Margaret River 1st – 7th January 2015

7th January 2015

We started the day undertaking a few chores and then headed off down south to Augusta so that Mike could go windsurfing in the Blackwood River estuary. This was right at the mouth of the river and separated from the sea by an isolated stretch of sand dune.

Almost as soon as we arrived we spotted a couple of dolphins in the water with swimmers, canoeists and SUPs. The water looked really shallow and they got a lot of attention.

Out towards the sea there were plenty of kite surfers but initially not any windsurfers.

Eventually one emerged from the south. As soon as Mike got his gear rigged and entered the water it was clear why there were more kite surfers than windsurfers. The sand dune over which the wind was blowing into the estuary was causing major low level gusts, which disturbed the airflow to make it difficult to windsurf.  The kites, however, were flying well above the dunes so had better laminar air flow. Mike switched down from a 5.7m to 4.7m sail but still found the windsurfing arm wrenching.

Mike & kites in Augusta

Beach kit in Augusta

In the evening we took dinner at the Settlers Tavern, by far the liveliest place in Margaret River in an evening.  Getting a meal is quite a procedure but the staff are always friendly and the food is good. Most evenings they have live music and this evening was no exception since it was “open mic” night. The music was quite reasonable, although somewhat spoilt, by many people talking quite loudly over the music. 

6th January 2015

Margaret River Golf Club

We spent the day honing our golf skills at the Margaret River Golf Club about 7km outside Margaret River and towards the coast.

The locals stand in awe!

We had booked the day before and told that we could start before 10:30am due to the fact that a competition would be taking place. Well I am not sure how many were playing but it couldn’t have been more than a handful.  Nevertheless, the club pro was exceedingly friendly and keen to please. 

At one point during the game a bull ant about 25mm long walked over Mike's ball as he was about to hit it. Mike waited and the ant retreated but then got back on at which point Mike decided to wait no longer and sent the ball and ant on a joint flight!

Bunker steward!

The course was well manicured and not busy at all so we had no one immediately following us nor in front apart of the kangaroos, who largely kept on munching the grass.  However, I noted from the local rules that one can take relief from kangaroo scrapings!

5th January 2015

The temperature was predicted to be high today in Margaret River, around 36C, and we knew this in advance so a couple of days ago we booked an all-day wine tasting session with Bushtuckers Tours knowing that we would be mostly inside. Furthermore, the tour promised to be different to the normal highbrow experience that one typically gets so we were keen to give it a try.

We travelled slightly north of Margaret River to start the tour passing some of the famous vineyards such as Vasse Felix and Cullens.  

Seductive painting in Laurance's toilet 

In the morning we sampled a range of different wines visiting the Laurence and the Knotting Hill Vineyard taking lunch at the latter, which included both kangaroo and crocodile. 

Laurance Vineyard

Knotting Hill Vineyard

After lunch we visited additional vineyards including the Killerby and Winemaker’s cooperative. We also visited the Liqueur Factory, on the site of The Grove Vineyard, where we were served a range of ports and cocktails by an entertaining non-PC Australian barman. This was followed by visits to the Cheese and Chocolate Factories. Inside the Chocolate Factory the temperature was so high it was difficult to separate the chocolate drops from the sampling spoon.  

Chocolate Factory

Finally we ended up at the Cheeky Monkey Brewery & Cidery where they brew beers and ciders. We sampled a pallet of 5 “micro-beers” and two ciders.

Cheeky Monkey beer & cider pallet

All-in-all an entertaining day but not sure we are any closer to choosing the ultimate wine!

On the route back Mike spotted a herd of deer in a couple of fields, the first we had seen in the whole of Australia.

4^th January 2015

We started the day after breakfast with a walk along the Margaret River but this time going west towards the coast. Most of the walk was within woods although they aren’t so thick that light doesn’t enter. On the route we found a relatively large unidentified lizard on a path.

Unknown lizard

In the afternoon we headed south down to Hamelin Bay. I thought I spotted the fin of a dophin or shark close into the beach but on closer inspection I realised that it was a couple of black sting rays. Soon everyone was checking them out. One of the fishes was at least 1m in width.  These are incredible creatures sensing the electrical signals from their prey’s muscles and nerves.

Black Sting Ray

From Hamelin Bay we stopped off at Contos rocks, accessed over the last 5km by an unmade road, and Redgate Beach all south of Prevelly.

Sheila at Contos rocks

On the road back we saw quite a few kangaroos in the fields.

3rd January 2015

After breakfast Mike spotted a largish skink, around 9" long, in the grounds where we are staying, apparently there is a family of 5 – not noted as part of the advertising campaign! 

After breakfast we headed down south towards Augusta to see the Leeuwin light house and the point where the Southern Ocean meets the Indian Ocean and the most SW point of the continent. 

Leeuwin Lighthouse

Great Oceans meet

Just along the coast from the light house were possible spots for windsurfing that Mike was keen to check out. Along this coastline in 1986 114 “False Killer” whales were stranded and it took a lot of hard work by the locals to save 96 of the 114.

Augusta architecture

Surfing playground! 

Late afternoon found us heading along Jindong Treeton Road, which runs parallel with the Busselton to Margaret River Road, to meet up with Keren and Bruce, who for many years had run a beef farm rearing red Angus. 

Mike & Sheila meet up with Keren & Bruce

Red Angus

They are friends of Liz and David and had suggested that we call in to see them. The grass around house was bustling with crickets and for once they were relatively easy to spot. Keren & Bruce were extremely welcoming and Bruce took us on a tour of the farm using his John Dere Gator vehicle and we spotted our first  WA kangaroo. 

John Dere Gator ride

On the way back from the farm we spotted a field with around 50 kangaroos, more that we had ever seen so far in a single location.

Kangaroos along Rosa Brook Road

2nd January 2015 

To start the day we took a long walk along Margaret River, inland from the town, mostly through a region where the river was lined with trees. 

Margaret River (near weir)

Lots of orange and black butterflies were present as well as small honeyeater birds . The butterflies were almost impossible to photograph and as soon as they sensed ones presence their wings closed up and they looked just like a dried leaf.  

Common Brown Butterfly

There were also the odd noises in the dead leaves by the side of the path that we decided not to investigate further!

Honeyeater? (Any one have any ideas?)

Suspended in animation!

In the afternoon we headed out to Prevelly on the coast to check out the windsurf spots. This has beautiful sets of waves thrown up by off shore reefs but the wind was relatively light, around 15 knots, and the only action was from kite surfers, although eventually a lone windsurfer ventured out.

In the evening we ate at the Settlers Tavern, which was offering live music.  The food was great, although it took a certain knowledge of the procedure to get a table and food. However, the Dave Mann Collective Band took the best part of 40 minutes to tune their gear, adding to the evening's entertainment, but not particularly tunefully! 

1st January 2015

After cleaning up the house where we had been staying in North Fremantle we headed south towards Margaret River, the centre of Western Australia wine.  

We stopped off in Busselton for a quick break and happened upon the longest pier we have ever seen at 1.9km, the Busselton Jetty. This was built to enable large ships to offload their produce, which was delivered along the jetty via horse drawn wagons.

Busselton Jetty

Arriving in Margaret River it looked as if the town was buzzing with the presence of the rest of Western Australia and the local garage had a continuous stream of cars purchasing petrol.