The beauty of this region is unmistakable.
We were fortunate to have had accommodation with my cousin in Cowaramup, a quaint little town 11km from Margaret River, and a perfect base to explore this part of the world. It was easy to become proper tourists, snapping photos at every opportunity and planning day trips to the many attractions in this neck of the woods. Our enthusiasm for exploring was only tempered by the exorbitant cost of everything - the locals have coined it "Mark-up Margaret River" - very apt!
We spent a few days around Busselton's foreshore, enjoying the beautiful beaches and magnificent jetty. (You even get charged to walk along the jetty!) The dog beach beside the main swimming area was a bonus and the dogs spent hours with us in the clear, cool waters as we snorkelled and swam. We were fortunate enough to spot quite a few friendly ocean dwellers including dolphins, turtles, fish and a sting ray.
We whiled away an afternoon at the newly opened Beer Farm in Cowaramup - a child and dog friendly brewery with the most incredible old fashioned slippery slide made from plastic sheeting that hurtled the kids down the side of the hill at a respectably speedy (but not too dangerous) pace! They repeated the ritual climb up the steep hill for hours, only stopping when we needed to head home for dinner. Even the other patrons were exhausted just watching them! (Unfortunately their beer and cider were nothing to write home about but we'd definitely give them 5 stars for providing a genuinely inviting environment for all members of a modern family!)
We marvelled at the ancient Jewel Cave in Augusta. The tour guide, Tom, was fantastic with the kids, keeping them busy with regular 'instructions' on how to help lead our group around the underground maze of interconnected caverns. The kids were convinced they were keeping us all safe, and more importantly, keeping the crystals safe from prying fingers! At one point, furtherest from the opening, Tom tuned off all the light sources, leaving us to ponder how dark and treacherous the cave was to the first explorers (and the poor animals who were unfortunate enough to fall down surface holes and plummet into this unforgiving and unfamiliar underground landscape.) Jewel cave was only discovered in 1956, more than 50 years after many of the others in the region. They have since found evidence of many species that were entombed here, including 3 Tasmanian Tigers! The scale of both the cave and the stalactites & stalagmites was incredible when you consider the time it takes for them to form. Jewel Cave is also famous for the bizarre and gravity defying helictites - crystals that grow sideways rather than 'up or down'.
We toured the Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse in Augusta, the tallest lighthouse on mainland Australia. The naval navigation aid is still in use today but is now fully automated. It was one of the last lighthouses to change to automation, taking until 1992 to do so. It was converted from kerosene to electricity in 1982 but not fully automated until a decade later. Visitors can climb to the top of the 176 stairs, as we did, and enjoy the spectacular views over the vast and perilous waters where the Southern and Indian Oceans meet. The traditionally designed lighthouse is 120 years old but still stands seemingly untouched by time, providing safe passage to ships who travel in the dangerous seas below. There were more than 20 shipwrecks prior to building the lighthouse and only one since.
The lighthouse tower and keepers cottages were built from locally quarried limestone and granite but the steel for the staircase, the crystal lenses and other materials were imported from England...twice - the first ship sank! The full project cost about $7,500 pounds to build in 1896 but apparently the current cost to replace just the crystal lenses would be in excess of $10 million! Luckily ships have other navigation instruments to help their voyages today should the crystals ever get damaged! The massive lenses sit on a bed of mercury and are now powered by 1000 watt halogen globes that have the equivalent of 1,000,000 candle power, visible up to 47 km out to sea!
Life as a lighthouse keeper in the early years was particularly tough and the average tenure for the men was about 18 months. I suspect their wives and children may have had some influence on their decisions to 'move on' - the conditions they endured were horrible. One of the cottages is rumoured to be haunted by the ghost of one wife who died at the Cape. The interminable gale force winds would be enough to drive a sane person mad and the isolation before proper roads were built must have added to their harsh, laboured lives. Ahhh...thank whatever God floats your boat for the comforts of modern life!
We'd been told about the opportunity to hand feed some sting rays at Hamlin Bay...FREE. We were a little skeptical about what 'free' meant - everything else we'd done had eaten a fair chunk of our budget but we took the chance and headed down on a cool and overcast day. We'd forgotten to pick up some 'food' along the way but thought a 'close encounter' would be as good as a feeding opportunity. Fortuitously, Jesse found a massive fish carcass that had obviously been discarded by a fisherman earlier that day. We grabbed our filleting knife and cut chunks of meat to entice the rays into the shallows. A huge but graceful ray swam past a few times but wasn't tempted by our offerings. Slowly, a little crowd of equally doubtful tourists gathered and paddled around with us trying to glimpse the smaller but cheekier beasts who had begun to arrive, perhaps invited by the larger one who'd deemed us 'safe'. (A backpacker had recently speared one of the gentle creatures but thankfully was promptly deported from Australia for this act of incredible cruelty) Whether they were waiting for a large enough audience to 'perform', or whether it was through hunger, they eventually began to eat from our hands. The kids squealed with delight as the rays' mouths 'vacuumed' up the tasty fish morsels. They seemed unbothered by the frenzy of human hands darting into the water to touch their leathery skin. Finally, the food ran out and the rays quietly disappeared out to sea. It really was a magical experience! (and we're still amazed it was free!)
We were grateful for the hospitality shown by Jenni, Darren and Sienna. It was really lovely to laze about on their deck overlooking the dam, sharing a few glasses of wine and catching up on life over the past few years. It was also nice to be joined by my dear Aunty Glen for some of these chinwags. Her and her partner Colin have also been touring around Oz so we compared experiences and shared stories of being on the road. While we were there, we took the opportunity to leave the camper at Jenni & Darren's farm, drop the dogs off in a pet retreat (it really was a retreat..you should have seen their 'resort hotel' rooms!!) and head down to Albany for a few manic days of touring. More about that in my next blog entry. With the second instalment of my root canal due, we reluctantly left this little piece of paradise and headed back to Perth.
...The kids have already asked "when can we return!"
From left to right
just one of the magnificent sunsets from Jenni & Darren's deck
Bodhi admiring Jenni & Darren's beautiful property from the dam's jetty
The kids with 'farmer' Darren after feeding the day old calf
Our gracious hosts, Darren and Jenni (centre) with my Aunty Glen (back right)
On one of the many cows that grace the Cowaramup township. Apparently since the Council decided to add an assortment of cows along the main street, "Cow town", as it's become known attracts thousands more tourists!
The Busselton jetty
the kids on the Busselton jetty
the amazing swimming facilities on Busselton beach
Hailey swimming in Busselton beach - yes it really is that clear!
Hailey and Gemma playing in Busselton beach
the kids hurtling down the slippery slide at the Beer Farm - adults are banned...apparently too many 'incidents' when they first opened involving grown-ups who'd had a few too many!!
Bodhi at the Beer Farm - pleading to go and annoy the resident goats!
Jewel Cave
Jewel Cave
Jewel Cave
The Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse
The kids at the top of the lighthouse
Michael, Gemma and me at the top of the lighthouse
the view across the ocean from the top of the lighthouse - the rock you see in the middle of the picture is where the Southern and Indian Oceans collide
Tashi and Gemma feeding the sting rays
Gemma patting a ray
Jesse feeding a ray