Our Big Trip 2014: South to the Margaret River Region

After five wonderful days in Perth it was time to move on, so we packed up once again and headed towards the Margaret River Region.

It was only a few kilometres from our caravan park in Gwelup to the entrance of the Mitchell Freeway, which, although changing names several times, took us all the way to Bunbury and then Busselton in a direct line - how easy is that.

We did go via Bunbury but it was such a busy city that we moved through very quickly and decided to go on to Busselton. We just made it into the Kookaburra Caravan Park before a large storm front moved in and there was a major thunderstorm with very heavy rain which lasted for 2 days.

Busselton - is the State's premier seaside resort town.

Sheltered from most prevailing winds, 30kms of white sandy beaches provide an aquatic playground in the tranquil waters of Geographe Bay.

Busselton was one of the earliest settlements in Western Australia. In 1801, a French sailor named Vasse from one of the French Expedition ships Geographe and Naturaliste, was lost during a violent storm in what is now known as Geographe Bay. Subsequently, the river and district were named 'Vasse', the bay 'Geographe', and the cape 'Naturaliste'.

A stormy day on Busselton Jetty

While in Busselton of course we had to take a stroll along the 1.8 kilometre heritage listed Busselton Jetty, the longest timber-piled jetty in the Southern Hemisphere.

The longest timber jetty in the Southern Hemisphere at 1.8 kms

There is a wonderful underwater observatory at the end of the jetty which we were looking forward to descending the 8 metres to view the amazing coral and fish through the viewing windows, but unfortunately due to the storm it had been closed for the day. So after our long jetty walk we retired to the pub for a drink and to watch the footy.

Are we there yet? - only 1km to go............. OH no we have to walk back!

Margaret River Region
The development of the Margaret River Region can be attributed to the Group Settlement Scheme of the 1920's, when some 100 settlers found themselves setting up a variety of industries with the assistance of the Government Scheme.

In the last 20 years the wine industry has continued to develop, with many vineyards producing award winning premium table wines. This helps to supplement the traditional industries of dairying, beef cattle, sheep and other farming products.

Today there are over 200 vineyards and 80 wineries in the region - a remarkable number considering wine was first produced in the region just 35 years ago.

One of 200 vineyards in the region

The Margaret River wine region extends from Busselton in the north to Augusta in the South.

But on to the famous Margaret River, and as far as we were concerned it lived up to all expectations. We fell in love with the countryside with the rolling green hills, the full dams, the trees, the narrow roads, the stunning beaches, the beautiful stands of wild flowers, the chocolate factory, the cheese factory and of course the wineries.

Watershed Winery

We booked a winery tour so we could all participate in the wine tastings without having to fight over who would be the designated driver.

Tasting number???.......... and we are still standing!

Our lovely tour guide, Sue, took us to four different wineries, McHenry Hohnen, Pierro, Watershed and Voyager where we had more than 30 tastings of the most exquisite wines. After visiting the first two wineries Sue surprised us with a fabulous savoury platter to share - a delicious variety of meats, cheeses, dolmades, olives, and crackers, just what we needed before soldiering on to more tastings.

The stunning gardens at Voyager Estate Vineyard

The last winery we visited, 20+ tastings and they had a table for us.........what are they saying?

We also visited the Cheese Factory where we tasted several yoghurts as well as cheeses, and then on to the Chocolate Factory where we were able to sample the white, milk and dark chocolate - Yumm! I have to confess I did join the very long queue to the sample line more than once, I don't think anyone really noticed!! An amazing day all round.

We loved this place

After a very cold night we woke to a bright sunny, first day of Spring.

A beautiful Spring morning on the golf course

So off we went to spend the morning on the beautiful Margaret River Golf Course.

I think I hit it over the water!

I think I can, I think I can!!

The boys played a round while Jude and I enjoyed the walk, working up an appetite.

At the first hole - Jude started off well!!

At the 12th hole - she's feeling it!!

18th hole - is there a doctor on the course?

As this was our last day in Margaret River we thought we should visit just one or two more wineries, why not, so we stopped at Cape Mentelle for more tastings, as it was just near the golf course, and then to