Busselton, Margaret River and Nannup

Busselton, Margaret River and Nannup

When leaving Perth we realised we weren’t going to be able to do it all but we were not prepared for how much there is to do in the South West.  We just called into Bunbury for a day stop and had a little look at the Dolphin Discovery Centre but the kids were more impressed with the park that had a flying fox and a water station to play with.  That night we did a free camp with the resident ‘boxing kangaroo’ that likes to roam the campsite in the hope for food.  The next day we made our way to Busselton and found a great camp in a paddock at a Lawn Farm!  From here we were able to explore what this area had to offer.  Of course, a trip to Busselton is not complete without a trip down the 1.8km long jetty on the little train!  Once you reach the end of the Jetty you get off the train and explore the underwater observatory.  This is a building that is underwater and allows you to look at the marine life and stay warm and dry.  We learnt that all the sea life that has grown on the pylons on building has formed naturally, and that the observatory has just provided a place for them to grow.  The colours were amazing and it was pretty awesome to stand at the window where the tide line was and see the waves rolling on top and the fish swimming just below.  Once we finished at the observatory it was back on the train to get back to the start of the jetty.  At the Information Centre there was also the Ballarrat Room that we went to look at.  This is the history of rail in the Busselton area and how the town has now preserved the original train that used to haul the timber from the Busselton area.  The Ballarrat is now on display with many stories about its history and families that used to play on it when it was just parked up after it had be decommissioned. While in Busselton we also went and explored the Origins Markets, and we were able to taste some local produce and we managed to find some Banh Mi rolls!

We spent another day exploring the coastline around Busselton. We spent the day going to the Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse where we went on a nice walk around the headland and then went to see the Lighthouse.  The wind was blowing a gale and it was freezing!  On our way home we continued to follow the coastline and stopped in at Castle Rock, Bunker Bay and many other beautiful beaches.  After teasing Emmalisa all day with these beautiful beaches, we let her have a swim in the afternoon, but even she admitted it was a bit cold.

We also had a go at Archery while we were in Busselton.  This was something different that we hadn’t done before, and we had a great time.  Glen was the clear winner on the day, but Haydan and Emmalisa also did very well.  It was a bit of a test of strength for Emmalisa as it is quite hard to pull the bow string back far enough to release the arrow.  As for Laura, it is fair to say that archery is not her sport.  Her aim was very off and more often than not she had to rely on the directions from Glen to tell her where to aim (otherwise the arrows were all heading well into the bush!)  When we got back the instructors did say that for some people the brain plays tricks on you when you close one eye to aim.  This made Laura feel a bit better as she thought there was something seriously wrong with her eyesight!

The weather was not always kind to us in Busselton, there was one morning when we started cooking bacon and eggs for breakfast and then it started to rain!  So that morning we were cooking breakfast under a beach umbrella!  Overnight it was also very cold so we all got out the warm PJs and thermals!  Despite this we enjoyed our time here.

It was then on to Margaret River, and as we were driving through this region it was very clear that we were in a wine region.  It felt like we passed a winery every few kilometres!  On our way into Margaret River, we stopped off at Canal Rocks.  This is a natural rock formation that over time the tide and ocean currents have worn away canals in the rocks.  You can go for a walk over one of the canals via a little bridge then you can walk along the rocks to explore the other canals.  From here we then went to explore Injidup Natural Spa.  This is once again where nature shows its beauty and creates a natural spa as the waves flow into the rockpool.  We then continued on our way into Margaret River via the Chocolate Shop!  We enjoyed some afternoon tea compliments of the samples and looked at all the amazing and delicious chocolates.  This was put on the list as a place we need to come back to, but we needed to find a place to stay so we kept moving.  We did find another great place to stay, this time it was in a paddock at a winery and came complete with ‘our own dog, A.J’! (the dog that lives at the winery) A.J camped with us for 2 nights before his owners took him to Perth with them! There were also horses in the paddock, and we were so excited to find out that one of the horses was pregnant!  We were told that she would have the foal in a few weeks.  You can imagine how excited we all were when we went to visit the horses one morning and there was the foal with his mother only hours old! As you can guess, we spent some time at the fence watching the mother and her foal!

While at the winery Glen and Laura did a wine tasting but not being wine drinkers found the information and conversation about wine more enjoyable than the wine itself.  The next day we went and explored some to the surf beaches that Margaret River is so famous for.  It was fascinating watching the surfers at the surf breaks catch the waves and ride them in.  That day they were also doing some controlled burns in the area and a thick blanket of smoke came over the town and it became quite dark and eerie.  So, we decided to go to Lake Cave and do the cave tour.  This one is the smaller of the 4 caves that you can explore but we were fascinated to learn about the cave environment and how they are formed and continue to live and grow today.  We had fun playing the guessing game with the guide and try to guess the shapes in the rocks, I must say we were pretty good at that game.  The tour then finished with a light show in the cave to highlight its features.

We also went back and retraced our steps from the first day as we wanted to check out the Spa Pool again and of course Emmalisa wanted to have a swim there.  We then went back to the chocolate shop to check that the samples were still alright, but we also bought a selection of the chocolates to try for dessert.  As we made our way home, we went for a walk through a quaint little town called Cowaramup or as it is more affectionately known, ‘Cowtown’.  We enjoyed a yummy lunch at a bakery and browsed the little shops.

The next day was a big day as we drove down to Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse.  On the way there we stopped off at Hamelin Bay where the Stingrays come right up close to the shore, and you can get close enough to pat them!  It was amazing to see them interact with us.  We then continued on to the light house and the first thing we looked at was the old water wheel that was built to supply the lighthouse keepers with fresh water.  The ingenuity that necessity brought about in those times is to be admired, a lot can be learnt from our pioneers.  Unfortunately when we got to the lighthouse we found out we couldn’t climb it due to maintenance being done.  We could walk around the precinct and we learnt a lot about a lighthouse keepers life at the interpretive centre.  We were also able to go to the point where the Southern Ocean meets the Indian Ocean.  As it seems all lighthouses are built on windy points so after a windswept look at the lighthouse, we made our way back via Augusta and picked up some local whiting for dinner.  Of course, when Emmalisa saw the water a Flinders Bay, she just had to have a swim.  This was a beautiful bay and protected from the wind.

On our last morning in Margaret River, we went to the Rotary Park and the little heritage village and learnt about the community camps that were set up for the migrants that came to make a new life in Australia. With so much to see and do in the South West we had to move on and we continued on to Nannup.   Just before we got to Nannup we stopped off at Workers Pool and Barrabup Pool.  These are in the National Park and are there from the days of the Timber Mills when the area was bustling with workers and their family.  Workers Pool was where the timber mill families and workers got to go for a swim and relax but Barrabup Pool was just for the timber mill manager and his family to use.  We then went to Nannup and called in to see an artist that showed us his work and he spoke to Emmalisa about how he creates his artwork.  That afternoon we enjoyed once again looking at all the quaint little shops and in one upstairs gallery we lost track of time, and the owner nearly locked us in the shop as she was heading home.  She said we were so quite she thought we had left!  The next morning, we went for a walk along the Blackwood River and were blown away by the flood markers that were on a tree.  In 1982 the flood mark nearly reached to top of the tree, and it looks like the bridge would have also gone under.  It was a nice little walk along the river but after a brief stop here we continued on to Pemberton.

The resident boxing Kangaroo at camp

                

The train on the Busselton Jetty and Emmalisa looking out the window on the train 

                  

Coral on the Pylons and exploring the sea life in the Observatory

 The Busselton Jetty

Cooking breakfast in the rain!

    

At the Archery Range

                

Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse

Emmalisa's afternoon swim

 Canal Rocks

                

Canal Rocks and  Injidup Natural Spa

The smoke coming over Margaret River

Inside Lake Cave

               

                             Mumma with her new foal.                          "Our" camp dog A.J

               

The Stingrays at Hamelin Bay

                

Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse

Two oceans meet

Blackwood River in Nannup

Perth and Fremantle

 Our trip to the ‘big smoke’ saw us catch up with family and bunk in with them so we were definitely able to get out of the wind!  We had a lot of fun in Fremantle with so much to see and do.  From walks along beaches, rivers and the waterfront to looking through museums and historic sites we were on the go most days. 

We went to the Shipwreck Museum and we were all in awe of the Batavia wreck that sunk in 1629 and spent 343 years under the water.  They have since found the wreck and brought parts of it to the surface and put it through a special process so that it could dry out and be preserved.  On the Batavia there were thousands of bricks and a stone archway that has also been brought to the surface and is on display.  The replica archway is in Fremantle but the actual stone archway is on display at the Geraldton Museum.  There was so much information about ships wrecks and the artifacts found on them.  It was amazing to see what they have found on these wrecks and how they have pieced together stories of survival or tragedy.  We also explored the Maritime Museum and learnt a lot about the history of boats, transport, sporting achievements and even some sea creatures.  Again we were lost for hours in here taking in all the information.  We enjoyed the Fremantle Markets and Glen and Laura decided that steamed pork buns and boa buns are their new favourite food! We all enjoyed walking around looking at all the different art, craft and food stalls that were there.  We soon learnt that Fremantle is a great place for food, drinks and eating out with so many cafes and restaurants….and they all smelled delicious.  One night we went out for dinner at Sunshine Harvester Works which is a big food hall that has options to please every member of the family!  It was a very delicious night out!

Another activity that filled our time in Perth was a trip to the Zoo.  Emmalisa especially loved looking at all the animals, but we all agreed our favourite was the elephant enclosure.  We saw the male elephant interacting with his keeper and putting hoops out over traffic cones and then packing them all away and giving them back to the keeper.  The giraffes and the rhino was another highlight and we enjoyed watching them for a while.

We spent the day in Perth City as well just looking at all the shops and being amazed by the window washers hanging from the sky scrapers!  We did the Willie Creek Harvest Your Own Pearl Tour but we were very disappointed to find that we had no pearl in our shell.  So we all left that quite deflated.  So on we went to the Perth Mint.  This was a great tour where the golden rule is ‘don’t run’ because it looks very suspicious when there is so much gold around!  We saw a $1,000,000 coin that was actual legal tender!  However, the fact that it was made out of 1 tone of gold, the gold was worth more than the coin!  We also all got on the scales to find out our ‘weight in gold’ and what we are worth in gold. As a family we are worth a bit over 20 million dollars!  We also went into Perth one night for the Christmas festivities and the Drone Show.  We had fun soaking up the atmosphere of street performers, hula hoop workshops and a roaming brass band.  The drone show started off amazing and was spectacular to see, but as the show went on it was clear something went wrong as the drones just kept dropping out of the sky.  They lost about 50 drones into the Swan River. Even though the show didn’t go to plan we still really enjoyed it.

Our most exciting and adventurous thing we did while in Fremantle was go to Adventure World.  This is a big park with water slides and rides, a grand prix track, roller coasters and other scary rides.  We had so much fun here.  We were all brave enough to go on the Kraken which saw the drop vertically down a water slide and then get thrown from one side of the funnel to the other!  We were all very scared on this ride but had the biggest adrenalin rush when we got off!  We loved going down all the waterslides on tubes and mats and once again Laura faced her fears and went down the waterslides (mostly with her eyes closed!)  The grand finale of the day was when we all went on our first roller coaster ride!  We screamed, laughed cheered and sat in stunned silence as we went around the course!  We were all glad we did it but some of us were not so sure we would go on a roller coaster again!

We loved our time in the ‘city’ as it was very different to what we have seen and done so far on this trip.  We are now going to head off and explore the South West of Western Australia!

The Batavia on display

We all learnt so much at the Shipwreck Museum

A Submarine on display at the Maritime Museum

The elephants were a favourite at the zoo

Enjoying a day in the city

The 1 Million Dollar coin

Enjoying the Christmas festivities in the city

The Drone Show

The Kraken

We had fun on all the waterslides

Our first roller coaster ride!

Exmouth to Perth

 We were very surprised when we got to Exmouth as to how much there is to see and do.  We thought we would just visit for a few days and do some snorkelling and then continue on, but we ended up staying for 8 days!  We loved the snorkelling at Turquoise Bay in what they call the Drift Loop.  This is where you get in the water at one end of the beach and the current helps you drift along the coral reef to the other end of the beach.  At this point you get out and do it all again.  We also enjoyed some snorkelling at the Oyster Stacks.  We were all amazed at how beautiful the reef was and how many fish we got to see.  It was like we were swimming in an aquarium.  We saw a turtle on the bottom of the ocean, a bait ball with hundreds of fish, coral in many shapes and forms and fish in every colour of the rainbow!  It is also turtle breeding season and we were able to go to the beach where they lay their eggs and see the turtle tracks and nests. We were also lucky enough to see the turtles resting in the water.  We also went to the turtle discovery park and learnt more about the breeding and life cycles of turtles.

Something that surprised us was that there was more to Exmouth than just snorkelling and the reef.  We went and saw the lighthouse and learnt about the history and the story of the early lighthouse keepers.  We also went to look at the shipwreck of the SS Mildura that sank just offshore.  This boat also boasts being the most shot at boat by submarines as every sub that went past it during the war shot at it for target practice.  Despite this you can still see a fair bit of the wreck.  We were also surprised to learn that Exmouth was first built and established so the Americans could set up a naval communications base for their military.  It was a joint agreement by the US and Australian governments and the 2 nations lived and worked side by side for many years with the American base being a little patch of USA on Australian soil.  They had their own little ‘town’ complete with cinema and shopping centre that imported all their goods from America and operated in US dollars!  However, the Australian government stipulated that they had to build their residential living in the town of Exmouth and not at the Base to help establish the town of Exmouth.  The communications base has now been handed back to Australia and it is now called Naval Communication Station Harold E Holt.  The only evidence of the American community having lived here are the signs to remind you to drive on the left-hand side of the road!  We also spent a morning at the Discovery Centre and Aquarium.  This was a very informative display that covered everything from cyclones Vance to the local flora and fauna and the sea life as well as stories about locals that helped to either colonise the area or went to war to help protect our country.

The highlight of our time at Exmouth was the day we all became ‘Top Gun Pilots’…. or at least we felt like it.  We all went on a TIF (Training Instructional Flight) on a micro light plane, basically a bike with wings and a motor!  Haydan and Laura were very nervous about this adventure but were very pleased they did it.  We all loved seeing Exmouth from the air and were very lucky to see a large number of turtles resting in the water or on the beach.  We were able to fly over the canyons and we all got a turn a flying the microlight!  Well sort of…. Glen and Haydan took to it and loved it, Laura got scared and handed to controls back pretty quickly but was assured by the instructor that he never once feared for his life and poor Emmalisa was keen as mustard to have a go but was too short to reach the controls!  We really enjoyed our time in Exmouth except for the wind that never stopped! 

Once we left Exmouth we head to Coral Bay, on arriving here we were once again greeted by the wind.  We had a look around the little town and decided to keep heading along the coast because with the wind it was not much good for snorkelling or beach days.  We then headed to the Quobba Blowholes.  When we got here it was even windier!  We couldn’t even see the blowholes because the waves were crashing into the rocks so hard that it was just a wash with huge white waves crashing.  We didn’t feel it was safe enough to get out of the car.  We then went to find a place that was protected by the dunes to camp.  We set up the camper tailer and then continued to feel the wind howl and the camper was swaying and bending in the pressure of the wind.  So, we decided to pack up and headed to Canarvon.  We set up camp here and again endured another night of howling winds.  However, at Canarvon we spent the hours at the Canarvon Space and Technology Museum.  We were fascinated to see all the memorabilia of Australia’s involvement in the Apollo Space Missions and all the famous astronauts that have visited the museum.  We learnt so much about how Australia helped in the moon landing mission and the other space missions that followed.  We spent a lot of time in the science and technology part of the museum where we tried our hands and minds at different scientific challenges.  We all had a go at landing a space shuttle in the simulator with mixed success but its fair to say we could all do with a little to a lot more training! Glen and Haydan were pleased to dominate the leader board on the old school Space Invaders arcade game while Laura and Emmalisa did the challenge quiz “Are you a Scientist?”  Unfortunately the highest we got to was Lab Assistant so we may have to study a little more to become a scientist. 

After another windy night at Canarvon we went to Wooramel Station.  Here we camped by the upside-down river.  This is because the river bed is dry and is remains dry for most of the year but the water is actually running 2-3 meters below the surface.  There is a tree in the river bed that is called The Wonderful Tree and if you put your ear up to it you can hear the water running below the surface.  (the tree is a hollow tree which is why you can hear the water)  The main reason we stopped here though was because of the artesian pools.  We all enjoyed a hot soak in the pools that are filled by the artesian bore with a temperature of 33°!  This was quite a contrast to the cold water we have been swimming. 

From Wooramel Station we made our way the Denham.  It was here we went to the Fire on the Water Exhibition. This was one of the most powerful exhibitions we have seen on our trip.  This is a short 3D film that tells the story of the battle between the HMAS Sydney II and the HSK Kormoran when they met in 1945.  We all left the exhibition and were moved by what took place on that fateful night where all the Australians on board the HMAS Sydney II lost their lives.  We then went through the discovery centre and once again we were lost for hours in the history of the Western Australian coast line.  The stories of survival, colonisation, war and shipwrecks never disappoint and there is always something new we learn.  Emmalisa and Laura spent some time also learning about how they are rehabilitating Dirk Hartog Island and how they are reintroducing the native species back to the island.  From Denham we went to Monkey Mia which is famous for the dolphins that come close to shore.  We were lucky enough to see a pod of dolphins playing in the water and we also got to get close to the pelicans. We then did the Ocean Park Aquarium tour that taught us all about the marine life in the Shark Bay area.  The highlight of this tour was Max the Mulloway that spat water all over Emmalisa who went home soaking wet!

We then made our way to Kalbarri and enjoyed some more walks in the National Park.  The part we all enjoyed was the Sky Walk, they are 2 platforms that are cantilevered 100m in the air over the gorge.  It made quite a spectacular view.  Of course a visit to The Kalbarri National park is also not complete without getting a photo at Nature’s Window! We then continued our way down the coast and stopped at Port Gregory to see the Pink Lake and the Lynton Convict Hiring Depot historic site to look at the ruins.  We then went to Sandy Bay where the kids just enjoyed playing on the beach and of course Emmalisa went for a swim.  It was here that we also got to see our first Sea Lion swimming in the water not far from where the kids were playing.  There was also a big sand dune that Glen and the kids enjoyed racing down on the boggie board.  This was just the warmup for our next stop, Lancelin.

On our way to Lancelin we stopped at Nambung National Park to look at the Pinnacles Desert.  This is a desert made up of thousands of huge limestone pillars that rise up from the yellow sand.  It was an incredible site to see and as we walked through the discovery centre we learnt that scientist are not sure how they formed but have 2 theories that they continue to research.  I was then on to Lancelin.  Lancelin is famous for its sand dunes and sandboarding is one of the activities you can do on the dunes.  So, we hired some sandboards and away we went.  It proved to be a little harder than we thought and it took us a bit to get going but by the end we were all covered in sand and had made some good runs down the dunes.  Unfortunately for Haydan things didn’t end well when he came off his board on the last run and landed quite heavily, headfirst into the sand!  We all went back to camp covered in sand, legs burning (from climbing back up the sand dunes) and some of us with a headache!

The last few weeks have been very busy and we have been constantly battling the wind.  We head to Perth now to see what the city has to offer…..and hopefully get out of the wind.

Getting ready to go snorkelling at the Drift Loop

Underwater at the Drift Loop

The colour of the coral was amazing

Haydan in the Microlight

Emmalisa enjoying her Microlight flight

A view of the reef

Haydan in the sky with an Air Force Carrier!

Dolphins, pelicans (and seagulls) at Monkey Mia

We had to agree with the sign at Quobba Blowholes!

Learning at the Canarvon Space Museum

The satellite dish that was instrumental in the moon landing.

Enjoying the artesian baths at Wooramel Station

Sky Walk - Kalbarri

Natures Window - Kalbarri

Kalbarri National Park

Pink Lake

The Pinnacles

Sandboarding at Lancelin