About Us...

This is a blog about our travels. Sarah and I have been married since September 2012 and thoroughly enjoy each other's company on many travels together. Sarah is an educator nurse while I am a primary school teacher. We have two girls, Ebony and Charlotte who passionately enjoy our many travels together.

Saturday, 24 April 2021

Margaret River and Surrounds 

 A still, calm morning greeted us. With the promise of excellent weather, we left the sleepy township of Walpole and headed further west, toward Margaret River. With a plethora of campsites to choose from, we opted for the Conto Campground in Leewin Naturaliste National Park; another DPAW site. Fortuitously, the Quenda Loop had only one other camper, who kept to themselves.

As the drive was only a short one, we quickly set up and decided to check out Hamelin Bay, and boy, was it worth it! We had seen some videos and heard grand stories about the friendly species of stingrays who frequent the area, searching for food. They are so accustomed to humans, that they seemed oblivious to our presence, that was, until one or two of them decided to give in to curiosity and swam close to Sarah. What a magical experience, nothing like we had done before. Initially, the girls were incredibly hesitant to go anywhere near the stingrays; fearing, perhaps that they may be stung. After some coercion and encouragement they finally got closer and joined in the excitement. Well done girls! I am so glad you got to experience this with us. Sarah and I agreed on the walk out that Hamelin Bay was our new favourite beach of the trip so far; trumping that of Hellfire Bay in Cape Le Grand. Big call, but one that felt right.






From  there, we returned to camp and enjoyed a night by the fire. As you can imagine, the girls have both developed their own logical and mathematical equation when it comes to fires. Camping + Fires = toasting marshmallows. No ifs, buts, maybes or grey areas. This is simply, on their terms, a perfect and true equation. Who were we to argue?

The following morning, we awoke and made for the bustling township of Busselton. Boasting the southern hemisphere’s longest timber jetty, Busselton is a trendy place, with beautiful beaches, coffee shops and a fantastic foreshore area. The weather was perfect and we enjoyed a walk along the 1.86 kilometre jetty at a cost of about $20 dollars. We politely declined a look at the underwater marine sanctuary at the end of the jetty, as it was a cost of about $60 for a measly 15 minutes.

Eagle Bay was our next destination. More turquoise waters welcomed us along with a lot of unwelcomed seaweed, making it difficult to swim here. A quick lunch and drive later, we arrived at the Injidup Natural Spa; a peculiar rock formation which, due to the funnel effect of the rocks, creates a water pool somewhat reminiscent of a spa bath. How cool! We spent about an hour here enjoying the water and the surprising abundance of marine life before Charlotte’s lips turned blue.

The final stop for the day – Simmo’s Ice Creamery. Oh, mah lord! Boasting over 60 flavours of artisan goodness, we were in indulgent heaven. Words cannot describe how incredibly delectable they were. The choices:

Ebony – Double blackberry swirl

Charlotte – Bubblegum

Sarah – Caramel Malteaser and Benoffee Pie

Ryan – Pistachio and Caramel Pecan Crunch.


Exhausted from the day’s adventures, yet elated at being able to experience it all, we returned to our mobile home and had an early night.

The following day was our final one in Margaret River, so we opted to explore one of the many caves. Sadly, it cost us $68 as a family to visit one cave, so we simply could not afford to visit them all. Mammoth Cave was our choice, as it was a self-guided option. We arrived and were greeted by a friendly tour operator who explained the process to us and handed us each a set of headphones and a remote containing a number of pre-recorded messages. Each of these corresponded with numbers along the tour. We had to simply punch in the numbers into our remote and our ears would be inundated with some educational message. It was most enjoyable and the girls loved it!

Following the adventures at Mammoth Cave, we took a short, 20 minute walk from the campsite to Lake Cave. Politely declining the almost $70 entry fee, we were able to check out the viewing platform and the informative information centre, which gave a good description of the history of the area, along with information about local flora and fauna species.

Finally, a trip to the Margaret River Chocolate Company was, without a doubt, an absolute necessity for us. I had the girls convinced that we were going to a winery to sample some special wines derived from the cacao plant. Safe to say the look of surprise, elation and excitement on the girls’ faces were great! We enjoyed a ‘real hot chocolate’ together and reflected on our fantastic time at Margaret River.

Our time in the Southwest had come to an end. What an amazing place. The incredible turquoise waters, quirky townships, plethora of wineries, breweries and speciality foods at every turn, along with enough tourist sites to necessitate weeks upon weeks of travel and exploration, make for a near perfect place. Shame we only had four full days here, but we certainly made the most of it.  

Onward to the thriving metropolis of Perth!

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