November 13 to November 20
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| Cape Mentelle BBQ, I'm a shadow of my former self |
We were so fortunate and appreciative to have Ed and Pam
host us for 5 days in the heart of Margaret River. Not only did they have a
near perfect parking spot for our motorhome, they made sure we saw the best of
the region. We timed our visit pretty well as the region’s population grows
from about 30,000 for nine months of the year, to over 100,000 from December
through February. I had spent a few days here some 22 years ago surfing with
Ed, it was interesting to visit some of the beaches and bays from that trip and
seeing the way the tourism and development has changed the region in that time.
Sunday started with breakfast at the beach café at Prevelly,
some local four wheel drive touring, afternoon tea with a group of Ed and Pam’s
friends, then a BBQ dinner on a secluded beach near Cape Mentelle. Seriously,
one of the great days of the trip so far.
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| Cape Mentelle BBQ, what a spot. |
The surf swell had built through Sunday, and Monday was epic
three metre plus and off shore winds. Too big for my taste these days but Ed
and the local crew made the most of the conditions.
Monday we did an organised winery tour, which included
lunch, four wineries, a brewery, a distillery, a chocolate factory and a cheese
factory. It is the best way to get a taste of the region as you can’t visit all
110 wineries, so we thought we would let someone else choose. With a smallish
group of 16 in the bus, getting picked up and dropped off from the door, it was
outstandingly well run and a super day. To finish the day off we fired up the
wood fired pizza oven at Ed and Pam’s for an outdoor feast to watch the
super-moon.
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| Leah supervising Ed on the cob oven |
Tuesday morning Leah and I drove to Margaret River Point,
and walked the coastal paths from Prevelly to the river mouth. This stretch has
been really well developed as a “surfing reserve” with great parks, walking
tracks, parking and picnic and BBQ facilities.
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| Winery Tour, this was the distillery, very nice! |
After saying our goodbyes we reluctantly departed Ed and
Pam’s on Wednesday. We completed the usual restocking of supplies and drove
south to Augusta, visiting the Karri Forests and Hamelin Bay. The weather was
very ordinary, windy and drizzly and 170C. We still got a short walk
in at Hamelin Bay before checking in at the caravan park in Augusta. We had the
usual washing and chores to catch up on, so booked in for two nights.
The weather slowly improved on Thursday allowing plenty of
walking along the river and coastal front. Augusta has a long history from the
very early whaling ships and then the processing industry in the early 1800’s,
to logging and milling in the late 1800’s through to the mid 1900’s.
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| Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse |
Friday we explored the spectacular coastline that runs south
to Cape Leeuwin, the most south-westerly point in Australia, where the Southern
Ocean and the Indian Ocean meet. From there we headed north-east to Nannup and
out to Barrabup Pool, a secluded camp ground at the site of an old timber mill.
We finally has some warm, sunny weather so we enjoyed a bushwalk and a swim in
this pooled section of the Blackwood River.
Saturday we spent in Nannup, a small but vibrant country
town with interesting historic buildings from the 1820’s timber settlement era.
They had a great picnic area with power points at the tables, so we gathered
the coffee machine, milk frother, etc, and had a “morning tea picnic”.
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| Revelly Bridge Camp Click on the photo to see amongst the trees |
More river and town walks, and a visit to the local markets
where I picked up some “spicy peach chutney”. I have a compulsion to buy
locally made (and interesting) chutneys, so I need to make sure I am eating plenty
to justify each buy. In the afternoon we drove about 10km to Revelly Bridge, an
overnight free camp on the Blackwood River. Very quiet and peaceful, but the
logging machinery in the background of the photo would indicate it might get
noisy during the week.
Sunday morning we continued to drive north-east to Balingup.
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