Rottnest Island to Margaret River

After a lovely night spent in the industrial area of Fremantle, we packed up things and headed for the wharf to catch the overly expensive ferry to Rottnest Island. Well the traffic and the return of the Shepherd's Curse (every red light) we managed to get there just in time to see the 10.15am ferry leaving. So after purchasing our tickets for the 11.45am ferry we decided to do a little walking tour through Fremantle, lively little place. Also gave us a chance to do a spot of shopping from Coles.

Well with our lunch freshly made we boarded the ferry for the Island. What a place, you can see why they call it Perth's playground, lots of big flash boats. Obviously the mining tax is not hitting everyone too hard.
Due to the lack of time (missing first ferry) we skipped the bike option and took the hop on hop off bus instead. After circumnavigating the island we settled back in the main town, stopping to look at a few of the attraction.......actually we did 2 and then checked out the pub until our ferry went at 4.30. Even though we were only there for a short time it is definitely somewhere we will look to visit again.

Getting back in to Fremantle at about 5 we headed south towards Mandurah/Dawesville for the night. As usual we got there late and set up just as the sun was setting......surprisingly the wind got up again, as it has for the last few weeks.....must be the Fremantle Doctor or some relative. Was a nice place to stay and the camp was full of people spending a little time fishing ( & crabbing) before the holidays finish. One of the guys had been out that day and had caught 15 crabs, nice of them to share one with us......beautiful and sweet.

In the morning we did a little trip around town and then went to visit an old school friend, I hadn't seen Narelle since she left school at IGGS. Good to catch up and get a little goss on who is doing what. She has now been over here for 20 years and things seem to be agreeing with her, hasn't changed too much at all.

After stopping to pick up a few sand crabs and fresh local squid we head for Bunbury with the plan to stay the night at Bussleton. Bunbury was another popular holiday destination for the Perth crowd and beaches look great. Cindy did a little shopping........and Coles as usual.
Leaving the sights of Bunbury behind we head for our destination for the night, Bussleton.

Staying at the local tourist park, we set up the tent and then headed off to town to see the sites. The major attraction is The Jetty. This has been closed for the last few years and has just had a massive face lift. The Bussleton Festival is on at the moment and the offical opening of the Jetty on the 5th Feb, sadly we will be in Melbourne. Managed to get a few pics and then headed back to cook up a banquet of seafood, actually sandcrab pasta, was pretty good for a campground feed.

Leaving Bussleton behind we continued on towards Dunsborough, stopping at Meelup Beach and Eagle Bay. The water was crystal clear and that blue we have come to associate with the west coast.

From here, Margaret River and wine, wine, wine.........
The drive down Caves Road was very spectacular, driving through forest and bare farm land then coming across lines and lines of bright green vines. I was a good drive down and not too long we arrived at Margaret River and our campsite for the next two nights.
Did a little exploring of town before heading off to the famous surf break to see if we can catch a good sunset. Was not too bad and the scenery was different once again. We set up on the headland and waited, little cheese and sundowners to soak up the time. managed to get some nice shots but the sunset was not as pleasing as we hoped. Back to the campsite as we have a big day in the morning.

Awaking to a great sunny WA day, we indulged in a hearty cooked breakkie...need to line the stomach in preparation for the days adventures. We had booked a tour for the day, visiting 4 wineries, deer farm, chocolate factory, cheese factory and finally a brewery. The first winery Adnifern was owned by a sheep farmer who had had enough of sheep.....made some good wines and managed to get a couple to go. From here we went to another small boutique winery (Edwards), another good selection of wines and if we didn't have to drive all the way home would have purchased a couple of their premium reds, they were very good and not too badly priced. Still got a couple of easy drinking ones and hopefully they will make it home. Next was tasting Bambi at the Venison farm, an interesting selection and very tasty, they had stuff for everyone you could even buy dried deer pissle. Loaded up with everything but the pissile we headed to the next winery for lunch, wine was not too bad and the lunch was nice. Dessert was at our next stop, the chocolate factory where there was a free for all on the sampling station...also got a couple of treats for later. With the day coming to a close we had a couple of late stops, the cheese factory because that is was you need after a day of wine, lunch, chocolate etc etc. and then finished of at one if the breweries in the region.
We were then delivered back to the campsite, well fed and wined, was the best $64 spent and was great not to have had to drive for a day.....think Trev liked the rest as well.

In Summary, Margaret River is somewhere that must be visited again and again and again until all is sampled.