March 21-23
Here we go again. This weekend's trip took us to the Margaret River Region which is about 2 1/2 hrs south of us in WA. It is renowned for its wine and surfing. For all of you wine connoisseurs, this is Graceland, because you can't drive more than a kilometre without passing a winery. It is really quite astonishing how many wineries there are here. This was also our first exchange weekend with all of the exchange teachers and families from Canada. There are about 40 of us in total. We had a small hostel on the outskirts of town all to ourselves. It was very basic accommodation, but affordable ($88.00/night for a family room) and the kids had heaps of room to muck around, and chase kangaroos. There was also a big dining hall with two big beer/wine fridges for the adults, and kitchen where we could make our own meals. Friday night was basically a meet and greet, and get caught up on what each other had been doing for the last month.
Saturday morning was our big Cape to Cape hike. The Cape to Cape Track stretches 135km between the lighthouses at Cape Naturaliste in the north and at Cape Leeuwin in the south. The Track is a beautiful long distance walk through coastal wilderness, along elevated limestone ridges, across deserted beaches and rocky coves and under the large karri trees of the hardwood forests. We hiked a 10 km section of the Track, most of it along the coastline ending at another beautiful WA beach. I'm sure you are all getting sick of seeing all the beach photos, but that is a big part of the Western Australian culture, and they really are stunning! And I reckon you can use some sunshine after your long cold winter.
After the hike and a lunch break, we split up to do our own thing. Most people without kids headed to some galleries and wineries. We knew our kids would be bored, so we tagged along with another family who was heading a bit further south to Hamelin Bay to see the stingrays. Here is what we saw.
After the rays, we headed back to the hostel for a potluck BBQ with the rest of the group, and a good night's sleep for another busy day on Sunday.
Sunday morning was more hiking, this time into the Giant's Cave. It wasn't as stunning as the Cango Caves back in South Africa, but it was fun because there were no lights, so you had to navigate your way through using flashlights, or torches as they are called here.
After the caving, it was time to start venturing towards home, but not without some stops along the way. The first stop was the town of Margaret River itself. We walked along the quaint main street, and browsed in some of the surfing and souvenir shops along the way. The kids discovered Toy World and the Lolly (Candy) shop, so they were happy too.
Then it was off to the Margaret River Cheese Factory which we almost drove by because it was a little shack at the side of the road. I was expecting a big dairy farm with huge sheds, and hundreds of cows mulling around, but no such luck. We got to sample a few different cheeses, which were yummy, but we still liked the Australian Tasty cheese the best so we didn't buy anything here.
The highlight was our next stop at the Margaret River Chocolate Factory. When you walked in, you were greeted by the mount-watering aroma of rich chocolate. There were large bowls of milk, dark, and white chocolate chips for sampling. Needles to say, we each went through the line a couple of times because the chocolate was so fresh and delicious. But instead of buying chocolate, we decided to try the cheesecakes and baked goods. They were decadent too. We were now buzzing with a sugar high.
So what better way to burn it off, then drinking beer at the Cheeky Monkey Brewery. We chose this stop because it had a playground for the kids while the adults could taste some beer, and sit and enjoy the scenery. The beer was very strong, so we opted for a pear cider which was light and refreshing.
The last stop on the way home was the town of Busselton. This is where I am doing my Ironman Triathlon in December. The swim is around this 1.9 km Jetty. It sounds daunting, and I'm sure it will be on the day, but I'm happy to say that it didn't look as far as I thought it would. Mentally, that is a good thing.
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| Glenbrook |
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| The main dining hall. |
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| Ellise and Noah with Clarke and Abby Denomy, our friends from Chatham, who came to visit us for 3 weeks in WA. |
Saturday morning was our big Cape to Cape hike. The Cape to Cape Track stretches 135km between the lighthouses at Cape Naturaliste in the north and at Cape Leeuwin in the south. The Track is a beautiful long distance walk through coastal wilderness, along elevated limestone ridges, across deserted beaches and rocky coves and under the large karri trees of the hardwood forests. We hiked a 10 km section of the Track, most of it along the coastline ending at another beautiful WA beach. I'm sure you are all getting sick of seeing all the beach photos, but that is a big part of the Western Australian culture, and they really are stunning! And I reckon you can use some sunshine after your long cold winter.
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| Grass trees and coastal scrub brush along the hike. |
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| Our hiking companions. |
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| Coming out to the ocean. |
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| Our finishing point, Redgate Beach. It felt so good to put our feet in the water to cool off! |
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| Pristine Redgate Beach. |
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| Half the group went in one direction and the other half went in the opposite direction, so after the hike, we had to drive each others vehicles to a central meeting point. I got to drive this Ute because I was one of the only ones who could drive a manual. I felt like a true Aussie bloke. |
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| These guys swim along the shore hoping people will feed them. They are obviously very tame and swim right up to you. We saw about 6 different rays ranging from .75 m - 2 m wide. It was pretty awesome!! |
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| Noah petting the ray as it swam by. They are very slimy and slippery. |
Sunday morning was more hiking, this time into the Giant's Cave. It wasn't as stunning as the Cango Caves back in South Africa, but it was fun because there were no lights, so you had to navigate your way through using flashlights, or torches as they are called here.
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| 86 m underground. Gotta love the fashionable blue helmets, but they came in handy a couple of times in some tight spaces. |
Then it was off to the Margaret River Cheese Factory which we almost drove by because it was a little shack at the side of the road. I was expecting a big dairy farm with huge sheds, and hundreds of cows mulling around, but no such luck. We got to sample a few different cheeses, which were yummy, but we still liked the Australian Tasty cheese the best so we didn't buy anything here.
The highlight was our next stop at the Margaret River Chocolate Factory. When you walked in, you were greeted by the mount-watering aroma of rich chocolate. There were large bowls of milk, dark, and white chocolate chips for sampling. Needles to say, we each went through the line a couple of times because the chocolate was so fresh and delicious. But instead of buying chocolate, we decided to try the cheesecakes and baked goods. They were decadent too. We were now buzzing with a sugar high.
So what better way to burn it off, then drinking beer at the Cheeky Monkey Brewery. We chose this stop because it had a playground for the kids while the adults could taste some beer, and sit and enjoy the scenery. The beer was very strong, so we opted for a pear cider which was light and refreshing.
The last stop on the way home was the town of Busselton. This is where I am doing my Ironman Triathlon in December. The swim is around this 1.9 km Jetty. It sounds daunting, and I'm sure it will be on the day, but I'm happy to say that it didn't look as far as I thought it would. Mentally, that is a good thing.
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| This is just the first portion of the Jetty. It bends off to the right, which you can't see in this picture. |
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| The Jetty at sunset. The close to another great day in WA. |
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