I’ve mostly come to Perth for the cricket. However, having never been to Western Australia before, I was keen to explore the surroundings which is why I arrived a couple of weeks before the first test starts.
My first side trip was down to Margaret River. Several people had suggested it was worth going to so off I went. I’d booked a 3 day / 2 night trip with McLeod Tours which started with a bright and early 6.50am pickup at a location 15 minutes walk from the hostel I was staying in.
After we’d picked up the other 15 women on this trip, we headed south out of Perth towards Mandurah for a brekkie and coffee (green tea) stop.
After refuelling both ourselves and the van, we continued south towards Busselton for lunch and a post lunch walk along the longest timber-piled jetty in the southern hemisphere (the equivalent in the north is Southend pier).
Busselton jetty sticks out 1.8km into the ocean and we just about had enough time to walk out and back, though there is a train which runs along the jetty too if you don’t fancy the walk
In the afternoon we stopped at a bean-to-bar chocolatier (where they create the chocolate from the cocoa beans) for some chocolate tasting, before heading to our hotel for the next 2 nights on the coast in Prevelly, a few kilometres outside of Margaret River.
The next day we headed further south. Firstly to Mammoth Cave, one of several cave complexes in the region, and a very accessible one at that. The stalactites were so delicate and there were hundreds if not thousands of them
We headed further south to Cape Leeuwin, which is the south-westerly most point of Australia, and where the Indian Ocean meets the Southern Ocean. I climbed the 176 steps up the lighthouse for this great view
After lunch in Augusta, we headed for our first wine tasting at Red Gate winery. A very comprehensive tasting, I reckon at least a dozen wines from the list below, and unusually for me, my favourites at this stop were a Chardonnay and a Cabernet Sauvignon.
After this, we had time for a wander around the town of Margaret River before heading back to the hotel.
On the final day, we started with a coffee tasting. Now, coffee definitely isn’t my drink of choice but I gave them all a go and concluded that the iced coffee which was flavoured with caramel was the most drinkable. I shan’t be converting to coffee any time soon!!
We then visited 2 more wineries and had wine tastings at both, along with some lovely cheese at the second one
After another lovely lunch it was time to head back to Perth and we arrived back in the early evening. All in all, we covered a lot in 3 days but it felt a very well-paced trip with almost everything included (just evening meals weren’t but I’d often filled up at breakfast and lunch so only needed something light for dinner). To the various people who suggested I should go to Margaret River – thank you – and to anyone who comes to WA, you should definitely go!!
catsgreatadventure 