Perth to Augusta

Perth has its own “central coast” in the towns of Rockingham and Mandurah. No, I don’t mean a land of salt water bogans, although I’m sure there are plenty of them. (Sorry Sare. I love Gosford and all the shanty towns up your way). Packed with a cashed up mix of retirees and commuters the suburbs are bursting at the seams. Just like Perth, everyone gets a sea breeze. You get the feeling that one big wave could moisten the carpets of millions.

A fellow chiro and friend from Uni days has settled in Mandurah. Brett and Kim kindly offered put us up on our visit. That’s right, a real house with a roof and all. Kael bunked down with 9 year old Kylan and the girls enjoyed handling the pet rats.

With the imminent arrival of Nanny and Big Pop we set up a rendezvous in Rockingham. It was a buzz for the kids to see their grandparents after 5 months away. With the kids buzzing with excitement we took our lunch on the short ferry trip across to Penguin Island. Although home to a colony of Little or Fairy Penguins, the island is dominated by nesting Silver Gulls and the impressive King Skink. Both penguin parents spend their day hunting, only returning after sunset to feed the waiting chicks.

We were informed that our best chance to spot a resident penguin was at the feeding demonstration, but eagle eyed Lissa managed to spot 2 babies sitting patiently in their nests. Naomi also spied a large Sea lion lazing under a rock ledge.

Our first 3 nights were spent in Bunbury where we had booked a cabin along side our tent site. With overcast skies and a bit of rain the extra kitchen space and beds came in handy. Bunbury is similar in size and appearance to Port Macquarie. Nice enough, probably very liveable, but a little low on the wow factor. A day trip to Donnybrook is popular with families to tackle the giant free playground.

Moving further south to Busselton we made a strategic move into a holiday house on the Abbey Beach. It turned out to be a great move with space to spread out and all the mod cons we have done without. Ping pong and toys in the back room were a real bonus. The kids devoured the lego and Kael flexed his competitive muscles playing cards and kicking the footy with Big Pop. 

Busselton seemed like a nice place with a huge jetty reaching into the Bay.

From Abbey Beach we made day trips down into the Margaret River region to gorge ourselves at the chocolate factory, watch the sheep being milked for the cheese maker, sample some locally made icecream, buy bread from the woodfired bakery. None of these activities were approved by weight watchers.

The maze and puzzle centre turned out to be a great place for inclement weather. The weather seemed to change every 10 minutes with rain clouds blown up from the southwest.

Dunsborough was our chance to chase a whale aboard one of the whale watching cruises. Our Skipper managed to track down a Humpback mother and her baby, as well as 2 brief Blue Whale sightings. There may be as few as 5000 Blue whales left, so it was quite a sight to see the gigantic creatures (for some of us anyway).

The coastline around Margaret river is wild and rugged. We made many scenic detours to examine the beaches and headlands. No signs of the famous swell as the ocean was blown out and messy. The lighthouse at Augusta marks the meeting point of the Southern and Indian Oceans. 

From this SW corner, everything now will be to the east.