Day 17 Busselton

Today we thought we would have a look around Busselton.  It is quite a big place with a population of 18,000 and was one of the earliest settlements in Western Australia with settlement starting in 1834.  If you look at a map of Busselton, it is long and narrow, hugging the coastline.  A 2 km long jetty was built to export the timber from the surrounding areas and is the longest jetty in the southern hemisphere. 

This is the jetty at Busselton which is 2kms long

Busselton is sheletered from most of the prevailing winds and has 30km of white sandy beaches.  There are over 200 vineyards and 80 wineries in the area which is quite staggering considering wine was first produced in the area only 30 years ago.  There are also several speciality breweries if you prefer the amber liquid.

Peter and I decided to walk the jetty (all 4kms for the return journey) although there is a train that takes you out to the underwater observatory at the end of the jetty.  The views from the jetty are fantasic. 

This is the train at the start of the jetty

A view of the jetty

The buildings at the end are on top of the underwater observatory

After having a good look around and stocking up on groceries, we went back to the park to relax.  I had a swim in the pool and Peter did some reading.

There is a big group of elderly people here from Mandurah and each afternoon at 5pm they have a "happy hour" where they all get together.  One of the ladies, Elsie, gets her piano accordian out - she is so little the men have to lift it on to her shoulders.  She then plays all the golden oldies and everyone sings along.  We have really enjoyed them.

Also found out the reason for the "up's" at the end of town names eg Meelup, Quindalup, Cowaramup, Yallingup.  These are Aboriginal names and the "up" means 'the place of'.  So for Meelup - Meel is "moon" so it is the place of the moon. 

Tomorrow we are off to Fremantle where we hope to stay for a week.  We are going to the Perth Caravan and Camping Show on Friday.  Hope we don't come home with another caravan like we did when we went to the Melbourne Show!  We do want to look at satelite dishes and a few other things.

Hope everyone is well.

cheers
Peter and Roz