Day 16 Busselton to Cape Leeuwin and back again

I woke up early again and went for a long walk along a path that has been built along the coast.  There were lots of people, walking, jogging and riding bikes.

Geographe Bay taken on my early morning walk

Another shot of Geographe Bay

Today we set out to do some touring.  We went to Dunsborough which is the start of all the wineries and has a population of 4,000.   Then to Carbunup River and on to Cowaramup where we had lunch (bit of a shock when it cost $39.20!).  This is an agriculture area with dairy farms that provide for the cheese making places in the area. 

Next stop was Margaret River which is not only a little town, but the name of the river and the name of the general area.  There are wineries just about every 500 metres!   The town is on the Margaret River and is 10kms from the ocean.  There are lots of caves in the area and most are open for tourists and the area is known for surfing  as the waves are world class and there has been a number of major international surfing competitions held there. 

We drove on through Witchcliffe, Karridale, Kudardup and then to Augusta which had some amazing views of the coast.  Just south east of Augusta is Cape Leeuwin which used to be an operating lighthouse.  We stopped here and the wind was just amazing, it was all you could do to stay upright.  Cape Leeuwin is where the Southern Ocean and the Indian Ocean meet and is the most south westerly point of Australia.  When you are standing at the light house, you have one ocean on one side and the other side is the other ocean.  It must have been a hard life for the people who manned the lighthouse. 

The lighthouse at Cape Leeuwin

A mad cow at Cape Leeuwin

The lighthouse keepers houses

The lighthouse

Where the two oceans meet

Back to Augusta (only way back) and then we turned off to go to Hamelin Bay and then to Prevelly Park calling in to lots of little lookouts and beaches on the way. 

The number of wineries is amazing and it seems that each one tries to outdo the other with their entrances.

Next was Yallingup where we called into the Shearing Shed.  Not to see the shearing as Peter does that every year himself but to check out the shop.  It was a bit disappointing to find woollen things made in China for sale. 

The Shearing Shed

Then back to Dunsborough and back to Busselton.  It was a full day touring but we saw so much.

Tomorrow - Busselton.

cheers
Pete and Roz