Time now to head back up to Bunbury for the Vets Golf Tournament. With a quick stop on the way at Busselton to celebrate Siobhan’s birthday. We meet up with Matt and Maria, Jim and Maureen and Nev and Eddie, fellow members from Pelican Waters … and the serious business begins.

Heading south towards the furthest south westerly part of Australia (Augusta) we camp at Hamelin Bay, using it as a base to head to Augusta where we found 2 interesting facts. 1 – we were actually physically closer to the South Pole than we were to our home in Pelican Waters, and 2 – we could stand with one foot in the Indian Ocean and the other foot in the Southern Ocean (if it wasn’t so cold !). Augusta is the nearest town to Cape Leeuwin, on the furthest southwest corner of the Australian continent.

At the Margaret River Chocolate Company – unfortunately it closed at 6 pm and we had to leave.

One of the tourist attractions in the Margaret River Region is Cowaramup. Originally the town derived its name (boringly) from the Cowaramup Siding, which was located near the townsite, on the now disused Busselton to Augusta railway. The name is believed to be derived from Aboriginal word Cowara, meaning Purple-crowned Lorikeet. Locals from the region often refer to the town as “Cowtown”, a reference to the use of “cow” in the town’s name and its history of dairy farming. And now the local authorities have gone to town using the cow theme throughout the town – you will understand when you look at the pics.

This wine region not only produces some of Australia’s world-beating wines, it is also one of Australia’s most beautiful and picturesque landscapes with lush green pastures and very European-like scenery.

This cave system, previously known as Yallingup Cave, is a Karst cave to the northeast of Yallingup, in the southwest of Western Australia. It was discovered by Edward Dawson in 1899 when searching for stray horses. It was originally named for the nearby town of Yallingup but later renamed to acknowledge the cave’s part in Australian Aboriginal mythology. Ngilgi (pronounced Neelgee) was a good spirit who triumphed in battle against an evil spirit Wolgine. The story is part of the heritage of the Wardandi people who are the custodians of the caves in the area.

(Side note – the pictures were all taken by Siobhan as Bob succumbed to a bout of claustrophobia and left the cave system very soon after entering !).

Busselton is a regional city in the South West region of Western Australia. Founded in 1832 by the Bussell family, Busselton has been one of the fastest growing regions in Australia in the last decade and has a population of approximately 20,000. Busselton is 220 Kms south west of Perth and is a very popular tourist centre. Perhaps the most famous attraction it offers is the famous Busselton Jetty which, at 1,841 Metres is said to be the longest wooden structure in the southern hemisphere.