24 July 2014

Today it was off to Cape Naturaliste for a look at the point and the lighthouse. The lighthouse was commissioned in 1904 and the complete mechanism, lead glass lenses and entire light dome were imported from Birmingham. It is actually only a fairly short lighthouse as it is in such a good location, but the most interesting fact the guide mentioned on the tour was that she is often left speechless when after she has talked about the lighthouse some people say that they had never known what a lighthouse was for. It is a amazing landscape all the way out there and there is no wonder that it is a national park.

From there it was down towards the Margaret river area for a look at a few places and to see what it is like, as i have been to the Yarra valley area a few times it was interesting to see how they compare. The area is quite undulating and there are trees everywhere, that is the thing I have noticed most as the difference, in the Yarra valley you can usually see for miles as the fields have all been cleared and while there are trees and quite a few in some areas it is nothing on Margaret River as in most instances you have a hard time seeing from one property to the next, even at times any further that either side of the road for the amount of trees. Oh and I am not sure if it is because of the rain recently but there is water everywhere, I mean all of the damns are full or overflowing. Anyway I decided that as I don't drink wine (it's good to cook with but that is about it) I would stop at the Cheeky Monkey Cidery for lunch, which is probably a waste as I only had a ginger beer, but it was the point of the thing really don't you think.

From there I then went on to have a look at the Chocolate factory, as one must especially when they have free sampling and then to Margaret River town itself, which I must say wasn't the highly touristy main shopping strip I was imagining. Apart from one or two touristy shops it is very much just a small town main street, with the usual small town shops, so when people say Margaret River is amazing and beautiful I think they are meaning the region and all of the wineries and chocolate and fudge and artisan etc. producers and the landscape of the region rather that that actual town itself. My assessment, I may be wrong and have missed something though.

 Margaret River Chocolate Company (actually it is in the region, not near the town)

 Margaret River main street

 Margaret River main street

On the way back to Busselton the highway takes you through a town called Cowaramup, which is derived from the Aboriginal word for the purple-crowned lorakeet found in the area (Cowara). The town has a strong diary farming history and as with most small town they have had to invent a reason for people to stop and spend some time and money before passing on to other places. Some bright soul has come up with the idea that they can use the name and the dairy heritage and lever off that, so they have statues of friesian cows in areas around the town which gives it an interest factor as you can't help but to see them as you drive into town, hey it works I stopped.

I did notice a E-Type parked at the side of the road as I was heading back to my car and the fellow who owned it was obviously not too happy as when I passed looking at the car gave me a foul look. By the time I got to the Count he was out of the car with his head under the bonnet (hood) and was then back in and trying to start it which produced nothing but a click. Well I perhaps should have gone back and offered some assistance, though after the look he gave me I got into the Count, who started immediately, and we left town with the fellow looking harassed and under the bonnet again. Mr-4 indeed.

It was then back to Busselton to have a wander around again, actually was looking for a camera shop as I seem to have lost the small rubber eye piece from the camera, but there was none to be found. It really is a tidy and quite busy little town and they have most of everything there, so it must be a good regional hub and town. There are some nice old buildings still and it just seems to have a bit of a busy buzz happening. I only took a few pictures there though, because it was getting later and looking like a storm was rolling in, so I high tailed it back to the accommodation.

Off to Albany tomorrow...