Holiday Adventure in Margaret River – Part 1
We have just come back from a holiday down south. We stayed
in a 5 star resort called Bunker Bay. It was the most beautiful place I have
been to in many years. This post will go through all the places we went to.
So let’s begin.
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Read Holiday Adventure in Margaret River – Part 2
Holiday Adventure in Margaret River – Part 2
This gallery contains 5 photos.
Monday – The trip begins
We woke up early Monday morning and packed the Kluger with all the stuff we prepared the day before. As soon as the car was packed we headed off to Mamma & Pappa’s place to drop of the spare keys etc. to them. We then stopped for a quick holiday breakfast at McDonalds before heading of down the highway for our first stopping point Bunbury. We stopped here for a coffee and a stretch. After a brief stop we moved onto the next leg of our journey which was Busselton. Along the way Jemma stopped to take photos of some of the wild flowers growing on the side of the road.
We drove through Busselton and checked out the 2km long Jetty there. We did not stop but pushed on to the Dunsborough. When we arrived we headed down to Bunker Bay where our villa awaited.
The resort was truly fabulous. The entrance was impressive but the villas were also just as good. I was expecting a room with wheelchair access to be utilitarian and was pleasantly surprised to find it was fitted out to be as plush as any of the other rooms. It is steep in places but you can get very close to the beach using a boardwalk that is accessible by wheelchair.
That night we decided to head back into Dunsborough for dinner and then returned to rest latter.
Holiday Adventure in Margaret River – Part 3
This gallery contains 26 photos.
Tuesday – Oceans and Caves
Tuesday saw us get up nice and early to go and visit Cape Leeuwin and the light house. It is the most Southern /Western Point of Australia and the location at which two oceans meet, the Indian and the Southern Oceans. It was quite a site to see these two bodies of water crashing into each other. We stopped at the Café there to have a cup of coffee and some cookies.
From there we made our way back up into Augusta where we stopped very briefly to refuel and continue on to the caves. Our first stop was Mammoth Cave.
Mammoth Cave
Mammoth Cave was our first stop because it said that parts of the Cave were accessible by Wheelchair. The location was utterly beautiful and not that bad to get around. When we got to the kiosk area they kindly charged us less than the actual fee because we were not going to go through the entire cave. Alex, Jemma and I did make it into the mouth of the cave which was huge. Jem tried to get some long exposure shots, of which some came out really nice. The others really needed a tripod which we did not bring. Alex and Jemma went up a few more flights of stairs while I listened to the information on the MP3 player supplied to us, that told about the cave.
We finally made our way back out and decided to head to another set of Caves called Lake Caves.
Lake Caves
This was another amazing cave but it required a steep climb down some very long stairs to get to the base of it. I could get around the top bit where you could view it but I could go no further. Jem and Alex went a ways more to get a better look at the site.
We decided it was time for lunch so we headed to the café located onsite. The owner bragged he made the best milkshakes so Alex and I decided to have one. I had chocolate and Alex had Banana. Jem and I also had a homemade hamburger each while Alex enjoyed a hot dog. The burgers were great and the Milkshake was made with three scoops of ice-cream and truly was the best I had tasted. If you ever go to Lakes Cave try the burger and the Milkshake.
Margaret River Beach
On the way back we decided to stop at Margaret River beach
to look at the place that’s famous for its surfing. Some tourists where
excitedly pointing at what they thought was a whale, off in the distance. They
were very impressed at how it seemed to circle this small area and how far it
had travelled. When we looked at it we were pretty sure they were looking at a
rock in the ocean. Must have had one to many Wine tasting that day
Read Holiday Adventure in Margaret River – Part 4
Holiday Adventure in Margaret River – Part 4
This gallery contains 13 photos.
Wednesday – Winerys etc.
This was the 5th of October and a special day for
Jemma and me. It was our 15th Wedding anniversary. Today we decided
to go and see some of the Vineyards.
Olive Oil and Soap Factory
Our first stop was the Olive Oil and Soap Factory. It was
quite an amazing little place. Beautiful location with very easy access to all
area’s via wheelchair. We tried many types of olives and dipping oils with and
without vinegars. We also tried different soaps and lotions. A great spot to go
if you like Olive Oil based products.
Wills Domain Winery
Our next stop was to a place called Wills Domain Winery, again
another very picturesque location. We tried a couple of the wines here and
checked out the little art gallery.
Woody Nook Winery
Our next stop was the Woody Nook Winery. We stopped here for
lunch. It’s a great place to sit outside and enjoy some fine wine and a great
bite to eat. A little hard with the wheelchair but nothing that should stop you
from going to see it.
The Grove Winery
Our last stop for this day was at the Grove Winery. The name
is a bit misleading as they do beers and liqueurs as well. In fact it was the
liqueurs that were the highlight of this stop. They had the most amazing
flavours. It was completely wheelchair friendly as well. The tasting area was
situated over a small lagoon feature and people there were very friendly. This
is one spot I will definitely go back to. The Café area was very homely and had
books and magazines you could read while sipping the fine wines/beers/liqueurs
in front of a fire place. Very awesome.
Over the Moon Restaurant
That night we dined at the 5 star restaurants at Bunker Bay
Resort. We had a wonderful meal there. The wine list was a double sided A3
sheet! It must have had samples from most of the winery’s in the region. I
liked the look of the 45ml shot of cognac that cost $225! We ordered a bottle
of sparkling wine. When it was being poured the waitress asked if it was a
special occasion of which we said it was our 15th Anniversary. Later
that night when our desert came out the chef had written in dark chocolate on
the plate “Happy 15th Anniversary”! It was a lovely touch that we
appreciated very much.
Read – Holiday Adventure in Margaret River – Part 5
Holiday Adventure in Margaret River – Part 5
This gallery contains 11 photos.
Whale Watching
The first thing we did Thursday was to go whale watching. We
went with a charter company called Legend Tours just outside of Busselton. They
had a boat that was wheelchair friendly (as friendly as boats are to
wheelchairs). We then head out towards Cape Naturaliste and deep out to see.
We saw many female whales with their calves in the water. We
even saw several juvenile males that, well acted as juvenile males do. They
showed off and play fought etc. Got a little cooked on the boat but otherwise
it was an excellent way to spend 2 or 3 hours. When we returned it was lunch
time so we stayed at Port Geographe Mariner to have lunch. Alex had the Parmigana
while Jem and I had Fish and Chips. It was an exceptional meal.
Busselton Jetty
While in Busselton we decided to try and walk the Jetty.
This is a two kilometre jetty. It is not to bad from a wheelchair point of view
but it is a bit bumpy. Some of the gaps in the wood and concrete planks can
catch your front caster wheels so you need to be careful. We were also fighting
a head wind which made the walk/push harder.
Cape Naturaliste
Our last stop that day was the Cape Naturaliste Light house.
There is a very accessible walk way that can be used for wheelchairs which goes
around the Cape. The lighthouse itself was a bit of a let down. You pay $11 an
Adult to basically walk up to it and then there is no really viewing area to
see things. Cape Leeuwin is far better.
The best thing would be to use the free scenic walk way
instead.
We got about ¾ of the way across before my arms and
shoulders were just not going to put up with it anymore.
Read – Holiday Adventure in Margaret River – Part 6
