Bunbury
We enjoyed Bunbury, it grew on us quickly and it was obvious why Christian’s parents had been happy here. It had access to Perth, some lovely beaches (protected and surf), as well at being close to the natural attractions found inland. Dolphins were obviously a big plus and the whole place seemed to be very relaxed.
Dolphin Centre
One of the highlights of Bunbury was the Dolphin Discovery Centre. We didn’t go in, but they have a viewing platform manned by volunteers from which you can spot and learn about dolphins as they enter the bay. We spent a morning waiting and watching before two dolphins came into view.
They swam and fished happily in the bay without coming in for a free feed. We got chatting to a volunteer about our travels and his. Best of all though, before the dolphins arrived he was good enough to take us out the back to view the turtle rehabilitation centre. It was cool seeing the turtles they were rehabilitating and some of the fish, corals and plants they were breeding. All for the cost of a chat.
Wellington National Park
A big attraction of the Bunbury area for us was the Wellington National Park. It had some short walks, mountain bike trails, swimming spots and a mural on the dam wall to name a few. Unfortunately for us though we missed a large part of the park as lighting had started a significant fire within the park. Most of the park was closed for safety until late in the morning we were departing Bunbury. Fires are a bit of a theme in Western Australia at this time of year and we continue to luck out.
We did however see King Jarrah and the Discovery Forest, which are part of the southern section of the National Park. King Jarrah is an untouched Jarrah tree, left standing following the forestry that impacted much of the area. It’s huge and dwarfs the regrowth forest around it.
The discovery forest was interesting. It is a regrowth forest, and although it’s spectacular, it’s young (80 odd years) and this really stands out when you compared it to King Jarrah. Fortunately, the whole area is protected now. In two hundred years, you won’t even know the forestry had existed…
Inland Communities
We have always enjoyed visiting and staying in smaller communities. They are all unique and different to the bigger centres. Inland from Bunbury we found quite a few little stops; Collie and Donnybrook were the two places we spent the most time. We also passed through the rather unique and non-human community of Gnomesville.
Collie had a good (but hard to navigate) mural trail as well as some pretty nice spots for swimming and water sports. Donnybrook was home to the Apple Park where the kids spent a morning burning off steam.
Gnomesville was something different. A simple corner at a roundabout has been transformed into a Gnome community with probably thousands of garden gnomes calling the little patch home. Visitors constantly add to the display and there are themed sections, bits from travelling families and community groups. There were all kinds of different gnomes and it was interesting wandering through them all.
Dunsborough
We didn’t actually stay in Dunsborough, we found a campground that had been built on a farm a little way out. It was very chilled out and took us away from the chaos the tourist towns were over this period. After a failed visit to Yallingup we were very grateful to be a little away from it all.
Naturaliste and Natural Features
This whole section of Western Australia is really stunning. The whole reason for its popularity is the extraordinary number of outstanding natural features. We planned two days to take as much in as we could. We saw everything we wanted but could easily have done it at a slightly slower pace, taking in some of the scenery and playing on the beaches for longer.
To save repeating things, it was all beautiful. The beaches, the cliffs and rugged coastline, forest and National Parks. We tried to take it all in, although we skipped some things. We went out to Cape Naturaliste, and walked the trail around the cape. It was tough going, but worth the effort. The lookout was great and you could look down towards a bay where seals were playing in the shallows. We skipped the Lighthouse Precinct, planning to do Cape Leeuwin.
Next stop was Eagle Bay and Castle Rock, as well as heading further south to Canal Rocks. We explored the rocks but skipped the more secluded bays. They required climbing down some serious goat tracks to access and we knew it was too cold for us to snorkel. There were other spots too, but we were happy with our exploration. It would be more of the stunning same.
Busselton
Busselton was the largest town in the area and we wanted to explore it a little. The historic jetty, with its open water aquarium was one option. Just enjoying the waterfront, the beach and parks was another. In the end we did it all. Even coming back for a second visit to the waterfront.
The jetty is long at over 1.8km. You can walk it or take the electric train. We thought the train and aquarium prices were too steep so settled on a walk. We had hoped to snorkel the open water aquarium, but with clouded skies, a stiff breeze and cool temperatures we would not have enjoyed it. The walk was enjoyable and allowed you a bit more freedom to look and take in the views.
The waterfront was great. So great we came back on our day of departure. The playground was a huge hit, with a nautical theme, there was a shipwreck, giant squid and whale to explore. We let the girls play while we watched the world go by.
We still had more time ahead in the south west, so left it at that. The rest of the area can be explored from Margaret River.