WA and all those wwwwws

When Graham suggested that we join him and Jo for a week in the South West corner of Western Australia (WA) we jumped at the idea. The area is famous for its Margaret River Wines and stunning landscape.

There are over 200 vineyards in a narrow strip of coastal land. Our first outing after a bit of tasting at Island Brook wines was Vasse Felix for lunch. Spectacular wine and food were only just outshone by the company. The restaurant balcony view with its autumn colours amongst manicured gardens was wonderful.

The grounds were peppered with a variety of sculptures most of which were imaginative even without the models. The bread was so good we decided to buy a loaf for our evening cheese snack as an evening meal was not appropriate after the long lunch.

There were also working sculptures inside the restaurant. 

We followed lunch with a meander amongst some of the other local attractions and did not get too far until we had to stop and sample some desert. It was a jolt to realise how little chocolate I am normally exposed to (Helen does not eat it) and how easily I could become addicted. We now have supplies for a year as the range of taste combinations made choosing too hard – so the answer was simple don’t choose!

The second “W” of course is Waves. These are in abundance all along the coast. This Water wheel was used to pump water to the Leeuwin lighthouse. It is a little encrusted with Calcium so water is now provided by pump.

The lighthouse is the tallest on the Australian mainland. To the right is the Indian ocean and to the left the Southern ocean. Further round (to the left) is Flinders bay of which more in a moment.

All along this coast the wonderfully consistent swell attracts numerous surfers. During the week a surfer lost his leg to a shark and a few days later was unable to be stabilised and sadly died. There are a number of plaques in the area that underscore this is not a rare event.

However, the draw of the surf is hard to resist and although all had to walk past this sign it is hard to beat the sort of high that a good wave provides.

As we were in the West 17:00 found us seeking the sunset to get that colourful end of day shot. I have more sunset shots than I know what to do with but thought the setting sun behind a breaking wave really summed up this part of the coast.

The coastal strip is predominantly limestone and also has some magnificent caves. We visited Jewel caves which has some breathtaking formations many of which are unique in form to anywhere else. I was taken by these curtain formations which were a bit different to the normal Stalactites and mites. 

 

We travelled south to Augusta as 1 June signalled the start of the whale watching season. The humpbacks were already in abundance making their way up the coast and spend sometime resting in the calmer waters of Flinders Bay where they can be readily viewed.

You can see how they got their name.

The larger ones grow to 45 Tonnes and can carry up to a Tonne of barnacles. Quite a bit of baggage but then it is worth reflecting on the damage they could cause if they swept a fin or tail your way. A weighty defence that should give sharks and killer whales something to think about.

The tails are unique and help differentiate between whales. The above is a mature mum ready to mate. You can't actually see that from the tail - it is their size and the way they behave! Below is a young one year old keeping a low profile as he is still vulnerable to attack and needing to breath fairly regularly and also has minimal barnacle cover.

So what about WA? For those that think Texas is big the following diagram shows how puny that particular state really is!!

We went round an historical homestead where the size of the kangaroo poo was surprisingly large. The local warden was explaining that the local mob was quite shy with one exception. Right on queue came this large, fine specimen. Good to have a zoom lens as when these guys rear back on their tail the back legs can rake and cause a lot of damage. (He does look friendly and harmless in a photo though!) 

One plant which is in abundance is the “Black Boy”. We saw areas where schools of them (not sure that is the correct term but it seems appropriate) had sprung back to life following bushfires. They may have recovered from the fires but I am not sure they will recover from their recently pronounced politically correct name of grass trees…

After several wonderful days visiting wineries we had to head North and en-route spent a few hours in Bunbury. Here they have an annual competition for Wall artists. A great way to wonder round and discover a town. This ballerina was protected by the good dinosaur. 

The variety was huge but this face was also a standout. 

Whereas the level of detail with this particular painting meant that it may never be finished.

Finally we had a couple of days in Perth and as Jo and Graham had not been to WA before we included a half day in Freemantle - home of the America cup (albeit briefly!). It is a historic town with some great period architecture.

Our last evening was also my birthday so a(nother) celebration was called for. A dinner at a waterfront restaurant overlooking the Swan river with the Perth city lights as a backdrop was just the ticket. A colourful  ending to a brilliant week.