One of the reasons we chose Busselton as a spot in which to spend some time was the fact that it makes an ideal base from which to sortie out up and down the coast from Cape Naturaliste to Cape Leeuwin and in the Margaret River hinterland of the far south-west of WA. And what a lovely part of the world it is.
I haven't yet completed my pictorial ramble around Busselton itself, so let's go for a drive to the west to explore the holiday town of Dunsborough and then on to Cape Naturaliste and some of the beach resorts nearby.
Dunsborough, old and new, lies some 30 kms to the west of Busselton on the shores of the western end of Geographe Bay. It is the epitome of a beachside holiday resort town. Many parts of Dunsborough reminded us both a great deal of the Hayborough region of Victor Harbor where the well off of Adelaide laze about in their 'holdiay homes'. Some of 'old Dunsborough' can still be found, but redevelopment is rife.
By chance our visit coincided with the town market. I'm not sure what it is about markets...no matter the fact that one knows that a stroll through the lines of stalls will present little other than junk jewellery, locally made jams and relishes, 'craft' work of varying descriptions, a second-hand book stall, a 'Chinese massage' booth and face painting for the kiddies, they always seem to exert a Siren appeal. We couldn't resist a look...and left empty handed as always (apart from a great sausage in a bun!)
The Central CBD area is a bit of a clutter...one which seems to have been somewhat overwhelmed by the rate of development and population expansion. And it was difficult to photograph!
At the end of Dunn Bay Road, the reason for Dunsborough's popularity becomes obvious. The magnificent beach
is complemented by a well maintained foreshore park area
complete with covered BBQs
and a spot of beachside local art.
Dunsborough, old and new, lies some 30 kms to the west of Busselton on the shores of the western end of Geographe Bay. It is the epitome of a beachside holiday resort town. Many parts of Dunsborough reminded us both a great deal of the Hayborough region of Victor Harbor where the well off of Adelaide laze about in their 'holdiay homes'. Some of 'old Dunsborough' can still be found, but redevelopment is rife.
The Central CBD area is a bit of a clutter...one which seems to have been somewhat overwhelmed by the rate of development and population expansion. And it was difficult to photograph!
At the end of Dunn Bay Road, the reason for Dunsborough's popularity becomes obvious. The magnificent beach
is complemented by a well maintained foreshore park area
complete with covered BBQs
and a spot of beachside local art.
Westwards, towards the point at the end of this delightful bay, we came to the local small boat launching ramp and stubby jetty
which is accessed through yet another park area.
Looking further west from this park can be seen the rocky type of shoreline which is a feature of much of this part of the coast, contrasted to, to the east
another sweep of very white sand and crystal clear water.
Whilst 'flash' beach houses can be found throughout Dunsborough, this end of town is very much the 'Hayborough' section to which I referred earlier.
The styles varied considerably
(this was our favourite...for those who remember Oleander Street this probably comes as no surprise)
but, as our later enquiries at a couple of local real estate agents made clear, any thought of a move into this area is not for the financially fraught or faint-hearted.
I invite you to note the price in the bottom right hand corner of this advertisement.....that's right....over $1 million for a block of land! A ready made house of any size in this patch will set a new owner back in the general order of $2 million plus. No wonder I liked the place....sheer good taste...shame the $'s wherewithall doesn't keep pace!
Mind you, Dunsborough does have its drawbacks, particularly at this time of the year. And again it reminds us of Victor Harbor......it is the home of 'Leavers' week', the WA equivalent of our 'Schoolies'. The main difference is that here it is not at all organized and from what I have heard the locals just batten down.
Mind you, Dunsborough does have its drawbacks, particularly at this time of the year. And again it reminds us of Victor Harbor......it is the home of 'Leavers' week', the WA equivalent of our 'Schoolies'. The main difference is that here it is not at all organized and from what I have heard the locals just batten down.
So, after our flirt with opulence, Cape Naturaliste beckoned. As the photos will show, we actually visited here on a different, and much greyer day, but the two areas are so close, I have included them in the same blog.
This may be the time to make mention of the many French sounding place names which abound in this area. Cape Naturaliste, Geographe Bay, Cape Freycinet, Cape Clairault etc etc Does the name Nicholas Baudin ring a bell? A meeting with Matthew Flinders in Encounter Bay?
In 1800 Baudin left France in two ships, 'The Naturalist' and 'The Geographe', tasked to explore and map the great southern land then known as 'New Holland'. Baudin made landfall in this area of WA and was charting his way east along the southern coast when he ran into Flinders who was doing the same in the opposite direction. Given that Baudin was the first to properly chart this corner of Australia (as opposed to merely banging into it), his chosen names, obviously French, remain part of the landscape to this day.
As another small personal aside, apart from school history, I had been well aware of Baudin's exploits as a result of my love affair with Kangaroo Island, where, on the southern end of The Hog Bay Beach at Penneshaw stands 'Frenchman's Rock', a monument to the fact that Baudin came ashore here in search of fresh water.
But I digress...on to Cape Naturaliste, its lighthouse and scenery. As lighthouses go, this one is, well, puny actually, particularly when compared with its giant cousin at nearby Cape Leeuwin, but it does the job, and has done since it was built in 1903 from local quarried stone.
And here, a spot of editorial honesty....I filched this photo from the Internet. Other than by payment of what I considered to be a ridiculous fee, access to the surrounds of the lighthouse is barred. Imagine this happening at Cape Willoughby or Cape Borda...nonsense. I can understand that a guided tour of the interior should be for a fee, but to walk around the grounds?
In any event we chose to do the free 'circular trail' through the scrub around the lighthouse, from which we did gain the occasional glimpse, but nothing like this.
Given the late construction of this light, I was interested to read that tens of ships had been wrecked on this part of the coast before its completion. Prior to that, landfall was made in Geographe Bay at what was, and still is, known as 'The Tub'. This most primitive of navigational aids consisted of a large water barrel sitting astride a thirty feet high pole on the shores of Geographe Bay near where Busselton now stands. And, in a real advance, the sailors' friends who erected the tub eventually decided that a light should be hung from it for those arriving at night....most considerate!
So off we went around the tip of Cape Naturaliste on a trail which was firm and flat to begin, but
This may be the time to make mention of the many French sounding place names which abound in this area. Cape Naturaliste, Geographe Bay, Cape Freycinet, Cape Clairault etc etc Does the name Nicholas Baudin ring a bell? A meeting with Matthew Flinders in Encounter Bay?
In 1800 Baudin left France in two ships, 'The Naturalist' and 'The Geographe', tasked to explore and map the great southern land then known as 'New Holland'. Baudin made landfall in this area of WA and was charting his way east along the southern coast when he ran into Flinders who was doing the same in the opposite direction. Given that Baudin was the first to properly chart this corner of Australia (as opposed to merely banging into it), his chosen names, obviously French, remain part of the landscape to this day.
As another small personal aside, apart from school history, I had been well aware of Baudin's exploits as a result of my love affair with Kangaroo Island, where, on the southern end of The Hog Bay Beach at Penneshaw stands 'Frenchman's Rock', a monument to the fact that Baudin came ashore here in search of fresh water.
But I digress...on to Cape Naturaliste, its lighthouse and scenery. As lighthouses go, this one is, well, puny actually, particularly when compared with its giant cousin at nearby Cape Leeuwin, but it does the job, and has done since it was built in 1903 from local quarried stone.
And here, a spot of editorial honesty....I filched this photo from the Internet. Other than by payment of what I considered to be a ridiculous fee, access to the surrounds of the lighthouse is barred. Imagine this happening at Cape Willoughby or Cape Borda...nonsense. I can understand that a guided tour of the interior should be for a fee, but to walk around the grounds?
In any event we chose to do the free 'circular trail' through the scrub around the lighthouse, from which we did gain the occasional glimpse, but nothing like this.
Given the late construction of this light, I was interested to read that tens of ships had been wrecked on this part of the coast before its completion. Prior to that, landfall was made in Geographe Bay at what was, and still is, known as 'The Tub'. This most primitive of navigational aids consisted of a large water barrel sitting astride a thirty feet high pole on the shores of Geographe Bay near where Busselton now stands. And, in a real advance, the sailors' friends who erected the tub eventually decided that a light should be hung from it for those arriving at night....most considerate!
So off we went around the tip of Cape Naturaliste on a trail which was firm and flat to begin, but
did deteriorate somewhat as we progressed. And there's that model again...she just pops up everywhere.
The views out over the Indian Ocean were wonderful, including at once stage,
a partial sighting of the coastal Sugarloaf Hill, a different view of which we shall see later.
As mentioned earlier, we did gain the odd glimpse of the top of the lighthouse across the thick scrub, but not often.
Frankly, this did not bother either of us.
The coastal scenery, much of which I have to say (at the risk of becoming repetitively boring) reminded me so much of parts of KI, was a delight to see, but the best part of our walk from my perspective was
the wildflowers
which could be seen everywhere along the track, sometimes easily as in this case, and in others,
with some difficulty. But I had my 'flower eyes' open and even managed to spot these local wild orchids, the pictorial reproduction of which has been severely limited by both my photographic equipment and skills.
This is another instance in which I have exercised editorial rigour. I took a raft of 'flower shots' but have decided there is a limit to their appeal in this format.
From the Cape we wended our way back past the several beach coves and resorts which can be found west of Dunsborough. The first of these is Bunker Bay where expensive resort accommodation and private houses nestle side by side in the scrubland overlooking the sandy beach beyond the rocks.
A similar scene is to be found at the next bay, Eagle Bay, but here the sweep of the beach is much more expansive and the holiday houses many more in number.
And then we came to what is reputed in the tourist blurb as the gem in this area, Meelup Beach. Even on this less than 'beachy' day, its appeal was obvious with its good amenities block,
well established BBQ sites
and another great beach. We had no difficulty in accepting that this place is overrun during the holiday periods.
This whole area really is a great part of the country and one in which we feel very much at home. We are particularly glad we chose Busselton as our 'home away from home' for a number of weeks.
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