Busselton to Perth 21/5 to 29/5

Jetty Length 2km

Wind Vane

Jetty Train

After leaving Margaret River we stopped briefly at Busselton, a town situated on the tranquil waters of Geographe Bay.  It is notable for its recently refurbished jetty which is reported to be the longest in the Southern Hemisphere at 2km.  We had to pay $2.50 for the privilege of walking 2 kilometres to the end of the jetty.  Passing many fishermen along the way I was interested to learn that they also are required to pay $2.50 each and every time they want to fish from the jetty.  I couldn’t help but think that there must be a lot of fish in this area!

Leschenault Inlet

Koombana Bay Jetty

Bunbury Lighthouse

 Our stop for the next two 

days was Bunbury.  Located on a peninsula surrounded by water, Bunbury is famous for its sandy beaches, fishing and for the many dolphins who live in Koombana Bay.  We were both impressed with the facilities provided for both walkers and bike riders in this picturesque town.  There are many impressive new homes built near the port.  Once sand hills, the land previously owned by the port authority has been redeveloped into an expensive new suburb.  The view from Mariston Hill which was the original lighthouse site was amazing and now included the old lighthouse which was moved to its new location in 1971 to create a landmark....I loved the checker board paintwork!  Once again met up with Dennis and Diana Freeman and enjoyed a chance to catch up and chat, over a glass of wine or two.

Our campsite in Conservation Park

After leaving Bunbury we drove 25km to our next freestay at Leschenault Peninsula Conservation Park, one that we would recommend to future travellers.  We were surprised that we had this campsite to ourselves and it was great to be up close and personal with so much wildlife.  We even had internet and television reception here, complete with a campfire including wood for the fire.  

Friendly dolphin in Inlet

Chasing Cobbler

St Nicholas Church  3.6m wide and 8.2m long

 On the way we stopped for morning tea at Australind.  Once a sleepy backwater, now a thriving township, Australind is adjacent to the Leschenault Inlet and if you lived here you’d have to own a boat or kayak.  It’s also the site of Australia’s tiniest church – St Nicholas Anglican Church. We enjoyed watching the dolphins in the inlet.  They come so close. Locals told us these bottlenose dolphins love eating the cobbler in the estuary.  These cobbler look like eels but have a long, sharp, poisonous spine at the back of their head...mmmm delicious! 

Peninsula from Australind side

Australind from Leschenault Peninsula

After setting up the caravan, we unpacked our bikes and set off to explore this peninsula by riding to Belvidere & Buffalo Beaches.  At Leschenault our campsite was located between the Inlet and the Sea, with great views of Australind on our East and  Bunbury to the Southwest.  The distance across the peninsula is probably no more than a couple of hundred metres in width and it gradually diminishes as it closes upon the entrance.  This is a pristine waterway which is perfect for kayaking and we were amazed to see dolphins chasing fish almost directly under our feet.

Mark cooking up a storm

Surf Beaches - Belvidore & Buffalo

Not a home that impressed!

We also tried out our new ‘plastics’ (fishing lures) without success, but there will be plenty of other opportunities further down the track.  After following the heritage trail, it was interesting to read of the townships that had been located on this Peninsula.  Without roads and telephones the easiest way to let local shop owners across the inlet know that they needed attention was to hang out a white sheet.  There were a few very ramshackle examples of previous inhabitants on the peninsula.  However it was very easy to see why people would want to live in this area.  It was beautiful!

Lake Clifton Thrombolites

After a stop at Lake Clifton to view thrombolites, we travelled to Mandurah.  Another educational fact for the blog, thrombolites are formed by microbialites.  Scientists believe that these kinds of structures provided the oxygen that meant life could exist on the earth.  Today these living fossils exist in water less salty than sea water.  Obviously Lake Clifton was an ideal environment for them.

From Lake Clifton we drove to Mandurah, which is the fastest growing city in Australia.  It is quite beautiful with the Indian Ocean to the west and the Harvey Peel Inlet to the south and east.  This inlet is two and a half times the size of Sydney Harbour, so we are talking about an impressive amount of water.

View from City Centre Mandurah

The waterways are an integral part of Mandurah.  Each house seems to have a water craft of some kind – kayak, canoe, boat or ship!

Venetian Canals

We enjoyed a cruise around the canals and inlet. There are many canal developments.  The Venetian Canals, closest to the sea inlet, won awards for their design.  These were mostly apartment buildings.  However on other canals there were very impressive mansions.  A block of land is now $1.5million and a ‘house’ recently sold for $9.5million.  

The house pictured is quite new, wouldn’t suit most because it only has 2 bedrooms, however one section has a cinema that seats 46 people.  Apparently security firms are pretty busy here as 80% of these houses are usually vacant because they are just holiday homes, used for a short time of the year.  We’re talking about serious money here!  However the locals are also very friendly (except if you are cheering for Queensland in the Tavern during the State of Origin – then they are very vocal.  However by the end of the game they were much quieter and more melancholy.)  QUEENSLANDER!

Fabulous view from Kayak

Thanks to Dennis & Diana Freeman, on our last day in Madurah we had a wonderful time cruising the the canals and inlet using their kayak.  It was another warm and sunny day and it was truly delightful.  We paddled really close to a pod of dolphins but unfortunately they didn't co-operate with the camera person.  We farewelled the Freeman's with a dinner out on our last night - much enjoyed by all!

Kayaking in Mandurah