8 Places To Explore in Margaret River (Western Australia)

At my second day in Perth, my first day tour happened when I joined the trip to Margaret River, which located in south-west corner of Australia. The region starts from Busselton to Augusta on the shores of Geographe Bay. It is known for global wines, fine beaches, surfing spots, walking trails and beautiful caves. One day is not enough to see the whole region, but visiting some of its highlights such as tourist spots of the region can be the start or the opportunity to appreciate it.

The journey to the region started and ended in the town of Busselton. The trip includes visiting the longest jetty in southern hemisphere, lunch in brewery, tasting of wines, walking inside the cave, visiting lighthouse, shopping local products and dinner in a beach resort. It’s a fulfilling but relaxing 13+ hours of day tour.

Busselton Jetty

One thing that fascinates me on this place even though we had given a very limited time to explore the place, I took my chances to walk to the longest jetty in the southern hemisphere. The experience to see the coastline without getting soaked by the sea and without the need of a boat was unforgettable experience. It is one of the unexpected adventure that I will treasure as traveler.

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Bootleg Brewery

The picturesque backdrop of this brewery restaurant made the place special. It was built just beside a lake. They designed the brewery with a “feel like home” to anyone and to enjoy and to feel the fresh air of the farmland.

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Sandalford Winery (Margaret River)

A quick visit in Sandalford wineries was a good one. To stop for sometime and to enjoy not only the tasting of wines but also to feel relax by just looking at the vineyards that surrounds the store. The special thing to learn about Sandalford, they are in winery business for more than 175 years. They produce global brand of wines.

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Mammoth Cave

We spent time to visit the famous cave in Margaret River region which is Mammoth Cave. The visit in the cave is pretty comfortable since it has boardwalk and stairways in-placed. And one great to learn inside the cave is about Australian Megafauna which an extinct animals and had roamed inside the cave which estimated to be 50,000 years old, a discovery that made the cave called as “Dawn of Creation”.

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Boranup Forest

Driving within the Boranup Forest can be considered a memorable experience, though anyone can think that it was just a forest but being inside the forest and see the towering trees of karri (the third tallest trees in the world) will be amazed on the scenery.

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Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse

The visit in this cape was worthy. Discovery this part of Australia thought me a lot of things. In this place, I was able to discover the imaginary border between Indian Ocean and Southern Ocean where give the visitors to see these two oceans in just one place. The lighthouse precinct is a heritage and its little museum shows its colorful history.

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Margaret River Town

The town made me feel at ease even we had a short visit. We stopped here for a quick look around of the town and a chance for us to buy local products. The town is located in between of Bussell Highway that is why its a great stop when exploring the region.

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Abbey Beach Resort

This beach resort is located at Busselton and had a grand resort. Though we never got a chance to explore the resort itself, but we had dinner in one of its restaurant – The Atrium. I can say that even the restaurant is grand since its part of the resort hotel and I like the dinner that I chose while we were here.

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Busselton Jetty – Longest Timber Piled Jetty in Southern Hemisphere

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Busselton Visitor Centre

The first stop that we had during the day tour in Margaret River region in Western Australia was in Busselton. I booked the day tour without knowing too much details what to see. My main objective in joining the trip was to see places at the southern part of Western Australia as I had been in the northern for multiple days during my adventure tour in Kimberley region.

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Busselton Jetty Foreshore

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Roy Morris Platform and Busselton Jetty Interpretive Centre

As far as I remembered, we had given 40 minutes to enjoy our first stop – Busselton Jetty. The said jetty is a famous pier and holds the title of “Longest Timber Piled Jetty in Southern Hemisphere”. In few minutes of staying at the ground of Busselton, the given time to us was indeed not enough if walking in the jetty will be part of it. At first, I was contemplating if I will walk the jetty with almost 2 km distance because I was not sure if the given amount of time for us was enough, without thinking too much, I started my walkathon in the longest jetty in southern hemisphere.

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Busselton Jetty Interpretive Centre (IC)

With my camera along with me, I went inside Busselton Jetty Interpretive Centre and I quickly looked around inside and bought ticket to walk along the jetty. If the other visitors had leisurely walk along the jetty, I was not. I walked faster as much as I can. I had the options to take trains, but in order to do that I have to wait for the train and I don’t have that luxury time to wait for the train. Without hesitation, I started walking the timber piled jetty. Even I was walking so fast, I still tried my best to pause for a moment to get a snapshots of things that surrounds me.

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Busselton Jetty

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Jetty Train

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Old Skelly Jetty Remains (shows how the jetty constructed) and become seagulls nest

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Directional Wind Vane

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Shelter

During the walk, I had a chance to capture photos of jetty from end to end. Busselton Jetty is the jetty that I had known so far that gives visitor a chance to be far away as much as 1.8 km from shore without the need to soak under the water and without the need of a boat. The jetty is one of the longest jetty in the world and the longest jetty in southern hemisphere.

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Bovell Platform

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Busselton UWO (Underwater Observatory)

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Allie’s Landing, named after former president of the Busselton Jetty Environment Conservation Association, Allie Scott (1912-2002)

Additional information to learn about the jetty is that its more than 150 years old. Historically, the jetty was not initially built as what we see right now, but because of the shallow waters of Geographe Bay, the jetty needs to be extended many times to accommodate more and larger ships when the Busselton/Vasse region economy was growing. The jetty that we see today was a restored version of the previous jetty and its sole purpose now are for tourism and recreation.

Notes :
1. Plan to visit Busselton Jetty ? Please check latest information here :
2. Transportation : Transwa
3. Directions to Busselton Jetty :
a. Join Day Tours from Perth or
b. Take Transwa Train from Perth Station to Bunbury Passenger Terminal. Then
take Pemberton to Augusta Bus and get off at Albert St. Busselton

Transportation : Busselton Jetty Train

Transportation (Post#15) : Busselton Jetty Train

Photos of the day are all about the amazing jetty train to be found at Busselton Jetty. The jetty itself has train services for a relaxing journey of visitors along the jetty trail and to appreciate the scenic view of Geographe Bay has to offer. Historically, the jetty railway line was previously used to transport cargo during the active days of the jetty. The These photos are part of Margaret River (Western Australia) Region Tour October 2016.

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Notes :
Photo : Jetty, Longest Jetty, Busselton Jetty
Location : Busselton, WA, Australia
Transportation :
1. Join Day Tours from Perth or
2. Take Transwa Train from Perth Station to Bunbury Passenger Terminal. Then
take Pemberton to Augusta and get off at Albert St. Busselton
Official Website : Busselton Jetty

Name Of The Place : Busselton UWO (Underwater Observatory)

Name Of The Place (Post#55) : Busselton UWO (Underwater Observatory)

Photos of the day are all about name of Busselton UWO (Underwater Observatory. This observatory is located almost at the end of the jetty (with 1.7 km distance from the shore). The said observatory is home of one out of only five underwater observatories in the world. These photos are part of Margaret River (Western Australia) Region Tour October 2016.

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Notes :
Photo : Jetty, Longest Jetty, Busselton Jetty
Location : Busselton, WA, Australia
Transportation :
1. Join Day Tours from Perth or
2. Take Transwa Train from Perth Station to Bunbury Passenger Terminal. Then
take Pemberton to Augusta and get off at Albert St. Busselton
Official Website : Busselton Jetty

Chromatic Outlook : Busselton Jetty Interpretive Centre

Chromatic Outlook (Post#49) : Busselton Jetty Interpretive Centre

Photos of the day are all about Busselton Jetty Interpretive Centre. It is a boat shed style centre and the first thing to notice as part of a long jetty. Everyone can enjoy visiting it, as it combines shops for souvenirs and gifts. They also sell snacks and ticket for the Jetty Train and tours. It has a museum that features all about the Busselton Jetty. These photos are part of Margaret River (Western Australia) Region Tour October 2016.

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Notes :
Photo : Jetty, Longest Jetty, Busselton Jetty
Location : Busselton, WA, Australia
Transportation :
1. Join Day Tours from Perth or
2. Take Transwa Train from Perth Station to Bunbury Passenger Terminal. Then
take Pemberton to Augusta and get off at Albert St. Busselton
Official Website : Busselton Jetty