The South West - Western Australia

The bottom left hand corner of Australia, famous for wine, surfing and its pristine coastline.

Windy Harbour in the D'Entrecastaeux National Park - A collection of ramshackle holiday shacks built around a small bay which looks a bit like a harbour and where it was extremely windy, hence the origins of the name for the place I guess. Sitting on the beach having a full body sand exfoliation at no charge.  

Pemberton in the Gloucester National Park, climbing the Gloucester Tree one of a series of lookout trees, this one constructed in the 1949 to act as a fire watch tower. A total of 153 metal pegs are driven in the trunk to allow you to climb up to a platform 63m high to see out over the top of the Karri tree forest. No safety equipment provided just many disclaimers about climbing at your own risk and recommendations that children don't climb. Only problem was that by the time we had read all the disclaimers Ellie and Fleur were half way to the top so we all had to go to the top.

Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse nr Augusta - Mainland Australia's tallest lighthouse constructed in 1895 to guide shipping travelling to Australia's eastern ports and still using the same lens today which shines at the intensity of a million candles and is visible from over 47km away. Cape Leeuwin marks the point where the Southern Ocean meets the Indian Ocean and also marks a landmark on our journey as this is the point from where we stop heading predominantly west and turn right to start heading predominately north.

Gracetown Beach near Margaret River. Swimming in the protected bay to the pontoon. At each end of the bay at the headlands are North and South Point, world class breaks for surfers apparently. Margaret River was full of coffee houses and eating places so we spent a morning chilling out drinking coffee and watching life go by.

Busselton on the shores of Geographe Bay, and home to the Busselton Jetty at 1.8km long the longest timber piled jetty in the Southern hemisphere. Here we are sat in front of the jetty which was constructed in 1865 and has survived cyclone, storms and fire. As well as the jetty there is endless white sand beaches, calm waters and a nice foreshore. 

Bunbury - still on Geographe Bay, with a distinctive lighthouse, the first black and white chequered lighthouse on our trip. Bunbury is renowned for the wild bottlenose dolphins that live in Koombana Bay and visit the shores at the Dolphin Discovery Centre "every day" except Wednesday 26th February the day that Penny, Fleur and Ellie got up early to go and see them. Other than the lack of dolphins another nice beach and some interesting public art in the form of sculptures doted around the town.