The first major tourist cave along this route is Jewel Cave, which is located roughly 15 km north of Augusta and is said to be one of the most beautiful in the region. It's location has been lost and found by many people & animals in the past (their skeletons remain to tell their famished tale), but it has been in it's current period of continuous tourist exhibition for about 100 years now. The cave gloriously bathes in a sophisticated light display, enhancing it's frozen tranquility and celebrating some of it's unique creations. Jewel Cave is the proud host to some of the longest 'straws' in the world; some are over 5m long. These straws grow at an excruciating slow rate of 1mm per year and are so fragile that one of the kamikaze flies from wave rock could snap them on impact. The cave is also the setting for numerous helictites that defy gravity and current scientific explanation, by starting life as a stalactite before deciding to grow sideways or even upwards.
We had originally planned to take the drive from Augusta at a very leisurely pace and see as many of the caves as possible. This plan, however, relied heavily on our naive belief that the admission fees to attractions like this would be fairly insignificant. In fact, their significance was so great that we swiftly embraced the notion that seeing one cave is seeing all caves, and arrived in Margaret River earlier than expected.
The name Margaret River is synonymous with some of the finest wine Australia has to offer, and with over 200 vinyards in the region, there are plenty of samples to enlighten every palate.
It is also famous for possessing over 20 top surfing spots that receive some of the most consistant tubes anywhere in the world. It is probably more to do with this reason than the amount of wineries, that is hosts a leading WA surfing competition every year.
The pedigree of both the waves and the wine made our decision for what to do very simple - as crap surfers we chose to try and drown ourselves on free wine. Every road in this region is beset on all sides by signs promising 'free tastings'. Pick any two points on a map and you'd have to plan very carefully just to miss them.
Alternatively you could plan a route with such precision as to make a half hour drive take over 9 hours, sample beers in 3 different breweries, taste the wines of 7 vinyards, and keep a police-pleasing breath with the offerings of two cheese factories, an ice creamery, a gourmet food shop, & a chocolate factory. This route actually included far more vinyards, but by starting at 10 in the morning, you have to be sensible about how many you go to so as not to let it affect your driving ability. I believe the itinerary I devised enabled an optimum level of driving ability throughout the day ;)
We arrived at Yallingup feeling slightly bloated by all the rich food and drink, & very pleased with the limited wallet damage caused only by fuel consumption. The coastline near here is host to a variety of interesting formations with names such as 'Sugarloaf Rock' & 'Canal Rocks', that proved perfect playgrounds for burning off some of the day's takings.
Yalligup is what Margaret River was probably like a hundred years ago. It has the same amazing surf-spots, and vinyards around it's borders, but just doesn't have the tourist pulling potential of the better known Margaret River. It doesn't have such a catchy or pronounceable name either, and more importantly, it doesn't have the accommodation, retail, or entertainment facilities. The benefit of this is that it costs half the amount to stay there, and if surfing is all your interested in, then there is no need to look further.
Thanks: Bootleg Brewery, Margaret River Fudge Factory, Candy Cow, Harman's Ridge, Xanadu, Voyager Estate, Cape Mentelle, Margaret River Chocoloate Company, Wicked Ale Brewery, Amberley, Rivendell, Willespie, Margaret River Cheese Factory, Howling Wolves, Juniper Estate, Hamelin Bay Wines, We're Wines, Wise Wines, Palandri, The Gourmet Food Shop, & Heron Lake. Your gifts of free food and booze were appreciated greatly.
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