Rottnest Island

After being in Perth for a few days we went on a day trip to Rottnest Island to sunbathe and snorkel:

Day 11: Margaret River to Perth

More scenic drives this morning.

Time to visit some of the amazing caves in the Leeuwin-Naturaliste national park, just outside Margaret River (and back towards Augusta).

First we checked out Mammoth Cave which is massive and very exciting/scary! I felt like I was in a hideout from a fantasy novel, and that my pet dragon was waiting around the corner! Ok, so I'm a geek.... but that's how best to describe the feeling. The chambers were huge!

In the photo below, there is a light placed behind the yellow sheet of limestone, causing the red pattern to appear on the wall behind it. It is like a curtain and hard to believe this is stone that has formed from dripping water!

Next was the Lake Cave. It was much smaller than Mammoth, but we had to enter this one with a guide for it is still active. (The oils on your fingers will stop further growth of the stalagmites/tites, so they wanna make sure you don't touch anything).

Check out the next two photos - you can see the large pillars hanging from the ceiling like an archway. They are hanging by a thread but supporting so much weight as the limestone is more heavy than concrete!

And from the caves, we passed through Busselton and then onto Perth! (Well Bicton to be exact..)

11 days on the road (including 2 days not driving), 4885km, over 500 tunes, 3 states, heaps of wind, eagles, dingos, roos, lizards, dead wombats and more! And all this with no car troubles or accomodation problems, and only one near miss on the road...

Yay, welcome to Perth! The sunny city :)

Day 10: Denmark to Margaret River

It turns out there is beaches in Denmark! And they're wonderful - kiddies having swimming lessons in there and all!


Then it was time to sample some honey and wines at Bartholomews Meadery. And purchase....



The treetop walk and ancient empire boardwalk in Walpole (Valley of the Giants) were our next stop. Here the trees are enormous and ancient! The walk rises to 40meters. Lunch was thanks to the Millhouse cafe in Pemberton.

We had some fun in the discovery centre at the tree place:

On to Augusta to the confluence of the Indian and Southern Oceans, marked by the Leeuwin Lighthouse. Another windy cape!







Pit stop: Margaret River YHA.