We have just returned from a four day break at a resort at Bunker Bay. We were lucky to have sunny, mild autumn weather and no rain. Had to water our garden as soon as we got home!
Anywhere past Busselton is called ” down south”, a favourite destination for so many people.
Included in this area are Busselton, Dunsborough, Yallingup, Cowaramup, Margaret River and Augusta. Once a sleepy farming and surfing area, down south is now a vibrant and busy part of Western Australia. Renown for vineyards, surfing, restaurants, amazing beaches, artists and beautiful bush land, this area is accessible from Perth, the capital and also affordable, offering all levels of accommodation from camping to super luxury cottages, hotels and purpose built retreats.
We had lunch when we arrived. My husband enjoyed his Margaret River Lamb Belly Ribs with Jarrah Honey, Cucumber, Fennel and Vietnamese Mint. We shared Roast Capel Heritage Potatoes, with Wood fired Bread Crouton, Rosemary Fleur de Sel and Truffle Oil. Wonderful.
I had Green Papaya Chicken Salad with a Peanut and Chilli Emulsion. Not so wonderful.
One of the bedrooms. Loved listening to the ocean crashing at night.
A view of one of the bathrooms.
We had a two bedroom, two bathroom villa. The entrance courtyard opened out to bush land and the front veranda looked over native plants to the ocean. Private, quiet and very comfortable.
This boardwalk crosses a lagoon and leads to the beach.
Due to regular shark alerts this is as far as I go into the sea, now days. The day before this photo was taken a man was killed by a shark in Queensland and the next day another man survived a shark attack at Broome.
After a big lunch we settled to our typical holiday dinner,” a bed picnic”, eaten in the sitting room!
Local businesses using local produce. Born, bred and frozen locally, this ice cream claims to be a combination of the freshest local produce and secret ingredients. It’s very good.
Our “bed picnics” became smaller and smaller each evening, probably due to indulging in double ice creams, made locally and tasty very special. The apples, with very dark skins and crisp flesh, are called Bravo. Unique to Western Australia, these apples have a distinct sweetness, high level of crispness and crunchiness and a dark, unusual burgundy skin. We really liked them!
Lovely places to walk around the resort.
Breakfast treats.
Green farmland en route to Dunsborough from Bunker Bay.
Approaching Yallingup. The green signs are Beach Emergency Numbers. This is a coding system to cut emergency response times. Each sign has a unique code at beach access points to ensure emergency vehicles can locate where they are needed quickly along the long coastline.
Driving into Yallingup, famous for surfing.
We enjoyed the car museum and the surfing museum at one of the vineyards.
Many vineyards in the region, some quite famous for their wines. Also emerging breweries. Many have cellar doors and restaurants.
Morning tea, a car picnic!
View from restaurant at Bunker Bay. So lovely.
Jetty at Busselton in the early morning light.
This shows the beginning of the Busselton Jetty, the longest timber piled jetty in the southern hemisphere. The jetty is 1.8km long. The buildings also house one of only six Underwater Observatories in the world. There’s an Interpretive Centre, Interactive Museum, a gift shop and a jetty train which travels on the jetty out to sea.
We were so lucky to experience lovely weather while we were down south. We had such a relaxing time, visiting some favourite places and a few we hadn’t been to before, eating at favourite cafes and restaurants and enjoying art galleries and, of course, the amazing coastline.
Our next holiday, booked for next week, has been cancelled due to an out break of Covid in Melbourne. We were going to Canberra for the Bottecelli to Van Gogh Exhibition, then to Melbourne to visit the She-Oak and Sunlight Exhibition, 250 Australian impressionist Works and also the French Impressionism From The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. So disappointing!