10th - 11th Dec

Busselton nestled into a north facing bay is just a jewel on the WA coastline . Busselton jetty juts 1.8klm into the shallow bay in search of deep water suitable for the old sailing and steamboats on which the early community depended for trade and necessities. Today the CBD is a eclectic and quaint mix of early settlement and McDonalds, KFC and supermarkets.

Two hours south of Perth, this small city boasts 9 caravan parks and camping areas of practically every religious denomination in the country. A favoured holiday destination for West Aussies for its accessibility and beautiful coastline, and it's close proximity to the Margret River wine district. The restaurant, café and bar scene is vibrant and wide of choice.

Just back from the foreshore at the Jetty is Kookaburra Caravan Park, a council run park stretched over 3 city blocks full of huge shady trees. We score a large site right on the corner of the main beach road between two beautiful peppermint trees, shaded and sheltered, and a 10 minute walk to the main shopping streets. For dinner we chose the Old Fire Station Café and Bar, highly recommended on TripAdvisor, it was just excellent offering a casual but diverse menu and a wide range of Margret River and WA wines, spirits and boutique beers all in a rustic brick, wood and steel decor.

A trip to Cape Naturliste and its historic Lighthouse, a 30klm drive west, hosted a day of walks along the headland, visits to coffee shops, vineyards, stunning bays and a beautiful boutique brewery above Eagle Bay. Possibly the most picturesque beach we have encountered on our journey was at Bunker Bay only a few kilometres east of the Cape. A sweeping ribbon of sand frames a north facing turquoise bay with scattered dark reefs and rocks along its 2klm length. A small café nestled into the western end of the bay was a perfect spot for an espresso sitting on the balcony with the best view.

A few more kilometres, not many, finds us in the carpark of the Eagle Bay Brewing Company (surprise, surprise) sitting on a hilltop about a kilometre from Eagle Bay this place has views to get drunk on. Very modern and spacious, the brewery restaurant spills onto the lawn from a cavernous interior seating a few hundred. We take a stool and tall table on the terrace and are soon served with a delicious pint of red ale and a crisp in-house apple cider, not a bad place to watch the afternoon relax into dusk!