• Karen HechingerAustralia 2025Traveler
    Stopping in Bunbury on the way from Perth to Margaret River
    Tracking down the Bunbury Rotary Tower, apparently the only attraction in town1And, here it isView from the top of the tower. Yes, a bit less than impressiveOn to Busselton and their "iconic" jetty. Not sure about that description1This Bud's for you Mike!We made it to Margaret River.We've seen many of these signs acknowledging the indigenousPics from Mike's stroll about town while I rested.And again...Our drive down to Augusta was occasionally through tree lines roadsViews from the road on the way to AugustaAugusta lighthouseMike was trying to get a better pic of the lighthouse from the rocky beachThe ocean here was rough and quite beautifulOn our road trip to Albany, we stopped at the Tree Top Walk1I kind of look half asleep here. Still fighting that cold.The viewThe ground trail at the tree top walk1Hollowed out tinkle tree. Its not dead, still growing1

    25. Margaret River & southern road trip

    September 19, 2025 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 59 °F

    We picked up our rental car the next day and drove the 3+ hours down to Margaret River, stopping at the small towns of Bunbury & Busselton, neither of which offered much in the way of attractions. In Bunbury we tracked down and hiked up the Rotary Lookout tower, and in Busselton we drove out the "iconic" jetty (their description, definitely not mine).

    We arrived in the cute little town of Margaret River, known for it local wineries, where we looked forward to our "Discover Margaret River Tour", which would combine canoeing, hiking, and wine tasting with a lunch. To make a long story short, after unsuccessfully trying to locate a reminder email from the tour company, I called them to confirm, only to find out they had no record of our booking. This very popular tour was sold out, so we were out of luck. Big disappointment.

    If there is any silver lining at all, the head cold that I'd been fighting off for over a week had finally taken hold of me. Our alternate plan of driving down to Augusta, the southwestern tip of Australia, allowed me to nap in the car a bit (when I wasn't coughing). This was followed the next day by the beginning of our southwest road trip, through which I slept in the car the majority of the drive time, and crashed in the hotel after a hot shower at about 4PM. Huge thanks to Mike for grabbing food & bringing it back to the hotel for me, and for being such a good guy about me kind of bailing on him for 2 days.

    We did stop on our way to Albany to explore the Tree Top Walk, which was advertised as a walkway bridge suspended 120 feet above the ground, allowing you to explore the area without affecting the eco system itself. We also strolled through the ground trail which took us through a tingle tree forest. Tingle trees apparently have a root system that allows them to keep growing despite being hollowed out by fire & fungus.

    The trails were thankfully short, and I was happy to get back in the car & close my eyes again until we reached Albany.    Read more