| Page Views: 1,359 Last Visit to Margaret River: January, 2008 I Visit Here Frequently | Heading south by TheWanderingCamel - last update: Jan 6, 2008 |
Hub of the area known colloquially as "Down South" by Western Australians, the little town of Margaret River has something for everyone. Once a small timber town, just a street lined with mill workers cottages, the combination of a thriving wine industry producing premium wines set amid a landscape of gently rolling hills, a rugged and beautiful coastline with world-renowned surfing breaks backed by a magnificent forests and several deep caves with spectacular formations have seen the area blossom into a major tourist region.
Summertime sees the place bursting with people come to make the most of this favourite playground for visitors and locals alike. Roses are in full bloom everywhere - planted not only for their aesthetic beauty but also in a long tradition whereby the rose bush is an excellent early indicator of mildew that would blight the fruit now swelling on the vine.
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|  | ....gorgeous beaches... Summertime is beachtime, and beaches don't get much better than this. Pristine fine white sand and turquoise water - miles and miles of it - not even the most popular beaches are ever crowded and you don't have to go far to find a place you can call your own.
These waves roll in across the Indian Ocean by way of the South Atlantic - there's nothing between this coast and Argentina.
Drive further south, just 60 kilometres, and you come to Cape Leeuwin, the south-west corner of Australia. Turn the corner and you are facing the Southern Ocean - next stop Antarctica.
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...caves and cool forests There may not be any great architectural wonders to visit in this corner of Australia but nature provides cathedrals as magnificent as any mediaeval wonder of glass and stone.
The limestone plateau that forms the Leeuwin-Naturaliste peninsula hides a secret world of caves and caverns full of extraordinary formations of frozen stone pillars and natural sculptures. Several are open for guided tours, a couple permit safe entry for amateur explorers but you'll need to bring a torch whilst others require a spaeliologist's skills.
If open spaces are more to your liking, the soaring cream trunks of the Boranup forest rise like a multitude of classical columns as awe-inspiring and silent as any ancient temple.
leyle | | |
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 Comments for TheWanderingCamel about Margaret River | | | | |
Trekki Sun Jan 11, 2009 10:11 UTC
Wonderful updates, Leyle :-)) Ahh, yes, I would love to be at this beach now and enjoy some of this famous Australian wine :-)) Although spring is coming here, I am sure, despite we still are much below minus 10... | Nemorino Tue Dec 16, 2008 21:49 UTC
I enjoyed reading your detailed and enthusiastic tips on this remarkable area. It's amazing that the huge wine-making industry only dates back to a trial acre planted a mere forty-two years ago in 1966! | SLLiew Sun Mar 9, 2008 20:17 UTC
Enjoyed a virtual tour of Margaret River - the vineyards and local flora and fauna. Thanks for sharing this wonder destination. | JLBG Wed Jan 30, 2008 19:55 UTC
Cape Leeuwin lighthouse looks great but The Karri Forest is even more impressive. This is an aspect of Australia that is less known in Europe ! Wineries would bring us back almost home ! |
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