In Banbury for the night, the Lord Forrest Hotel was so nice almost didn’t want to leave in the morning. Drove down toward Margaret River, the cars on the road here are a little different.
My cousin and good friend are both Ironmen/women -- they have an Ironman in Busselton. Wonder if they would want to come to that one.
My first stop of the day was the Cape Naturaliste lighthouse. The only access is by guided tour, which is different than the other lighthouse I have seen here. My guide had a weird first name that I didn’t catch, but he was great (and a good looking older man too, who volunteers as a snakecatcher in the area - scary). He told us the history of the lighthouses in Australia, how the keepers all went crazy due to the work hours and mercury poisoning. He swindled us into polishing the brass handrail (or more likely not allowing us to get our fingerprints all over it) by asking us to carry a cloth up to the top. The stair were different because they were made of teak wood not steel/metal. It was a shorter lighthouse and there wasn’t a bad breeze outside. The views were great.
My next stop was very interesting (considering this was the only day I didn’t wear tennis shoes -- I was in my flip flops or as they say down here thongs or jandals) -- Ngilgi Caves. It’s a “semi-guided” tour, in that the guide takes you down there and then explains it to you and abandons you. Ha Ha, me in a cave unaccompanied. There was a main chamber which had lots of carbon monoxide (that they said was not a dangerous amount). The formations were very eerie and quite magnificent. It was very well lit but there were lots of stairs. There was another part that was the amphitheater -- the ceiling was very high and the oxygen levels here were great.
Knee Deep Winery had great porch seating with views of their vineyard. The weather was beautiful and the food was good. No, unfortunately, I didn’t get to try the wines as I was driving.
I stopped at a jewelry store -- John Miller Designs and found a very beautiful little trinket for my “big” souvenir from Australia. A ring with Western Australia sea creatures -- including mermaids and diving helmets.
Margaret River, the town, was very small but quaint -- lots of artists here I am guessing. I found a few beautiful glass pieces at the Gerry Reilly Glass Designs Studios and the clerk was very nice and friendly, giving me tips of the area (even though I had mistakenly only planned for one day there). Next stop was an Olive Shop, where I found a Sassy Duck purse. It was quite sassy :) How will I get this stuff home?
My next stop was one I shouldn’t have made but was very glad I did -- where is the worst place to send me -- a bookshop (yes, I need another lampstand). Also since the books are so expensive here, I didn’t need anything. I checked out the books (which are very pretty here -- they are bigger) and then made my way to the local authors table. There was a very pretty book in blues and grays, but a more striking book with feet popping out of the sand -- “Tunnel Vision” by Sullivan McLeod. I asked the clerk if it was any good, he gave me a very quizzical look and I asked again saying “I guess it’s not good?”. He said the author worked there sometime, and that it was his son. OMG I didn’t mean to insult the man, but the book looked interesting. We chatted for awhile and I bought a couple of copies of the book, one signed one for me and one for one of my best friends (as we could get it signed). I asked the clerk to sign mine too as he was the author’s dad. He commented he had one also -- Keith McLeod -- "Shore and Shelter". So I got that one too. He was very enthusiastic about his son writing. And surprised (and impressed) me by saying that he had to leave the shop at 5:00 p.m. to get to church (I liked that, as most people I have met here don’t go to church).
He also told me that one of the other local authors, Tim Winton, (I had read a couple of his books) was a very interesting character. I told him about my blog and my desires to write also. His son’s newest book is going to be about becoming a bull rider in the U.S. (a little more dangerous that surfing, I think). Hope the book makes it to my friend and he enjoys it. I started it and it was funny and well written.
It was getting late -- 4:30 p.m. and I was advised to check out the Voyager Winery for the scenery and the gifts (can’t pass up a gift shop). I got there and there was a huge white gate and a sign saying some of it was closed for a private event. There was a wedding going on. They had a beautiful rose garden too (where the reception was going on). The sun started to set.
My last big stop was going to be to watch the sunset over the Indian Ocean. I loved it. Sat on a rock on the beach at Prevelly Park. There were a couple of surfers out there just paddling around, I guess they were waiting for the sun to set before they caught their last wave. The waves were massive and weird in that they broke and then when the surf came in, it subsided quickly. I guess it was the way the beach and reefs were situated. I sat for a spell and just enjoyed the silence and sunset. It was magnificent. When one of the surfers came in, he couldn’t help but stop and take one last look at the beautiful sunset before going in. There was a large crowd on the top, some in caravans and some in cars. Lots of people out enjoying the sunset. This could have been and should have been a perfect end to a great day.
Though I have lived in a densely deer populated area all my life, I have never hit a deer in the 25 years I have been driving. But being in Australia about 3 weeks and just after sunset a kangaroo runs out in front of me. I slammed on my brakes, but hit it anyway on the drivers side. Thankfully, it did not come into the windshield. It really shook me up. I had little to no cell service, though I knew no one in the area to call anyway. I did call a friend crying but they didn’t answer. I gathered my wits and drove 5 kms to Margaret River, stopped on a lit populated street (the only gas station in town was closed as it was Sunday), checked under the hood and calmed down to drive the 95 kms back to Bunbury. This is one Aussie experience I didn’t really need to experience :) I guess you could say I got very distraught over this and “hit the wall” by getting very upset. I was shook up and didn’t mean to kill anything. I couldn’t call home as it was too early in the morning.
No I didn’t take pictures of my victim.
When I got to Bunbury, I found one of the few open restaurants, Friendship Chinese Restaurant. I was in the bustling crowd here. (ha ha)
WA -- Western Australia -- aka Wait Awhile -- no matter what happened here, I liked this area. It was laid back and more small townish and very beautiful.
I hope tomorrow is better, but I am not betting on it.
You can call me anytime!! I just can't promise I will answer that early. Don't let that little bump in the road (no pun intended) ruin your amazing adventure!!
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