Day 160 Busselton, (Margaret River), WA

Sunshine and warmth today so it is really starting to feel like spring.  The day started cold though with a minimum of just four degrees.  We are still running the reverse cycle heater in the early hours of each morning, set at 25 degrees, to make the van warmer.  With such thin walls the cold air seems to seep into the van.

We took ourselves for another nice long walk this morning and by the time we ventured outside it was after 8 am and being a Sunday morning there were a lot of people walking, running and cycling along the beach and footpath.  Today we walked south and we noticed the kilometre marker signs that said the length of the path was 24kms.  That is an excellent length for cyclists and pedestrians.

By the time we arrived back at the van and had a light breakfast and showers it was after 10am so instead of doing a long drive we decided to devote our time to Margaret River.  Our GPS took us out along the Bussell Highway towards Margaret River and the first place we stopped was at the little town of Cowaramup.  Nobody can pronounce the name so it is affectionately know as "Cow Town".  From this nickname the whole town has been cow-themed.  I lost count of the number of fibreglass cows lining the main street.  It is a lovely little town chock-a-block with artisan stores and it is the kind of town that I have associated with this area of Australia.  

I didn't quite "get" the name of this coffee shop - Two Cracks Coffee 😂

It didn't seem quite appropriate to have a cow and calf advertise the local butcher 😩

It was nice to stretch our legs walking through the Main Street but we were soon back in the car and headed towards Margaret River.  Busselton to Margaret River is just over 50 kms.......no distance at all so we arrived here around 11am that gave us plenty of time to explore the Main Street and also to visit the Visitor Information Centre to pick up some brochures of places and things to see in this area.  We also had a little retail therapy (Philip this time who picked up a lovely pair of chinos and a long sleeved shirt to match).  I can never resist a sale and I purchased a pair of knee high boots that will be perfect for our trip overseas next year for a very good sale price!

While Philip was waiting outside the shoe shop for me to complete my purchase he got talking to another gentleman also waiting for his wife.  He mentioned the Berry Farm as a nice place to have lunch and it is just 12 kms from Margaret River.  It was after 1pm by this time and we were feeling peckish so off we headed.

What a great choice for lunch!  Not only was the Cafe set in absolutely picture perfect grounds but the food was fantastic.  We both decided on the Beef and Pork Sausage Roll and once again I wish we had ordered just one to share!  They were enormous but surprisingly, although they looked huge, the meal itself was not a belly overload.  I also tried their Passionfruit "Bubbles that" was a very nice drop, and not too sweet, while Philip decided to stick with the Coronas. We rounded off our meal with a shared Devonshire Tea with chunky homemade strawberry jam that was the perfect finish.

We walked off our lunch by wandering around the gardens and then heading to the Artisan Shop where I purchased a jar of Lemon Butter, Grape Jam and a bottle of the Passionfruit "Bubbles".

Once back in the car we set the GPS to take us a different route back to Busselton and gee it was a lovely drive.  I mean this whole area is picture perfect but this was a little different with lots of lush pasture paddocks in between paddocks of grape vines.  We also noticed a lot more Dorper (fat lamb) sheep today and we came across a horse stud, with its miles miles upon miles of white fencing. It was called Amelia Park and it is owned by the Walsh Family.  No money spared here!

It turned out to be another long day with us not arriving home until after 4pm but it was another lovely day weather wise and we are just soaking it up.  There is rain predicted for the next couple of days however so what we do over the next couples of days will depend on the rain.  I hope it doesn't stick around too long.....