It is our last day in Busselton and the only thing left to do was the Busselton Jetty Train Ride and Underwater Observatory. As the Busselton Jetty Ticket Office doesn't open until 10am we decided that a little early morning exercise would kill some time before we had to head into town. Philip went for a very long bike ride while I elected to do the northern walk along Geographe Bay. We timed our exercise perfectly both arriving back to the van almost at the same time (but I have to admit Philip did about an hour more than me 😂). We cooked up sausages, eggs and tomatoes on the BBQ for breakfast and by the time we had finished cleaning up it was time to head to the Busselton Jetty.
Luck has just not been with us while we have been in the South West corner of Western Australia when it comes to tours and today was no different. When we went to the ticket office to purchase our train/observatory tickets the lady behind the counter informed us that the only available time for the train tour today was at 3.00pm! All other times were fully booked. So we made the purchase as I really wanted to do this iconic "must do" before leaving Busselton. We were of course disappointed, especially Philip who likes to do a bit of packing up on the day before we leave, but it couldn't be helped.
By the time we arrived home and I had unpacked a few grocery items while Philip cleaned and packed away the BBQ it was time for lunch. I cooked up the fish fillets that we picked up in Augusta for lunch with an asian style salad. The fish was Eight Bar Cod that I have never heard of before but boy oh boy it was delicious. I rolled the fillets in Dukkah before pan frying them in lots of butter so the fillets had a slight crunch to them that my husband really enjoys.
After we had cleaned up after lunch I made a couple of phone calls for our next destination. The first place I tried was Pemberton but they were fully booked so the next place was a van park just outside Manjimup and they were very obliging, so that is where we are headed tomorrow. By the time the phone calls were made it was time to head to the Busselton Jetty.
Busselton Jetty was built in 1865 at a length of just 186 metres in length and it was soon realised that this was not long enough so gradually over the years the length has been extended to it's final length of 1841 metres. It is the second longest wooden piled jetty in the southern hemisphere. It has been almost completely destroyed over the years by both fire and cyclones and it is now a dedicated tourist destination.
We arrived ten minutes before departure time and we were probably the last to arrive. The line up to get on the train was very long. However, somehow there were enough seats on the little train to take us the to the end of the jetty. The trip takes around 30 minutes as the solar powered train engine moves at a very slow pace. At the very end of the jetty we disembarked and made our way into the Underwater Observatory that is only one of six worldwide. There was a large group of us - mainly families - and even though the tour guide tried to keep everyone engaged the kids were running amok and to be honest you couldn't see too much through the underwater windows. It was underwhelming and after just five minutes Philip and I decided to leave the tour and walk back along the jetty rather than wait for the train. By this time it was well after 4pm and the wind had picked up on our walk but we just picked up the pace. The walk was quite enjoyable and we saw more walking than we did on the train!
Once we were back on dry land we headed to a nearby Brewery for beers, wine and pizza while we waited for the sun to set. It was lovely sitting outside in the sun but once the sun had set the temperature dropped dramatically so it was time to head home.
So now as I sit here writing this blog with the reverse cycle aircon humming away I am thinking about our time here in Busselton. We have spent nine days here and we could easily stay another nine. The Mandalay Resort Caravan Park is green and inviting. It is a lovely van park and the only negative is that there are so many trees here that we haven't been able to pick up satellite TV..... but we can live without that. Tomorrow we head inland to the giant Karri Forests where we will be able to do some treetop walks and maybe a little kayaking, if it's not too cold. Once again we will be dictated by the weather.
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