28th October 2022
Perth to Margaret River
Leah and Bruce wave us off from Myalup insisting we have come to Australia to see the country, not them.
A relatively short drive from Myalup and we reach Bunbury, a town on the coast. We stop at the Dolphin Discovery Centre (again, a completely random choice) and have coffee. We walk along Koombana Beach in bright sunshine, and then towards the jetty before returning and walking into town. Jo is having difficulty charging 'Roger' and spotting a camera shop I suggest that we may be able to buy a replacement USB cable that might work. Jo is sceptical that the cable the assistant and I have chosen is the correct one, so we decide to return to the car and bring Roger in for a fitting. It is the correct cable! (We later have limited success with both the original cable and the newly purchased one. If plugged into a USB socket in a hotel wall socket both cables seem to work; if plugged into the adapter brought from the UK neither appears to work. The USB socket in the car might, or might not work!)
We leave Bunbury and drive towards Margaret River, stopping at Cowaramup for lunch. (I had a custard tart - yummy.) The town has semi life-sized model cows scattered along the main road. We had already noticed the herds of cattle grazing in the fields along the route.
We later regret not detouring to see Busselton where there is a jetty almost 2km long.
Arrive in Margaret River mid-afternoon and check into 'Margarets in Town Apartments'. I had been a little dubious about this accommodation booked by Trailfinders, but my fears were unfounded. It used to be a hotel, but had been converted into self-catering at some point. losing its restaurant. Our room didn't have any self-catering facilities, which in our case didn't bother us. The location at the bottom of the hill that forms the main street in Margarets River was ideal.
After walking up and down the main street several times we struggled to find anywhere immediately appealing for dinner. We found an Italian that looked good, but no tables were free for today, so we booked for the day after. In the end we settled for a Thai (Thai Tamarind) and booked dinner for 7:15, the latest they could manage. Staff were friendly but I'm afraid I chose the wrong dish (a duck stir fry with lots of vegetables), but Jo enjoyed her meal.
