Margaret River (Part 2) Caves, Forests, a Lighthouse and Wine

 The second day of our Margaret River trip focused on Nature giving us a look at some of the spectacular natural attractions of the area.  After a very enjoyable breakfast at a local cafe we headed into the Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park, driving through lush bush and large trees to visit the Mammoth Cave. Here we would  see the remains of megafauna, some as much as 50,000 years old.  The spacious limestone cave has easy access and boasts impressive stalagmites and stalagtites.  I love the cool and silent ambiance of limestone caves so really enjoyed my visit there.

This is just a small corner of Mammoth. Note the person on the walk way which gives an indication of the size of the cave.

The remains of a pre historic animal in the cave

Next we drove through the majestic and  beautiful Boranup Karri Forest feeling so insignificant in the scale of things; some of the trees there are 65 metres tall. At certain times of the year the forest is carpeted with wild flowers and orchids but unfortunately this wasn't the right time of year, nevertheless, our guide stopped in a clearing and gave us a very interesting talk about the native trees of the area and described how the eucalypts  and other trees cope with the wild fires prevalent in Australia.

A bit further south we called into Hamelin Bay, a very pretty white sand beach.  The idea was to see stingrays swimming backwards and forwards along the beach.  Apparently this is a great attraction but for me it was nothing unusual, I see them often in New Zealand. Still it was lovely to stop at the beach and see the excitement on the faces of visitors who were thrilled at spotting stingrays for the first time.

Those dark shadows at the water's edge are stingrays, Hamelin Bay

Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse is at the bottom tip of the Margaret River region, the tallest lighthouse on the mainland of Australia, this was our next stop. Built in 1895 from limestone it is now fully automated and still vital for passing ships. We were invited by the guide there to climb to the top, all 176 stairs. Initially daunted by the open stairs I was quite proud of myself as I climbed it easily.  The views from the top are spectacular with a clear view of where the Southern Ocean meets the Indian Ocean. We had to cling to the railing at the top due to the fierce wind but it was well worth the climb. 

For a detailed look at its history we visited the small museum occupying one of the former lighthouse keepers cottages close by. 

Looking down from the top to the former lighthouses keepers cottages

Where the Southern Ocean meets the Indian Ocean

What a fantastic morning we had had, so much variety and more to come.  It was time to go to a really lovely cafe for lunch and The Colour Patch overlooking the Blackwood River truly fitted the bill.  While we dined and sipped wine dolphins were cavorting right outside in the river.

Time then for a wine tasting.  The Margaret River region boasts around 200 wineries, most quite small producers, and we were going to Brown Hill Winery. There we had a very interesting talk about wine making and the history of this winery by Chiara, one of the owners, while we happily tasted 8 of their wines.

We had all been looking forward to visiting the township of Margaret River which was our final activity for the day.  I think it is fair to say that most of us were expecting a cute, historic country town and that we were rather disappointed to find it was just a suburban shopping strip like thousands of others.  We didn't mind that time constraints meant we had a very short visit there.

Back at our accommodation a few of us gathered in the bar for happy hour drinks, such a lovely group of people.  We were all more than delighted with our day and went off to our rooms contented, looking forward to tomorrow.