If you’re looking to escape Perth for a few days, look no further than Margaret River.
Tucked away in the southwest corner of Western Australia, you can find rugged coastlines, towering forests and an abundance of vineyards!
I recently had a long weekend there and here are my top recommendations of things to explore!
The Journey
The journey from Perth south to Margaret River is approximately 3 hours, with lots of great places to stop and stretch your legs on the way.
However, you can’t leave Perth without stopping off in Fremantle, a historic suburb just south of the city with independent shops, markets, cute cafes and breweries.
Our next stop was at Lake Clifton, just south of Mandurah, to see the ancient thrombolite reef. The spherical rock like formations are ancient forms of microbial communities, approximately 570 million years old, producing oxygen for life on earth. They are only found in a few places across the world, including Western Australia.
There is no admission fee and there is a car park approximately 200m from the viewing platform into the lake, so it’s a perfect opportunity to stretch your legs.
Following the highway south, we had another stop off in Busselton, home to the hertage listed Busselton jetty, the longest timber-piled jetty in the Southern Hemisphere, dating back to the 19th century, and great for a walk along.
The jetty extends 1.8km into the Indian Ocean, with an underwater observatory at the end. There is a small fee to walk the jetty during the operational hours of the observatory (8am-6pm), but free outside of that. There is also a train that travels the length of the jetty if you don’t fancy the 3.6km round trip! Busselton itself has some great bars and restaurants and often has live music on the grassy beachfront area.
From Busselton it’s not far to the quaint town of Margaret River, complete with independent shops, breweries, vineyards, and surrounding beaches and forests. It also has an irresistible bakery. There are so many things to do and places to explore in the area!
Hikes
Margaret River has lots of hikes to do in the surrounding forests, but the coast is also a section on the iconic Cape to Cape Track, a 140km through hike from Cape Naturaliste to Cape Leeuwin.
We used All Trails to find a small section of the Cape to Cape Track to do as a circular hike called the Cave to Coast Trail https://www.alltrails.com/trail/australia/western-australia/cave-to-coast-trail.
It was an 11km hike through the Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park, starting at a cave before traversing along the clifftop for incredible views of the Indian Ocean. We even saw dolphins in the shallows of the crystal clear waters.
Vineyards
You can’t visit Margaret River without visiting one of the approximately 95 wineries in the region. Many of them have open cellar doors where you can go and pay a small fee for tasting. You can either nominate a designated driver and go there yourself, or book onto one of the bus tours operating in the region.
We fancied something a little more active and hired bikes from the Hairy Marron bike shop in the centre of Margaret River and did our own cycling tour. There are several wineries in close proximity to each other and roads are quiet enough to make it a comfortable ride. Several of the wineries waive the tasting fee if you buy a bottle, but thankfully the bikes come with panniers for this very reason!
The bike shop gave us a map of the vineyards and trails to take to get to them, it was a great day out.
Mountain Biking
If you’re into biking and drinking wine, but not at the same time, there are also lots of mountain bike trails around Margaret River, with approximately 40km of trails catering to a range of abilities. Again, the Hairy Marron bike shop can provide a map of these.
Surfing
If surfing is more your thing, the coastline of Margaret River offers breaks to suit all abilities. Surfer’s Point is an iconic Australian wave break and a great place to watch the pros tackle some big waves. Between March and April it hosts the Margaret River Pro World Championships. We personally chose to do this with a takeaway pizza from the local Italian restaurant in the town. For more beginner friendly breaks, try Gnarabup beach.
Caves
If you fancy doing something a little different, check out one of the many caves in the Margaret River area, complete with awe inspiring stalactites. There are over 100 limestone caves beneath the Leeuwin-Naturaliste ridge. Most of these require paid guided tours, but there are several smaller caves which don’t.
Hamelin Bay and Port Augusta
Approximately 40 minutes further south of Margaret River you’ll find Hamelin Bay, famous for huge stringrays being sighted in the shallow waters at the beach. Sadly there weren’t any there when we passed by since they are most active in the morning (8-9am). From Hamelin Bay it’s a short drive to the town of Augusta, where the Cape Leeuwin lighthouse marks the most south-westerly point of Australia.
Final Thoughts
Margaret River is a great place to visit with so much to see and do, it’s a place to slow down, connect with nature, and enjoy a wine or three.
Happy exploring!
The Fit Adventurer
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