Leaving Perth we headed south, being followed by big rain clouds. We checked out Mandurah and Bunbury, then set up camp for a couple of days in Busselton. Unfortunately the weather did not improve, it was cold and rainy for most of our stay. That didn't stop Lee going fishing and catching a nice sized flounder though. We also walked out on the historic Busselton Jetty, the longest timber jetty in the southern hemisphere at 1.8km long.

Pushing on, we checked out Dunsborough and Yallingup before setting up camp in the town Margaret River, just in time to celebrate Lee's (and Scott's and Livvy's) birthday the next day. We went out for a long lunch, and ended up befriending the bartender at the Margaret River Hotel, who was staying across the road from us in the van park. A long lunch then turned into a very long lunch, we ended up getting home around 12am, but a good time was had by all! ;)

Other highlights of our stay at "Margs" included checking out the ridiculously crowded surf breaks of the area, driving through the beautiful karri forests, checking out some amazing locally-made furniture, and of course going on a winery tour. We managed to go to 6 wineries in all during our stay, not bad for Lee who is only new to the world of wine.

We suddenly realised that Christmas was upon us and that we'd better pull our finger out and find accommodation over the holiday period. After a frantic morning ringing around all the van parks in the southwest and beyond, we finally found a place to stay for Christmas, another for Boxing Day, and another for the following days. We did our final Christmas shop, then escaped the madness that is Margaret River on Christmas Eve, and hit the road for Augusta, our Christmas refuge.

L & L