Day 1 of our 3 day driving tour of South West Australia and we had a lovely white Toyota Corolla with the logo no birds all over it - make of that what you will!!! I had a bit of a panic when I first got into it and realised that it was an automatic (it's quite a while since I've driven one of those hey Dad) but after a few minutes tuition I was good to go. The roads down to the SW are great - straight, smooth and not too busy.

Our first stop was Mandurrah where Rich, Becky and baby Ben will be emigrating to next year. It seems a really lovely town with a large lake at it's centre, though I have to confess that we didn't get much further than the fish and chip restaurant. We got out of the car and the smell enveloped us so we followed our noses and had some Barracuda and Chips - delicious!

Next stop was Busseltown famous for its 2km wooden pier which was used for commercial shipping right up until 1972. It's now owned by the local community but is closed as sections have been damaged by fire and cyclones.

We then drove and drove down the scenic road to our overnight stop at Margaret River. We saw loads of kangaroos on the way down but everytime I stopped to take a photo they bounced off - awkward devils! Margaret River is a small town famous for its wineries and proximity to some of the best surf beaches in Australia. We arrived on the first day of their wine festival so the bars were busy and there was live music playing in the street.