As you can see from the photo it was a good day! First we drove to Margaret River. Not the town but the mouth of the famous river which ends on the beach. Wine buffs will know why this area is famous. You will see from the photos that there is a large sand spit between the sea and the river. This sand spit is sometimes breached in bad weather. Apart from wine the area has excellent surfing beaches and some of the world championships have been held at these beaches. The waves weren't very big today but there were surfers and a group of schoolchildren learning as part of their curriculum. I wouldn't like to be in charge of them. I only go in the sea if it is shallow and calm!
We retraced our route but took a look at Smiths Beach and then Canal Rocks where the sea has eroded canals in the rocks to form some rock islands.
Back on the main road we continued to the Laurence vineyard where we stopped for lunch. Mick and I shared a 'Wine' platter which consisted of cheeses, crackers, Turkish bread and figs that were marinated or something. Delicious! I also had the wine taster - a selection of six of their wines including a sparkling, a rose, two whites and two reds. I swirled, smelt the bouquet and then drank. The sparkling was particularly good!
The vineyard has a large lake as you go in and in the middle is a small fountain with the 'Chick on a stick' in the middle. If you look at the photos you will see why it is called that.
The next stop was the Lavender tea shop where we had a lavender ice cream. Interesting! It didn't have a strong taste of lavender but was definitely lavender colour.
Then we carried onto Castle Rocks which is a beautiful little bay with soft golden sand and crystal clear water. Right near the water's edge was a small stingray again so we walked up and down watching it swimming and burrowing in the sand. By this time it was latish afternoon and not too hot so we sunbathed for an hour and a half. I think we saw five other people until some schoolchildren arrived. I can't enthuse enough about the beaches in this area. Hope you are not too jealous.