We enjoyed our two week break in the hotels which came at a good time with some rainy and windy weather but now it is time to head back to the caravan. It's a bit sad to think now we are pretty much on the return journey now with more than 4 months gone and in a few days we will change direction and head east. We still have a fair while to go but it feels like it's coming to an end.

First stop was Yallingup Beach. A really nice spot and it would great to swim when the water was warm. It is great for the kids to with the waves crashing at a distance and calm shallow waters for about 100m.


Next was Canal Rocks with a short boardwalk weaving over the water. There was a bridge over a section of gushing water and it was crystal clear. Definitely a place worth visiting.


We then went to Margaret River Chocolate Company. It is the best chocolate I have ever tasted. White, milk dark....all were super yum. Of course it isn’t the cheapest to buy, but you are able to have a fair few free tastings with it being self serve which helped. They also have a viewing window and today we watched them make rocky road and big chocolate bears. We did by some individual chocolates, salted caramel, chilli, ginger, Malibu/coconut, peanut butter and hazelnut. We then went to Providore which is on the same property. Here they sell liqueurs, chutneys, oils, dressings, sweet sauces and many more including honeycomb straight from the beehive unaltered. Once again self serve and free tastings of all products.

We stopped to have lunch at Cowaramup, a town with many cow statues throughout the main street.

The land and scenery was very nice driving from Yallingup to the chocolate factory, this being the second country region in Australia I really like, but Margaret River town wasn’t that impressive. We then went to Mammoth Caves. We purchased a 3 cave pass which wasn’t all that cheap. This cave, well half of it anyway was impressive but hopefully the next two caves with tour guides will make it seem like more value for money. The first half was impressive with stalactites everywhere and the cave was well lit with a good boardwalk throughout. We each got headphones and at each station could key in a number to hear some audio about the cave. It is famous for having evidence of mega fauna...things like giant echidnas and giant wombats. The shawl was unique and looks like a curtain with soft waves in it. Once we exited the cave on the other side Matt and Liam walked the 700m track back to the start through the bush. I thought it would be more interesting to go back through the cave so I took Zach that way. Coming back through was so different because we were the only ones in there so the silence really stood out.

We are camping in the national park tonight at Conto’s Campground. Conto’s Campground was named after an alcoholic company. A group of young men built a fishing shack in the area and used to drink this beverage in high quantities when they were here. They left lots of empty Conto’s bottles behind hence the name Conto's. It is a really nice spot, very spacious and each site has a picnic table, a cooking fire pit with log seating around it. There are also toilets, a big clean camp kitchen and free firewood which is trucked in by the council. It was really nice to have a camp fire again but it did rain briefly a few times. There have been kookaburras and kangaroos visit our campsite this afternoon.