Busselton is the perfect base for awesome day trips to Dunsborough and Margaret River with caves, wineries, lighthouse tours, stunning beaches to beautiful forests and bush trails.

1. The Caves Road Tourist Drive is the best place to start in the Margaret River Region.

Caves Road Tourist Drive is 111 kilometers long from Dunsborough to Augusta. This very scenic drive has many attractions along the way on the road or nearby on side roads. The scenery changes from bush to forest with paddocks of cattle and sheep and of course, vineyards.

Wineries

There are about 150 wineries in this world famous wine growing area and many have restaurants/cafes in beautiful country settings. If you love wine you will be spoilt for choice. I’m not a wine lover but I thought this old truck was so cute.

Yallingup Maze

The Yallingup Maze is an unique place to stop. The wooden maze has different challenge levels for all ages and some walls are not as they seem… tricky. They have a café with puzzles, brain teasers and board games on the tables. The outside area   has a bouncy pillow and is dog friendly.

The entrance fee for the maze is $16 AUD for adults and $14 AUD for children (5-17yrs).

Open from 9.30am to 4pm daily.

For more info check out http://yallingupmaze.com.au

Galleries

My first Gallery stop was the Bina Maya Aboriginal Art Gallery and the drive down the side road was breath taking with views down the valley and out to sea. The Gallery is small but it has very colourful, dot paintings and free entry. Open from 10am to 3pm Thursday to Monday (closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays).

The Yallingup Gallery is very impressive with beautiful hand made jewelry, ceramic pottery, wooden products and paintings. You are not permitted to take photos inside the gallery and being hand made, unique items this is reflected in the prices ( yep.. read very expensive) The Gallery is open from 10am to 4pm daily except Wednesday.

The gallery is a bush setting and well worth a visit.

Canal Rocks 

Just after Yallingup (check out the groovy bakery), is Canal Road and at the end of the road are Canal Rocks. What a stunning spot with granite boulders, a boardwalk and water that is every shade of blue. This was one of my favourite places and so unexpected.

 

The Busselton Information Centre has a large map of the South West, from Busselton to Augusta and it has an index which lists all the attractions, wineries, accommodation in this area, or you can download it from here https://www.margaretriver.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/MRBTA-2019DecMap.pdf

2. Mammoth and Lake Caves is a not to be missed in the Margaret River Region.

The Mammoth and Lake Caves are on Caves Road with Mammoth Cave being 85 kilometers from Busselton and Lakes Cave just 3 kilometers down the road from Mammoth Cave.

Mammoth Cave is self guided with an audio tour, so you can take as long as you like and have options to listen to additional info from scientists, though the basic info was enough for me, but it is always good to have an option.

You exit the cave on the other side of Caves Road and then have a short or long (your choice) walk thorough the bushland, Marri Trail, back to the visitors center. There are 540 stairs in the cave and the exit is quite steep, though you can pretend you are listening to the audio while you catch your breath. 

The Mammoth Cave costs $22.50 AUD for adults and $11.50 for children (4-16yrs)

Opening times are 9am to 5pm with last entry at 4pm. The self-guided tour takes approximately one hour and I would recommend booking a time as with COVID19 the number of people entering the cave as been restricted.

The Mammoth cave is well worth a visit as you can see from these beautiful pictures.

Just 3 kilometers down the road is Lake Cave, unlike Mammoth Cave, you need to be on a guided tour. I think this cave is stunningly beautiful with the ‘Suspended Table”  and delicate crystal formations, though you do have to earn the privilege with a heart pumping … 650 stairs and very steep in areas. But would I do it again… absolutely, check out these pictures, wow!

Lake Cave has a permanent lake inside and is very wet. The crystals are continuously growing, very slowly, and they form from water droplets, so you will get dripped on occasionally. 

 The Cave costs $22.50 AUD for adults and $11.50 for children (4-16yrs)

Opening times are 9am to 5pm with last entry at 4pm. The guided tour takes approximately one hour, departing every 40minutes from 9.20am and I would strongly recommend booking this cave as with COVID19 the number of people entering the cave as been restricted. Bookings can be made at http://margaretriverattractions.comT

If you have the time I would suggest seeing the caves on a separate day to the Caves Road Tourist Drive with the wineries, Canal Rocks, galleries and maze, as there is a lot to see and you want to enjoy it without rushing.

3. Meelup Beach, Eagle Bay and Dunsborough are third on my list of things to do and see in the Margaret River region.

Heading out of Busselton on the Bussell Highway to Dunsborough is a 20 minute drive. Just before the Dunsborough town center is Cape Naturaliste Road, this road takes you to Meelup Beach road. The Meelup Beach road is a beautiful coastal drive with many parking bays along the way to take in the stunning ocean views.

At Meelup Beach there is a large grassed area with picnic tables and the beach is in a sheltered bay with large granite boulders. It is a lovely spot for a day at the beach, picnic, or morning tea. There are no shops at the beach, but there are toilets.

From Meelup Beach you can walk the Meelup nature trail to Castle Rock in one direction or Point Picquet. The Meelup Trail goes from Dunsborough to Eagle Bay is 7.4 kilometers, for more info and to download a map go to http://meeluppark.com

I walked the 1.2 kilometers to Eagle Rock and loved it. I would highly recommend taking the time to do a walk along this coast as the views, bays, wildflowers and huge granite rocks are stunning.

 

A few minutes down the road is Eagle Bay, not as stunning as Meelup Beach, but still ok, worth taking a look at and then I stopped at another parking bay to look for migrating whales (I think I nearly saw 5 whales…LOL)

After all that walking you will be needing to refuel, so I would stop at the Dunsborough Town center and check out the Bakery. Yum, so many delicious pies and cakes to choose from you won’t be disappointed.

Dunsborough has become very popular with people choosing to move to this area to live, but unfortunately I think with all the new development Dunsborough has lost it’s country town feel and looks like any other suburban shopping center. I guess that’s progress. The coastal line is breath taking and not to be missed.

4. The fourth awesome sight in the Margaret River Region is the Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse.

The Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse is 35 minutes drive, (37.4 kilometers) from Busselton via Caves Road and Cape Naturaliste Road. The Lighthouse has half-hourly tours showing the inside of the lighthouse, how it works and it’s history. There are 59 stairs to climb and an outside balcony at the top with stunning views ( apparently… too scary high for me). The observation platform at the base of the lighthouse has stunning views also ( I saw those) and the Lighthouse Keepers Cottage is being used as a café.

The Lighthouse is open from 9am to 5pm daily.

Guided tours are every half hour from 9.30am to 4.30pm and bookings are recommended especially during holiday times.

Tour prices are $15 AUD for adults and $7.50 for children (4-16yrs)

General entry $5 AUD doesn’t include the tour.

To see inside the lighthouse you need to be on a guided tour, for more info and to book a ticket see http://margaretriverattractions.com

5. Margaret River Town.

The Margaret River region is abundant with local products, such as wine, cheese and chocolate. You can easily eat and drink your way around Margaret River all day.

Margaret River Dairy Company

First stop the Margaret River Dairy Company, 33 kilometers from Busselton (24 minutes drive) down the Bussell Highway. They have a large selection of cheeses, some yoghurts and ice creams to purchase, but no tastings due to COVID-19 restrictions and no information on how the products are made. The roasted strawberry ice cream was OK.

The Dairy Company is open daily from 9.30am to 5pm.

For more info see http://margaretriverdairy.com.au

Margaret River Chocolate Factory

Down the road opposite the Dairy Company is the Margaret River Chocolate Factory, a large modern building in a lovely bush setting. There are free chocolate tastings (white, milk and dark chocolate) on entry and entry is free. You can see how the chocolate is made through the chocolate window and I saw truffles being filled with a peanut filling. 

They have a huge selection of chocolates, spreads, dressings even chocolate bath salts! 

The Chocolate Factory is open every day from 9am to 5pm and you can purchase products online at http://chocolatefactory.com.au 

Bettenay’s Margaret River Nougat Company

A very short drive from the Chocolate Factory is the Bettenay’s Nougat Company, who are also a winery. The surrounding grape vines and lake make a lovely view and the nougat is delicious. They have free tastings of 2 different flavours, but there are 35 different flavours to choose from. The nougat is made fresh on the premises and you can watch it being made through a  viewing window. I bought the cranberry and pistachio nougat… so yum! 

They are open from 9.30am to 5pm and see http://bettenaysmargaretriver.com,au for more info.

Margaret River Town Center.

The Margaret River town center is about 20 kilometers from the Nougat Company and being close to the beach, which holds international surfing competitions, has a surfer dude and hippie cool vibe. There are many cafes/ restaurants, country craft and surfing shops. Unfortunately when I was visiting the main town center was being redeveloped and traffic, parking even trying  to walk up and down the main road was a nightmare. But I’m sure when it’s finished it will look amazing.

Surfer’s Point and Rivermouth.

Surfer’s Point Break is the number one surfing spot in Margaret river and has a grassed area, benches and a boardwalk to watch the talented surfers (but no surfers when I was there… I couldn’t believe it!)

The Rivermouth just down the road (turn left out of the car park) is where Margaret River (yes Margaret River town has a river called Margaret River) meets the Indian Ocean.

The Rivermouth has lovely beaches, a boardwalk, toilets and plaques describing the surfing history and culture.

Cowaramup 

Cowaramup is a very small town on the Bussell Highway 15 minutes (12kms) from Margaret River on the way back to Busselton. The town has a huge cow theme happening with large life-sized fibreglass cows (42) placed around the town and in 2014 gained the Guinness World Record for the most people dressed as cows in one gathering (1352 people). Mooovellous!

The town shops have locally made candy, fudge, nougat, olive oil and not forgetting wine. The main street has a bakery, country crafts and even a tattoo parlour. This cute little town is worth a stop and a selfie with a cow.

 

After spending a number of days driving around the incredible Margaret River Region it is time to relax and stay closer to your home base, Busselton and to help you discover what’s happening in Busselton check out my Things to Do and See in Busselton blog at-

http://sole-traveller.com/things-to-do-and-see-in-busselton/

Travel tips for awesome day trips from Busselton

• Get a Margaret River Region map from the Tourist Visitors Centre or download it at https://www.margaretriver.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/MRBTA-2019DecMap.pdf.
• Plan your stops so you have enough time to enjoy each place and aren’t back tracking.
• Take note of street names or places just before your turn off so you don’t miss it (remembered wineries)
• Pack a flask with tea or coffee for an impromptu cuppa at a beautiful spot you discover accidently.
• Be prepared for a change in the weather with raincoats and sun hats.
• Make sure your camera/phone is charged and there is space on your memory card.
• Be Flexible

 

If the Margaret River Region sounds like your next holiday please leave a comment below.