Friday, 31 May 2013

Margaret River

Running path to the river.

This morning the sun was determined, and it attempted to appear even though a light mist was raining down. Having slept in my running clothes last night, I was just as determined and very ready for the run this morning. The slight chill in the air would not keep Hector or me inside. We ran off from our little cabin at the Riverview Park and took a right down the dirt road to the Margaret River. Crossing the bridge we watched a smokey mist rise from river like floating ghosts.

Once on the other side, we were able to run parallel to the river for a few kilometers. Eventually the trail veered and we ran along the Ten Mile Brook trail and turned around after 3.25 kilometers. Then, we retraced our route back. Our total run this morning was 6.5 kilometers.

I forgot to take our camera on the run, so we re-enacted it after our showers…

 

After our showers and re-enactment, we were off to the Margaret River Bakery for breakfast. This bakery is quite charming with its hanging chandeliers and red, green, and tan oversized cushioned chairs. The fresh oj and shared veggies panini hit the spot, and we agreed that we would be quite happy to spend the entire day in this cozy bakery. But, we moved on to explore the region. (This area is very picturesque due to the numerous vineyards splattered everywhere.)

Augusta

While heading south, we stopped in the town of Witchcliffe at the Witchcliffe Candle Gallery. The candle display was surprisingly small, regardless we bought a $9 vanilla candle and chatted with the candle maker.

 

Our next stop was the Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse near Augusta. The lighthouse is located at the most south western point of Australia, where the Indian and Southern Oceans collide. I was surprised that we were a little over 5,400 kilometers from the South Pole…we had already driven further than that on this trip! Oh, and the lighthouse stands at 39 meters and is the tallest on Australia's mainland.

As we departed Augusta, we decided to take a different path and head north along Caves Road. Apparently caves lie everywhere in this region! Caves! I love exploring caves, so I was excited to have the opportunity visit a few caves in an area with 100's of unexplored caves. What a dream! The first cave we visited was Jewel Cave.

 

This cave was extremely impressive and the best cave I have ever been in! Holy long straw stalactites! The diversity of formations were beyond belief…definitely felt like we stepped into a jewel box with pendulites, helictites, massive stalagmites and flowstones. (The cave had a gorgeous display of cave coral too!). The pictures do not show off the beauty of this cave very well, but worth posting a few.

Pendulites in black and white.

 

The caves in this area were formed by water carving and flowing through the limestone. It was interesting to learn that the remains of many giant creatures have been found in the caves, including lions, wombats, kangaroos, and even the Tasmanian Tiger.

The second cave on our visit was Mammoth Cave. We took the self guided tour through this giant cave. It was surprising that we were allowed to wander anywhere we desired.

 

Mouth of Mammoth Cave.

 

After our cave tour we started running into darkness, and we didn't have time to visit any of the wonderful wineries in the area. It was okay because we still have about a dozen bottles of Australia wine with us in our supplies. No shortage any time soon…

As we continued north, we took a coffee break on Victoria Street in Bunbury. Victoria Street is also known as the Cappuccino Strip. It is designed to recognize Bunbury's beginning as a port settlement. We enjoyed the maritime highlights of the town and wished it were earlier in the day so we could see more. But without light, we felt the need to get to Perth.

Arriving in Perth well after dark, we found a fabulous hotel at the edge of the city (http://perth.frasershospitality.com), made some miso, and headed to bed. Tomorrow the plan is to sleep in, run, sightsee, and run again!

 

Drove 413 kilometers.

Ran 6.5 kilometers.