We were absolutely thrilled to reach the final leg of our road trip in Margaret River and Busselton before finally making it to Perth.

If you are interested in reading about the earlier stages of our road trip, I have included the links below:

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5

Day 30

The 30th day on the road for us was also a special day as it was my birthday. While we woke up from camping in Augusta, we had booked a cabin in Margaret River to stay for 5 days to take some time to celebrate my birthday as well as rest from being on the road for so long.

After starting the day with a delicious brunch at the most southwesterly restaurant in Australia called The Colour Patch, we started making the short drive up to the town of Margaret River. On our way into town, we were intrigued by one of the towns that was on the side of the highway called Witchcliffe, so we stopped to check it out. It was the coolest town that had all kinds of quirky shops, and all the signage in the town had a witch theme.

We had some time before we could check in to our cabin when we arrived in Margaret River, so we took some time to walk around town. The town reminded us a lot of Noosa but definitely had more independent shops, and there truly is a shop for everyone. We were particular fans of the charcuterie butcher shop and the bakery.

Our cabin was located a little bit out of town on a large plot of land that was surrounded by trees and grassland. There were a ton of kangaroos that were always around the larger expanse of the property which added to the experience! The property also had some great trails to walk around so that was great for my running in the morning as well as evening walks as the sun was going down.

To celebrate my birthday, we went for dinner to a restaurant in town called the Margaret River Tuck Shop. This restaurant served a lot of contemporary food, and everything we had was absolutely delicious. We would definitely recommend the restaurant to anyone who is thinking of visiting Margaret River!

Day 31-33

The following few days in Margaret River were filled with food, drinks and exploring. On day 31, we went back into town to run some errands, and then drove out to the beach on the coast in Prevelly to take a look at the surfing waves. The waves were absolutely huge when we were out there and it was fun to watch the dozens of windsurfers from the observation platform.

On Day 32, we had booked a food and wine tour from the day that George found from his research online. It was a packed and fun-filled day that started at an alpaca and emu farm, where we got to feed both types of animals before having a delicious breakfast.

Our next stop was a chocolate tasting at a chocolate factory called Temper Temper in a town called Cowaramup. They had such interesting chocolate flavours, such as chocolate with pieces of cauliflower in it, and it was great to have a look around and try some of the unique varieties.

The tour took us to one wine tasting before lunch, a small winery with great wines. One thing we really enjoyed about our tour was that they took us to small, family-run wineries that don’t sell their wine outside of the winery premises (or orders). This was an interesting concept and we couldn’t believe how many wineries stay in business this way. We had a delicious lunch at an olive farm called Olio Bello which also offered an amazing farm shop where you could sample every single food item that they sold.

After lunch, we visited two more wineries before the end of our tour. We enjoyed speaking with the staff at each winery to learn more about the wines, and we both feel more knowledgeable about the winemaking process now.

Day 33 was our final day in Margaret River, which we spent mostly relaxing. We went back up to Cowaramup as we enjoyed the look of that town and had a walk around there, and also checked out the Margaret River Brewing Company. Most of the craft beer in Australia hasn’t been my favourite, but we each got a tasting paddle and this brewery had quite a few beers that I actually liked!

Day 34

We were sad to leave our bushland cottage, but were at the point in our road trip where each new day was a day closer to our new home in Perth! We were headed to Busselton for our final two nights on the road, but planned to take the scenic route on our way there.

First, we stopped at the Injidup Natural Spa, which is a rock formation oriented in such a way that the ocean waves crash into a pool of water like a waterfall every time the waves come in. It was a beautiful spot and we really enjoyed climbing the rocks around the area.

Next, we headed to Canal Rocks nearby, which was also beautiful. It was a very hot day so we didn’t last long walking around at that point but were still able to enjoy the beautiful scenery.

With the temperature of the day, we knew we either needed to go for a swim or to go somewhere cooler next. We decided to stop at the Ngilgi Caves outside Yallingup as we had heard that these were some of the best caves that you could visit in Western Australia. This network of caves was huge, and you access them from a single stairwell that goes underground. From there, you can explore an “amphitheatre” cave and then a larger section of chambers that you can walk through on wooden boardwalks.

These caves were spectacular, and had some really incredible stalagmites and stalactites. I have never before see anything like it in my life. The caves were lit really well so it was easy to see everything, and there was even an interpretive guide waiting at the deepest part of the cave to answer any questions we had. It was an amazing experience.

After visiting the caves, we went down to Yallingup beach for a swim to cool down. This was one of our favourite beaches of our whole road trip due to its beauty, ease of access, and facilities. The main shore is protected by a reef which makes for very easy swimming, and it was also fun to watch the surfers farther out on the break.

Day 35

Our last sightseeing day of our road trip mostly involved explorations of the beautiful areas around Busselton and Dunsborough.

We started in the morning with a swim at Meelup Beach, then made our way out to Cape Naturaliste. We stopped at another incredible beach during our explorations called Eagle Bay, which had amazingly white sand, clear water, and a stunning backdrop of land and trees. We also stopped to walk in the grounds around the Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse, and did a little hike around to try and get some of the viewpoints from a higher vantage point.

Our final afternoon of exploration took us to Busselton’s beachfront, where we walked along the water and had a look at the famous jetty. We enjoyed a drink at one of the breweries on the water before heading back for our final night in our tent!

Day 36

We couldn’t believe the day had finally come when we woke up in our tent for the last time of our trip on day 36. We were headed to Perth and our new home, and couldn’t wait!

We didn’t spend much time hanging around camp and took off for the city right after breakfast. Our drive was smooth until about 45 minutes from the city when our car started shaking with increased intensity every 10 minutes as we got closer to the city. We were determined to make it to our new home, though, so powered through.

We learned a few days later that the shaking was due to our car needing a new suspension and new tires, as the weight and distance our car endured for over a month had caused 3 out of 4 of our tires to become oval shaped instead of round! I will speak more about our car drama in my next post – there is a lot more to that story.

Coast to Coast, Complete!

We were so thrilled to make it to Perth. This trip was absolutely a road trip of a lifetime for us, and we felt so fortunate to be able to have the time, resources, and energy to go on an adventure of this undertaking. We also felt lucky that we completed this giant distance free of any major car issues or other hiccups. We met some lovely and interesting people, learned a lot, and had so much fun along the way.

Now we are West Coast people! Keep your eyes peeled for my next post, where I’ll dive into what we have been up to (besides working and fixing our car) since we arrived in Perth 3 weeks ago.