Decisions, decisions – which way to head from Perth? South leads to the marvellous Margaret River region combining vineyard attractions with big surf beaches.

Heading down the coast south of Perth, you can see the attraction of living in Western Australia: an endless succession of white sand beaches, pristine manicured show homes and a seemingly endless blue sunny sky. It is a healthy lifestyle of aquatic sports, lazy days on the beach and outdoor cafes, far removed from everyday turmoil.

Bunbury & Busselton

Bunbury was our first stop with its lovely white sand beach and striking giant steel sculpture of an aborigine head. It is known for its friendly dolphins which frequently come right into shore and interact with people at the waters edge.

There is a newly revamped Dolphin Discovery Centre to the northern end of the beach. If you want to go round it costs $18, but if not, it has a popular beach cafe and a bell is rung to alert you if the dolphins visit. Otherwise, it is possible to take a boat trip out to them and even swim with them: bookings can be made at the tourist centre on the way into town, at the centre or online.

Busselton is another lovely beach resort, though the foreign visitor is more likely to have heard of its jetty which at 1.8 km long is the longest in the southern hemisphere. Building started in 1865 and seems to have carried on at intervals for the next 90 years. Timber was one of the major exports. Entry is $4 and it takes about 20 minutes to walk to the end, surrounded on all sides by clear turquoise waters. If you can’t manage the walk there is a little train ($13) and other options include visiting an underwater aquarium, diving and fishing.

Afterwards, check out the Goose, a beautifully sited café near the start of the jetty or if you are hungry, the little burger bar round its side called Salt.

Cape Naturaliste

A short drive further on leads past Dunsborough to the Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse within the Cape Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park. It is quite a dumpy one though it is open if you wish to visit. We contented ourselves with a walk round the sandy headland which gave us great views over a lively ocean from both sides of the peninsula. Unfortunately, it was not the season for whale watching: humpback, blue and right whales all pass close to shore between June and October.

This spot is also the start of the Cape to Cape Track, a long distance 140 km walk which heads south to Augusta. It follows the spectacular coastline nearly all the way with campsites en route, though it does also go through some little coastal towns so could easily be combined with nicer accommodation and food. Having seen the coastline here, it is on my to-do list!

Nearby, you have a great introduction to the gourmet delights of the area with three great dining possibilities: the Eagle Brewing Company, with wide patio views and all day menus and beer, the restaurant at Wise Estate and Bunkers Beach House, open breakfast through to lunch with lovely ocean views. Next door, the Bunker Bay Resort has smart bungalow style villa accommodation.

Whichever you chose, don’t miss Meelup Beach, another perfect sand beach hugging the headlands below. If you drop down at the Castle Rocks end, you might even find the odd shady tree on the edge of this beautiful spot with breathtakingly blue water.

One of the region’s great accommodation treats is up this end too:  at Yallingup, try one of the ten private villas at the Injidupspa Retreat with their own plunge pools and ocean views. Private Properties is also a good bet: they have a list of 100 luxury holiday homes in the area, though they are mostly for larger groups.

Margaret River

This wine producing region boasts a great combination even by Australian standards: wine tasting combined with gorgeous beaches for the perfect lifestyle experience.

The eponymous town is quite attractive with all the shops and facilities you could want including garages when our car broke down! Check out the Margaret River Bakery at the bottom of town for great coffee or breakfast in quirky surroundings. The historic Margaret River Hotel has good accommodation in the heart of town.

So a little wine tasting – why not start with Vasse Felix, the original vineyard in Margaret River which dates back to 1967 and still produces some of the best wine in the region. There is an art gallery, a tasting area and upstairs, an excellent restaurant with some lovely verandah tables for outside eating.

Next door, Cullen’s Vanya cabernet sauvignon has just been awarded 99 points by James Halliday.  They advertise themselves as ‘certified biodynamic, carbon neutral and naturally powered’ – drink these and you can tell yourself you are saving the planet!

Nearer town and now owned by Veuve Cliquot, Cape Mentelle charges $10 for a tasting of their premium wines, some of which are around the $100 a bottle mark. They also have a brilliant outside cinema in the summer months: a glass of wine, bean bag and rug with entry for two costs $80. There is also a burger van on site.

There are many other options. Leeuwin Estate is well known for both the quality of its wines and its dining: they have tours which combine the two. Will’s Domain and Voyager Estate are also highly regarded.

Breweries have taken off in recent years, catering for families and with a more casual vibe. The one to note here is the Bootleg Brewery with Speakeasy IPA and Prohibition Ale; they also offer a good value lunch menu.

Fed up of wine? There are other options: try the Margaret River Chocolate Company which has a superb selection of chocolate and truffles, as well as a little cafe with yummy cakes and coffee. Just next door is Providore with a great selection of jams, chutneys and olive oils, as well as chocolate liqueurs in the wine tasting section: we thought their BBQ sauce was delicious.

Prevelly and Gnarabup

However, you must make time for some beaches: one of the best near the vineyards is Gnarabup, close to the mouth of the Margaret River. The surf was quite big the day we were there but everyone was having a lot of fun in the water, including a bunch of men on a huge inflatable raft who would not have looked out of place on the Calais – Dover illegal migrant run, with predictable capsizing results. We snacked on burgers and coffee at the White Elephant Cafe between swims, the prime viewing spot!

Just around the bay is Surfer’s Point where big surfing competitions are held. There are plaques telling you all about the surfie ethos but more importantly, there is another nice beach and it is a great sunset location. At its end, the Rivermouth area offers sheltered swimming with no danger of sharks.

In the middle is the little hamlet of Prevelly, as nice a spot as you could wish for, with a general store with outside seating for coffee, and the laid back Sea Garden Cafe, with all day dining and bar if you want your sunset with G&T. There is a neat fence made of old surfboards for the perfect selfie!

The whitewashed chapel you see on the way into town honours the Preveli Monastery in Crete, Greece, whose monks provided a safe haven for many Australian soldiers in World War 2. Geoffrey Edwards returned to open the local caravan park, naming it in their honour, and when he visited his old friends in Greece 35 years later, they decided to forge a permanent link between the two places: this little chapel opened in 1979.

A glance at a map of the coastline will reveal many other fine beaches, often with bizarre surfie names for their favourite waves. Just explore, I don’t think it is possible to find a bad beach in the region.

Boranup

If you can pull yourself away from Margaret River, there are still some treats in store. Driving south on Caves Road, you will suddenly find yourself amidst some startlingly tall trees. These are the famous Boranup karri forests. Pull in at the viewpoint on Caves Road and have a wander amongst their silvery heights: it is a fine place to practice the Japanese art of shinrin-yoku or forest bathing. The trees reach their full height at about 75 years of age then start filling out. They live about 350 years though their prime is between 150-200 years.

Nearby the Borunup cafe is a good place for a light lunch or coffee, whilst the next door Art Gallery is worth a look a look to see what can be done with these fine woods, though it is ridiculously overpriced.

Jewel Cave

There are many caves in the limestone hills of this region, of which just four are open to the public. We visited Jewel Cave where we descended some 42 m below ground to see an astonishingly beautiful assortment of formations of every variety and size. Particularly impressive were the fine long straws and the helictites which defy gravity with their strange contortions. Many were of a startlingly white clean colour.

The cave is now dry but when it was discovered in the 1950’s, it actually contained a lot of water. However, it had dried up by 1980 and scientists are still trying to work out exactly why. At Lake Cave, one of the others, they have resorted to pumping water in as rare aquatic shrimps live in its waters.

Augusta

I love little Augusta: it is everything a holiday resort should be. It has very pretty bays and jetties, clean sheltered family beaches and is small enough to be friendly whilst being big enough to have everything you need. In July 1986 the villagers made an heroic three day effort to rescue 96 out of 114 false killer whales when there was a mass stranding at Town Beach – it is that sort of nice caring place. It was the worlds most successful rescue and there is a memorial dedicated to it on the coast.

We ate local bronze whaler shark and chips at the Blue Ocean chippy then headed down to Cape Leeuwin for our last port of call. This most south westerly area of Western Australia has a 57 m lighthouse which dates back to 1896 but is also of note as being the place where the Southern Ocean meets the Indian Ocean – not that we could spot the join on the rather rough day we were there. Nevertheless, it is an interestingly rugged spot though I thought the $6 to enter the area a little steep. Climbing it costs $22 but combine it with a cave for only an extra $10 if you are interested in doing both. Don’t miss the calcified waterwheel nearby: it is an interesting relic.

We had reached the end of that magical little strip of south western coastline between Busselton and Augusta, a place where the sun sinks directly into the ocean. The surfers discovered it in the 1960’s – it has taken the rest of the world a little longer to catch on to their secret!