Margaret River

Classes have ended for the semester and now I have a week off before finals start. No big trips planned for this week, but I did manage to get away for a few days and head south to Margaret River. Margs is a few hours south by car, a little more by bus, and is known for the wine and surf.

I headed down on Sunday morning by train to Bunbury and then caught a bus further south to Margaret River.

views of the countryside by train

Sunday afternoon was pretty relaxed. I checked into the hostel, which was virtually empty, and found out I had the whole bunk room to myself for the nights I was there. I headed into town and stopped at the Visitor's Center to see if I could book any tours or arrange any activities, but the area is pretty spread out and makes it hard to explore if you don't have a car. So I stayed local for the afternoon and checked out the different stores on the main street, in particular the fudge factory. But...it wasn't actually all that good, and the fudge I bought (on sale) may or may not have been expired. So on for a good pizza that night to make up for it.

The next morning I took the shuttle bus that the hostel offers down to the beach, which is about 12 km from the center of town. Prevally Park and Surfer's Point are some of the main areas to surf in the area, and are where the annual surfing competition is held in the summer. But when I headed out to the beach, it was overcast and had been storming the last few days, so the waves weren't very good.

world class waves on a bad day

where Margaret River meets the Indian Ocean

After spending the morning walking along the coastline, I headed in to the cafe. It was situated up on a little hill and a multi level terrace out front with tables, with the best view in town of the ocean and the hot surfing spots. Too bad there wasn't anyone surfing that morning...

That afternoon I headed out of town a little bit and took a walk through the National Forest that runs along Margaret River itself. The sun had started to come out a little bit, here and there, and the forst was nearly silent.

trail through the forest

Karri trees set along the Margaret River

The next morning I headed out early to check out some of the caves in the area. I went to Lake Cave first, which is known for its floating table structure. But my favorite part about the caves, both this one and the next, was the entrance way. The original cave roof has collapsed in, leaving a crater for you to walk in before actually entering the cave. These craters were massive, and were about 150 meters deep. The one at Lake Cave sunk in about 700 years ago, so the crater is pretty well vegetated by now, making the entrance to the cave almost hidden amongst the growth.

walk down into Lake Cave

view from the bottom of the crater looking up

This cave was a lot smaller than the other cave, and was full of small, delicate structures. The floating table is the most famous-the table is actually the old cave floor, and suspending it is two collumns.

stalactites above the lake

the floating table and it's reflection in the lake

I decided to walk down to the next cave, as it looked like it was only a couple of kilometers down the road, but it ended being more like 4 or 5. So after a not so quick walk down the road, I got to Mammoth Cave and went on the self-guided tour. You get headphones and an MP3 player that talks about different aspects of the cave as you walk through it. But actually walking into the cave, which is minimally lit up, by yourself is kind of scary. I felt like I was in an X Files episode-walking along the boardwalk right above the lake made me think of when Mulder and Scully found the flukeman in the sewers. Needless to say, it was a little scarier than I thought, but a really cool experience to be in the cave with only a few other people.
The cave was huge-one massive chamber to walk through and much larger structures than at Lake Cave. The exit to the cave was similar to the entrance at the previous cave and it was fun to walk through the cave and come out at a different point.

looking back on the entrance to the cave

cave formations in Mammoth Cave

I headed back to Perth that afternoon by bus, and had the pleasure to sit next to one of the most eccentric women I have met in a while. After complementing my hair, she proceeded to tell me that she said a prayer to Jesus that I would have a happy life. Uhh...thanks?