Back to Nature

Our time in Margaret River unfortunately has come to an end, for now. We really enjoyed our time back here, confirming that this is the place where we want to settle next. Living here for over two months gave us a great opportunity to get a better feel for the town and community here and to explore the region a little deeper. My recent blogs have shown you how we filled in our time here. We both managed to complete a little bit of work while we were here as well, but mostly we were able to relax, tour around and learn more about the area.

Our days were initially filled with picnics and beach visits, as the warm weather continued well into May. Then, as winter settled in, we explored many of the regions art and craft galleries. We continued to enjoy our walking explorations and really enjoyed the Wadandi Track Rail Trail, walking there most days. We managed to visit a few more wineries and have now visited 20 out of a total of nearly 100, so plenty of scope to keep us busy. We’ve tried coffee in just about every cafe in the region now and we were quite impressed with most of them. Our favourites? Yahava on Rosa Brook Rd never disappoints, Sea Garden at Prevelly for a comfy lounge and view of the ocean and YardByrd in Witchcliffe for a quiet garden setting and very well made coffee. Closer to town, Blue Ginger have a great cafe attached to their deli, which has a fantastic range of local produce, vego, organic etc. All four have dog friendly areas of course!

We enjoyed a day down in Pemberton amongst the big Karri trees. We met our Albany hosue sit owner there for a “meet and greet” and to make sure the dogs got on well. We also spent a day in Augusta, in the very southern end of the Capes region. The weather was perfect and we enjoyed walking along the Blackwood River inlet and exploring around Flinders Bay near Cape Leeuwin. Another day we drove north to Dunsborough, Cape Naturaliste and Meelup NP and enjoyed a day of perfect weather and spectacular scenery.

We shopped at the market every week and really enjoyed some beautiful meals made with excellent local produce. I’m really going to miss my weekly market visit, chat to the growers and a coffee after finishing the shopping. Deb was sad to have to finish up her dancing and pilates classes, but has made good contacts for when we eventually move here. We are also looking forward to seeing how the Pub Choir develops while we are away.

We visited our house a couple of times and were pleased to see it is being looked after. Our tenants are keen to stay as long as possible so hopefully will renew their lease later this year. We have started looking at what landscaping works we want to do when we move in (the place has only very basic landscaping at the moment), and have met with a local landscaper to discuss some options and get some ideas.

We loved both our house sits, lovely homes on small acres so we could enjoy the beautiful scenery and serenity. We are constantly impressed at how generous, lovely and trusting people are when they let us stay in their houses and care for their pets and gardens. We have been blessed with great home owners and lovely houses in great locations. It was so nice to have such lovely homes to stay in for our two month stay here in Margs.

We sadly packed up two weeks ago and moved on to Bunbury. Our next house sit wasn’t starting until the 14th July so Deb arranged to complete some work for Nicky, a Vet nurse friend in Bunbury, at her Petstock Clinic. We spent 3 months in Bunbury during our first trip in 2015 and although it’s not a well recognised tourist town, we enjoyed our time here, so it was nice to go back. We stayed at the same park we stayed at last time, and were pleased it was still well managed and reasonably priced. I managed to get back to the Wildlife Park where I volunteered in 2015, and caught up with the keepers and volunteers. The park has had some significant improvements since I left and it was great to meet many of the birds and animals I was so familiar with. Sadly, a few of them had passed on but Bar-ey, my favourite Sulphur Crested Cockatoo, was still there and keen to chat to me again! Deb enjoyed her work at the new Petstock Vet clinic and we enjoyed a few beautiful classic WA sunsets during some of the beautiful weather we enjoyed while there.

We moved on towards Yanchep, stopping at a small farm property called “Back to Nature” near Gin Gin for a couple of nights prior to starting the sit. The camp was close enough to Yanchep for us to complete a pre sit visit and handover before starting the sit. We enjoyed a peaceful night here in the bush before the crowds arrived for the last weekend of the school holidays.

So, on to Yanchep for the next month. We are looking forward to staying in this unique area and learning all about Allan Bond’s infamous “Sun City” development!