Today we ventured south from Margaret River – first to Hamelin Bay. On the way, we passed the tranquil water of Lake Davies.

Sand swirling around the carpark should have been an omen to turn back but we persevered to Hamelin Bay beach to be sandblasted in the howling winds. I ended up at Margaret River Hospital that night to get the sand scraped out that was lodged under my eyelids. No long term harm done. The staff told me I was far from the the first to have the procedure done.

Next stop was Cosy Corner which sounded like paradise after the sandblasting we had just received. On the way we had to share the road with some locals.

Cosy Corner

Archway on a small island

They may look beautiful to some, but arum lilies are a serious invasive weed pest in the area.

A WA Government program called the Arum Lily Blitz is underway to tackle the problem that is a serious threat to biodiversity. It outcompetes native plants and is poisonous to native animals and stock animals.

Arum lilies in Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park near Hamelin Bay

Margaret River is a beautiful area – even the lichens love it here.

Tall Karri in Boranup Forest

Tall pale-barked karri trees reach heights over 50 metres here.

Karri blossom on the forest floor

Wildflowers in Boranup

We drove the 14km Bornaup Forest Drive

Yet another cave – you’ve grotto be kidding me. The limestone of the Leeuwin-Naturaliste ridge is riddled with caves. Today we ventured into Mammoth Cave as it was a self guiding experience.

Fossils of megafauna mammals such as this Zygomaturus have been found in the cave.

There were a few older grey nomads in the cave here – the meanderthals.

44000 year old jawbone embedded in the limestone.

After some ups and downs of about 150 steps, the track followed an underground river.

The river flowed into a deeper underground passage but the track leads up to a sinkhole.

It was now only 160 steps to the top.

The forest above the cave was burnt in a wildfire a few years ago and was still regenerating. The native vines were spectacular.

Clematis and Hardenbergia

Tailflower vine species

Donkey orchids were prolific

Hibbertia species with very large flowers

Redgate Beach

In 1876, the ship Georgette was wrecked and sank off Redgate beach with 12 lives lost. Grace Bussell, daughter of a European settler and the Bussell family’s Aboriginal stockman Sam Isaacs rescued many of the survivors from the ocean by riding their horses into the ocean and guiding them to shore. Isaacs received a bronze medal for bravery and was granted 100 acres (40 ha) of land, becoming the first Aboriginal person to receive a land grant from the Western Australian Government.

We went down to the Surfers Point and Margaret River Viewpoint to catch up on current events. Many famous breaks are in this area. World Championships have occurred here with competitions taking place on Main Break, South Side and The Box surfing breaks. The Shark Warning System is a sobering reminder of what the surfers share the waters with.

Mouth of the Margaret River