Margaret River

A bee hive on a cave on the Margaret River

Conor coming out of small tunnel in cave

Nick and Daniel made it too

Margaret River

The 'Turn Left' maze (note Daniel's interpretation of left)

A bench in the hedge maze

Crocodile bench in the hedge maze

We made it!

What a great day today. We went on a canoeing tour on the Margaret River this morning, it starts at the mouth and at regular stops along the way the guide talks about various plants the aborigines used for bush medicine, where and how the first white settlers came to the area, a cave they all lived in together at one stage, and then we had a ‘bush tucker’ lunch which included quite a few native plants, fruits and berries etc – even some witchetty grub pate which was really quite nice, Daniel tried some but Conor held back.

The guide basically talked non-stop about the area, the plants, a lot about the Bussel family that first settled their and their history, and then the last dash back to the beginning was a race which the boys loved (they learned a new word, ‘sabotage’, which the guide said was allowed especially for the race). It was well worth the money anyway, so thank you Jane and Una for the recommendation – I think it’s probably gone up in price since you did it because it’s now been featured on Getaway, some other holiday program and has been mentioned in the Lonely Planet guide, plus won quite a few awards.

The weather was great for the whole tour, only starting to rain as we headed off, and finishing by the time we got to the next stop, which was a maze at Margaret River. They actually had four different mazes, one a high hedge old style one, which was great. One of them was the ‘Turn Left’ maze, in which you could see all the pathways, but you are only allowed to either turn left or go straight to get out – really clever. The kids had a great time there, and we all enjoyed the afternoon tea afterwards. We got back late to another of Nick’s now famous thermal cooker stews which was great – the only downside was that it must have rained quite a lot here, which we weren’t quite prepared for, and the roof of the tent isn’t quite designed for, so some came in onto Conor’s bed and his sleeping bag and blanket are a bit wet. He, of course, is actually quite happy because it means sleeping with us tonight (Nick and I, not so excited). We’ve dried them off a little bit by the fire tonight (which means they’ll now have a nice smoky aroma) and we might try and find a Laundromat tomorrow to give them a final dry. I think tomorrow we will pack up and head north to have a look at Dunsborough and stay somewhere near Busselton, where there’s a few more cool looking touristy activities.