December Wrap-up - Part 3

On Wednesday 18th Dec , just after breakfast we went to the beach, just for about 1 hour.
Back home we got ready to go out for the day and our first stop was at the Yallingup Cheese Company.
Their facilities are located in a stunning area, and you can sit in the wrap-around balcony with views of a lake.


Outside a couple of blankets and tiny wooden tables that hold wine glasses were spread on the grass if you wish to have a picnic. Such a welcoming sight.
Apart from cheese tasting, you can also taste wines, and they also sell local honey, olive oil and local crafts.

The wrap around balcony with views of the lake

                   
Next we wanted to show our visitors the grounds of the Laurance wines estate 
(3478 Caves Road, Wilyabrup), which I consider to be the prettiest winery in the Margaret River region.
When we arrived there we noticed the name had changed, it's now called Robert Oatley winery.

It still looks as beautiful as before - the long avenue leading to the imposing stone building with restaurant and cellar door and the beautiful rose garden.
The green lawn bordered by blooms surrounds a lake and in the middle the "Free as a bird" statue also known as "Chick on a stick", the controversial gold statue of a naked diver on a pedestal.

Free as a Bird statue

A statue of a red apple hanging from a tree

The foyer with a wine glass chandelier

Just as Laurance's celebrated their 10th anniversary in September 2016, the 40 hectare estate was sold for $20 million to a US entrepreneur, as the owner Dianne Laurance was at the time going through a messy divorce. It was then leased to New South Wales based Robert Oatley vineyards and Western Australia based Cherubino wines.


We then drove to the nearby small seaside town of Yallingup and stopped for a coffee just at the entrance to the town.  A few steps away, the well known German bakery - Yallingup Gugelhupf was still open and we bought a very tasty sourdough to take home and biscuits which were consumed with the coffee.

The park leading to the Yallingup beach, the beach, Gugelhupf -  the German bakery

Statues by the Yallingup beach park

After a quick stop at the beach for photos we climbed back in the car and drove to Canal Rocks 10 minutes away. 
Here the coastline has been chiselled by the crashing of the Indian ocean waves carving out a narrow channel between the granite rocks.
A timber walkway over the channel gives access to the rocks on the other side of the channel and views of the crashing waves. To the right you can spot the town of Yallingup which we had just left.




Our sightseeing was done for the day, and we drove back about 45min to get home just before sunset.
Jose, Karina, Isabelle and I went to the lookout above the beach where we usually went to, 
to watch the sun go down about 7,40pm.

This was our last night in the resort, and we had dinner at home to finish off all our bits and pieces from the fridge.

The following day, Thursday 19th, at 10am we departed Margaret River and stopped 20 minutes later in Cowaramup (Cow Town) to see some of the 42 cow statues, some of which were dressed up for Christmas.

At the Pioneer Park, local artist Ron Roozen erected "Free as a cow", locally known as "Rump on a stump" as a pejorative counterpoint to the  "Chick on a Stick" at the Robert Oatley winery.

Main street, tiny church in Pioneer Park and Rump on a stump statue

Our next stop half an hour away was Busselton.

This small city is known for the 19th century Busselton Jetty which at nearly 2km (1,24miles) is the longest wooden jetty in the Southern Hemisphere. 

There is a red solar-powered jetty train which is the perfect way to reach the Underwater Observatory from where life in a coral reef can be observed.
When we got there it was so windy that the train that was arriving would be the last one for the day.

Busselton Jetty and the beach

The solar powered train

Back on the road and 40min later we reached the town of Bunbury where we stopped for lunch at Vat 2 Restaurant. 
The restaurant was packed with people having Christmas lunches, but we managed to get a table for 7 shortly after our arrival, although we were told the food could take up to 40min to be served.
We were getting quite hungry by the time we got our food, but it was quite tasty.
The restaurant was next to the beach and while we waited I sneaked out to take photos outside as well as photos of the various murals inside the restaurant.

View from the front of the restaurant to the beach

Statues around Bunbury and the Dolphin discovery centre shaped like a dolphin

We arrived in Perth at about 5pm, dropped Isabelle, Max and Benoit at their Airbnb and went home. 

While Jose unpacked, Karina and I went to the supermarket to buy food for dinner.

Jose then prepared a prawn and fish curry, and the in-laws joined us at 8pm for dinner.

After dinner we walked two blocks to go and check one of the streets in the suburb which had 5 or 6 houses decorated with Christmas lights.

And then it was time to go and rest from our long day.