Day 4 - Dunsborough to Augusta
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Well I think the nice weather has been delayed. I was very pleased I was staying at the hostel last night. As it certainly rained a lot. The hostel manager let me have a room to myself for $28. Which was great as it also looked out on the bay.
I was awoken by the sound of rain at 5am. I looked out of my window and saw that it was raining a lot. So I went back to sleep.
Fortunately when there was a lull in the showers I was able to leave at about 8am. For the first 10kms I had to deal with a headwind. Also I had my first hill of the trip. It was only a small one though. When I got to the top it started to rain again. Thankfully there was a bus shelter and I took cover until it passed. After that shower it stayed fairly dry.
I followed Caves Road, heading towards Margaret River. The headwind now turned into a lovely tailwind. I passed a number of vineyards. This area of WA is well known for growing a lot of wine. The views were really nice and I got to enjoy a series of rolling hills. I arrived at Margaret River at around 11am.
Margaret River is the main town for the region. So I stopped and enjoyed second breakfast. My first egg and bacon roll of the trip. Yummm.
After I looked around I set off back towards Caves Road. I decided my destination would be Augusta. A slight change of plan as was going to camp near a river halfway between Margaret River and Pemberton. But with all the wet weather and storms predicted for tonight I have chosen to stay at another YHA.
Being an Aussie tradition to give something an obvious name, Caves Road of course takes you pass a number of caves. The first one I stopped at is called Calgardup Cave. This is quite a small cave where you have to wear a safety hat and take a flashlight to see the formations. This is a self guided tour. So you can take as long as you like. It also has a lake in this cave which has a lot of cave bugs living in it.
After I left the sun actually made an appearance for the first time today. My next destination was Jewel Cave. The ride went through some really beautiful national park which contained some great looking gum trees. You could really smell the eucalypt from the trees after all the rain. I arrived at next cave just on 2.30pm, which was perfect timing as this was when the next guided tour was leaving.
Jewel cave was only discovered in the 1950s. So has been very well protected. There are some really big caverns and impressive formations. As this was a guided tour we got the usual cave commentary where certain formations have been given names e.g. The camel because it looks like a camel!
I really enjoyed both caves, as they were both quite different from each other. I then continued for another 8kms until I got to Augusta.
Augusta is a small town near the tip of Cape Leeuwin. I checked myself into the YHA. Feels more like a nice hotel, so should enjoy my stay here.
Today didn't start that promising, weather wise. But in the end it only seemed to rain for about 20 minutes and the wind was generally more of a help than a hindrance. The scenery was just great and going through the caves a lot of fun. Tomorrow I'll ride out to the lighthouse, which is about 9kms away. As I'll be coming back the same way I can leave my bags at the hostel. Then I'll be heading to Pemberton.
I was awoken by the sound of rain at 5am. I looked out of my window and saw that it was raining a lot. So I went back to sleep.
Fortunately when there was a lull in the showers I was able to leave at about 8am. For the first 10kms I had to deal with a headwind. Also I had my first hill of the trip. It was only a small one though. When I got to the top it started to rain again. Thankfully there was a bus shelter and I took cover until it passed. After that shower it stayed fairly dry.
I followed Caves Road, heading towards Margaret River. The headwind now turned into a lovely tailwind. I passed a number of vineyards. This area of WA is well known for growing a lot of wine. The views were really nice and I got to enjoy a series of rolling hills. I arrived at Margaret River at around 11am.
 |
Margaret River is the main town for the region. So I stopped and enjoyed second breakfast. My first egg and bacon roll of the trip. Yummm.
After I looked around I set off back towards Caves Road. I decided my destination would be Augusta. A slight change of plan as was going to camp near a river halfway between Margaret River and Pemberton. But with all the wet weather and storms predicted for tonight I have chosen to stay at another YHA.
Being an Aussie tradition to give something an obvious name, Caves Road of course takes you pass a number of caves. The first one I stopped at is called Calgardup Cave. This is quite a small cave where you have to wear a safety hat and take a flashlight to see the formations. This is a self guided tour. So you can take as long as you like. It also has a lake in this cave which has a lot of cave bugs living in it.
 |
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After I left the sun actually made an appearance for the first time today. My next destination was Jewel Cave. The ride went through some really beautiful national park which contained some great looking gum trees. You could really smell the eucalypt from the trees after all the rain. I arrived at next cave just on 2.30pm, which was perfect timing as this was when the next guided tour was leaving.
 |
Jewel cave was only discovered in the 1950s. So has been very well protected. There are some really big caverns and impressive formations. As this was a guided tour we got the usual cave commentary where certain formations have been given names e.g. The camel because it looks like a camel!
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I really enjoyed both caves, as they were both quite different from each other. I then continued for another 8kms until I got to Augusta.
Augusta is a small town near the tip of Cape Leeuwin. I checked myself into the YHA. Feels more like a nice hotel, so should enjoy my stay here.
Today didn't start that promising, weather wise. But in the end it only seemed to rain for about 20 minutes and the wind was generally more of a help than a hindrance. The scenery was just great and going through the caves a lot of fun. Tomorrow I'll ride out to the lighthouse, which is about 9kms away. As I'll be coming back the same way I can leave my bags at the hostel. Then I'll be heading to Pemberton.