The next morning, the roosters woke us up bright and early... at 5am! Given that it was daylight savings, it was actually only 4am! *groan* And I thought my own little rooster lying in bed between Daddy and myself was bad! Anyway, I cleaned up and prepared breakfast. Here's the lovely view from our living room window, courtesy of Kao Fu.
At 8.30am, we bundled up against the frosty morning and went for our tractor ride with Farmer Stewart. It was fun. We went in search of the cows to feed them their morning hay. Then it was back to the farm to feed the sheep, donkeys, ducks and chickens. Ignatius had fun handing out sticks of hay to the moo moo cows, and holding the feed bowl for the sheep! He had even more fun running around in the hen coop!
After that, it was off to Margaret River! It was a long 1.5hr drive and Ignatius took a little nap on the way there. Our first stop was a vineyard recommended by Aunty Sandy. Voyager Estate. We were told later we should have made a stop next door, the Leeuwin Estate as well. We tasted the wines they had on the shelf and bought their Chardonnay. The rest didn't sit very well with us. Remembering the lovely lunch we had at The Black Swan, we sat down in their restaurant for lunch. What a vast difference. Here, the portions were small and the food, mediocre. Disappointing. And expensive too. Not recommended. Then we wandered on their grounds to snap photos before leaving to visit the caves.
We actually wanted to visit the Lake Cave, but was told it had 380steps...! Por Por baulked, and we decided to go to the Jewel Cave instead. When we decended to the first level, we found out this cave has 500over steps! My gosh! Luckily, the allowed Por Por, Ignatius and myself to go out and gave us a refund. The rest of the gang carried on, and came back with reports on how we made the right decision not to bring the boy down, as some parts were very narrow, and had to walk half bent.
Our original plan was to maybe visit another vineyard, or the Margaret River Chocolate Factory, but were told that the lighthouse at Augusta was not to be missed. So, down we went...To Augusta!
It was a short drive, and quite worth it. We arrived at Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse at 4pm, and thought we were in time for the 4.20pm lighthouse tour. But they had a busy day, and had cancelled it. So we were only allowed to walk on the grounds. But what lovely grounds! The winds were gusty and cold. It was invigorating! Daddy and Mommy raced to the lighthouse while Ignatius followed behind with Gong Gong and Por Por.
Once up past the lighthouse, we noticed a naughty little dirt track carved out by many wayward tourists before us down to the rocks. We all trooped down, and what a magnificient view it was. The South Ocean and Indian Ocean merged at this point (though Mommy couldn't tell any difference!) and the winds and waves were something to behold. The pictures taken don't do justice at all to the overwhelming ferocity of the view.
We had our dinner in the little town of Augusta (more fish and chips!) and left for home sweet home in Pumphill Cottages. That night, the teenagers finally built their little fire in the fireplace and we all had a cozy early night in preparation for the long drive the next day.
We had our dinner in the little town of Augusta (more fish and chips!) and left for home sweet home in Pumphill Cottages. That night, the teenagers finally built their little fire in the fireplace and we all had a cozy early night in preparation for the long drive the next day.
