Busselton

When my parents came to visit, we decided to take a short trip to Busselton. Busselton is about 3 hours away from where we live. The biggest attraction there is the Busselton Jetty. Since Uncle Yan was doing a roadtrip, he rented a campervan which i think is really cool! We started the day welcoming the campervan and organising everything for his road trip.

Campervan which was my uncle's best fren for 12 days!

Sneak peak of the inside - side sofas to be converted into a queen size bed at night

Old fashion petrol station along the way

During our last trip to Busselton, we stumbled upon the Old Cheddar Cheese Factory and bought some really good cheese. Gave some to my friend Wern and he said he was in cloud nine eating them. This place provide free tasting and this time we managed to taste the creamy vintage cheddar which was absolutely heavenly!

The array of cheese available in different flavours and sizes

After making our purchases, we continued on to Busselton. It is really exciting just to see the Information Centre! What makes this jetty so special, you might ask. Well , it is the longest jetty in southern atmosphere, 1.8km to be exact, stretching across Geographe Bay. One can choose to walk or take the Jetty train across to the end where the Underwater Observatory sits. 

Interpretive centre where you learn more bout the jetty and get tickets

That's us eating leftover breakfast before gathering energy to get our tickets , it was super windy!

Seafood basket for lunch

 Lunching picnic style

After lunch, we headed straight for the Underwater Observatory. Since it was so windy, we opted to take the train, rather than walk 1.8kms. The tour runs every 1 hour and the train goes back and forth every 20 minutes. It was rather exciting sitting in a slow moving train on a wooden narrow jetty.

Famous Jetty Train

After 20 minutes of shivering from the cold wind and breathtaking views, we finally arrived at the Underwater Observatory. Once we got in, we were guided down the spiral stairs and views were split into 4 different levels , about 8 meters below sea level. what welcomed us were amazing views of coral and fishes, which previously only divers were able to experience.

 

Entrance to the Underwater Observatory

Interesting drawing of the underwater observatory

 Pictures of sea life from various level of observation window

Rays lurking admist the darkening sky - taken on the way back from the jetty

By the time we reached the starting point, it was already getting a bit dark and cloudy. So we head straight for our accommodation. This time we picked the Busselton Mercure Apartments. We rented a 3 bedroom apartment with full facilities including BBQ pit. The vicinity had outdoor and indoor pool but too bad we didn't have time to explore. Also by the time we got there, it was too cold! Kevin & I took the master bedroom with a jacuzzi ensuite ;) My mom and Aunty Angeline slept in one room, Uncle Yan and dad took the loft and Edmund decided he wanted to make the comfie couch his bed.

 

Our accommodation at Busselton Mercure Apartments

Next day, we cooked breakfast before checking out of the apartment. Decided to explore Cape Naturaliste, stopping by at Sugar Loaf Rock (Scenic Point), Cape Naturaliste Light House and Ngigli Cave. Edmund and Uncle Yan was luckyo to do both the Light House and Ngigli Cave tour since it is their first trip to Western Australia. My parents and Kevin & I swop places for the Light House and Ngigli Cave.

How to explore Cape Naturalise - by walking trails!

Amazing views at Sugar Loaf Rock

Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse

Ngigli Cave

 Three of us inside Ngigli Cave

 

Observation teatre - recommended to check out the stalagtites lying down, totally different!

Believe it or not, Ngigli Cave used to be a very popular honeymoon attraction! I couldn't help making funny faces when was told this piece of information. Those days, couples were allowed to "pluck" the gemstones from these caves to bring back as souvenir. But these days, we are not even allowed to touch them!

So yeah, after the cave, we said goodbye to Uncle Yan while he part ways to explore southern parts of WA for the next 12 days. We stopped by Mcdonalds for lunch before heading back to Perth. What a great activity filled weekend, we had!