24-Apr through 26-Apr: South of Perth

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Michelle and I flew early in the morning to Perth, on the west coast. We rented a car and drove south along the coast passing through a number of beach towns on our way towards the Margaret River wine area. We wine tasted at a few vineyards...it was a very laid back wine scene which I liked. We stayed the night in Margaret River (the town). The special thing about the Margaret River wine region is besides making great wines, its right on the coast so people can surf and wine taste the same day - a perfect combination for Aussies!

The next day we continued down the coast to Cape Leeuwin lighthouse which is the point where the Indian Ocean and the Southern Ocean meet. The area also has an abundance of amazing caves with huge stalactites and stalagmites. We did a walk through the largest one-Jewel Cave. I expected it to be a bit hokey but it was actually a really cool spot. Afterwards we continued south into the "tall trees" of the south coast-huge forests of gum trees. A couple of the huge trees in the area you can climb and we went up a 75 meter tree. Spikes stick out from the tree and you just climb from rung to rung 250 feet into the air. No harness-if you slip you pretty much die, it was really scary. Its the kind of thing that would never exist in the US for liability reasons! A few more scenic drives in the forests and out to the coast and then to Walpole for the night.



The next day we went in the morning to the "Tall Trees Walk" which is a platform elevated 40 meters in the air through the canopy of some of these huge gum trees. It was a really interesting perspective to get on a forest! From there we started the long drive back to Perth with a few stops on the way. That night in Perth we met up with Molsen, a friend from college. After dinner Michelle had to leave for the airport to go back to Sydney and Molsen and I got ready for the next part of the adventure...