Road trip down south

The drive ‘down south’ 15 years ago was painful, very painful. The most entertainment … that heart in your mouth moment trying to overtake on the single lane highway. Not daring enough … worst case scenario … sitting behind a very slow livestock truck doing your utmost to ignore the inevitable, as well as the smell.

Today, travellers are spoilt by double lane highways, purpose built establishments and many a tempting detour.

Some hopefully helpful information:

Two main arteries, Forrest Highway or the South Western Highway. The former will have you in the Margaret River Region in approximately 3 hours, the latter passing through many of the smaller towns and taking an extra 30 minutes or so. A tip from a local – if not in a hurry, the South Western Highway can be pleasant in the winter months when things are green and lush.

Stopping and Detouring, food and fun:

- Mandurah or very nearby, Dawesville. Both an hour or so out of Perth, with lots to see and do. Mandurah, long a mispronounced city of Western Australia, hosts plenty of family fun – dolphins, a national park, a small amusement park, a hands-on zoo … and plenty of aquatic fun. Dawesville features a magnificent Indian Ocean channel, as well as an increasingly famous and notoriously tricky golf course, The Cut Golf Course.

- The Miami Bakehouse [miamibakehouse.com.au], Western Australia’s most awarded bakery and a bit of a local legend. Thankfully they’ve opened a store on the Forrest Highway, just out of Pinjarra.

- The Crooked Carrot in Myalup [crookedcarrot.com.au], what a place. The perfect roadside stop … paddock to plate food, beautiful playground featuring natural kid’s attractions. This place has put itself on the map, and deservedly so!

- Not quite the home stretch, but you’re certainly getting closer when you see the Bunbury Farmers Market on the corner of Vittoria Road and Australind Bypass in Bunbury. With fresh produce from over 150 local producers, fresh fruit, vegetables and so much more are guaranteed.

Getting closer, you can turn into Busselton and take Caves Road through to Wilyabrup, passing via Dunsborough and Yallingup on the way. Or if the kids are all too much, the Busselton and Vasse Bypasses will have you there those few minutes earlier.

Speaking of bypassing, apologies for missing half of what makes Western Australia great …