Margaret River & the Southwest Coast - Perth and West Coast Australia - page 261

GEOGRAPHE BAY
Turquoise waters and 30km of excellent swimming beaches are the defining features of this
gorgeous bay. Positioned between the Indian Ocean and a sea of wine, the beachside towns
of Busselton and Dunsborough attract hordes of holidaymakers spending their vacations
with sand between their toes and a glass between their lips. It may be 230km from Perth,
but once you get here the attractions are close together, certainly by WA standards. Unsur-
prisingly, it gets very busy during summer and at holiday times, when prices may rise 30%
on those given here.
For 55,000 years the area from Geographe Bay to Augusta belonged to the Wardandi,
one of the Noongar peoples. They lived a nomadic life linked to the seasons, heading to the
coast in summer to fish, and journeying inland during the wet winter months.
The French connection to many of the current place names dates from an early-19th-cen-
tury expedition by the ships Le Géographe and Naturaliste. Thomas Vasse, a crewman who
was lost at sea, is remembered in the name of a village, river, inlet, Busselton bar and Mar-
garet River winery. The latter two are particularly fitting as it's quite possible he was drunk
when he was washed away. According to local Wardandi, who found and fed him, he made
it to shore but later died on the beach waiting for his ship to return.
GEOGRAPHE WINE REGION
If it's wine that's lured you to the southwest, the Geographe wine region ( www.geographewine.com.au ) is the per-
fect primer for the glories to come. You may not have heard of it, but Geographe has 12 sq km under vines, produ-
cing 11% of the state's output in 46 wineries. The region's best-known brand is conveniently located halfway
between Bunbury and Busselton. Capel Vale ( www.capelvale.com.au ; Mallokup Rd; 10am-4pm) offers free
tastings and a restaurant overlooking the vines, serving morning and afternoon tea and lunch. It's located off the
Bussell Hwy on the opposite side of the highway from Capel village.
TOP OF CHAPTER
Bunbury
POP 66,100
The southwest's only city is remaking its image from industrial port into seaside holiday
destination. It's here where the main route south from Perth branches off into the Bussell