Spectacular Humpback Whales off Cape Naturaliste

The Queen’s birthday was celebrated in Western Australia last weekend, and we headed down south to Margaret River. This area is famous for its vineyards, the Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park, magnificent surf beaches and last but not least, whales.

We drove straight down to the Vasse Felix, the oldest vineyard in the region along the river Vasse. Vasse Felix tried falconry to deter birds that ate their grapes, however, the first trained falcon flew away upon first release. They gave up falconry, but the falcon is still the logo of Vasse Felix wines. We enjoyed their excellent restaurant with a nice fusion of European and Asian tastes.

Entry lane of Vasse Felix

The vineyard

The whole coast, Cape to Cape, is magnificent. We couldn’t get enough of watching the waves breaking on the coast. Hopefully, one day, we’ll be able to ride these waves.

Jurriaan looking at the waves

From September to November, Humpback -, Blue -, and Southern Right Whales come close to shore at Cape Naturaliste on their annual migration. We decided that we wanted to see these whales and booked a boat tour. We were lucky – very lucky, to see Humpback Whales up close. Even the boat crew got very excited. Apparently, this only happens once or twice each season.

Whale breathing

Two alongside

Playing and watching

Tail of Humpback Whale

Humpback Whale sticking its head out of the water

This is how close we were

They are truly magnificent creatures. It is hard to describe in words how special it is to see such a big animal so close. They seemed entirely happy to play with us and just as interested to see us as we were to see them. It is hard to believe but it felt like there was an atmosphere of mutual respect. Just a perfect day.

The next day we went for a short hike at Cape Naturaliste near the Victorian lighthouse to see the beautiful nature, during the wildflower season. In the back of our mind we hoped for some more whales, which you may see from shore here at the Whale Lookout. We saw their splashes from a distance, but realised once more how special it was to see them from just a few metres away. On our way back a large lizard crossed our path and was happy to be photographed.

The lighthouse at Cape Naturaliste

From the shore we could still see the whales breath

Lizard

Wildflowers

Exploring greater Perth

We are 2 weeks in Perth now. Only 2 weeks. We are getting more settled in by the day - no house yet but we bought a car this weekend! In Scarborough Beach, people were board surfing on pretty impressive waves - probably not a good beach for windsurfing as it will be nearly impossible to get over the surf with board and sail. Certainly there are other beaches more suitable for windsurfing.

Scarborough Beach

We drove to the Swan Valley with many vineyards along the Swan River. After seeing vineyards in Burgondy and Champagne last month, we were surprised for a second to see no leaves or grapes - but hey, it's winter here! And the grapes are spaced more widely than in France, so here they use normal tractors rather than the typical narrow ones we saw in the European vineyards.

Swan river with bare vines

Another beautiful spot near Perth is Fremantle. This is the harbour where our container should arrive. It is very lively with lots of cafe's, restaurants and shops. Many restaurants face the Indian Ocean and are surrounded by yachts.

Corine in Fremantle Harbour

Near the harbour is the Kidogo Art Centre which runs painting and drawing classes in a beautiful old seafront building. We also found the Metropolis concert venue where Supergrass is playing next month.

And just like in Scheveningen, everybody with a restored oldtimer or a sports car is parading along the streets of Fremantle.

Oldtimer in Fremantle