Augusta was a lovely find for us. A man fishing off a jetty let Chase release a small fish he caught. The kids were keen to stay for more catch and release action, but there was not much action to be had, so we eventually managed to drag them away.
We were directed to a fish cleaning station further along the estuary where we found some men cleaning their catch (herrings, not tommy ruffs). Eagle and sting rays, pelicans and pacific gulls were all in abundance, waiting for their share of the spoils.
The boys were able to hand feed both pelicans and the rays by hand and soon got used to the rays bumping into their ankles. This was a wonderful and unexpected experience for us all. Even better, it was free!
To cap it off, one of the fishermen gave Drew and I a generous feed of fish to take away with us, so it was fresh fish for dinner.
We stayed overnight in a caravan park in Hamlin Bay where we were treated to a wonderful sunset, and even larger rays feeding on fish scraps.
In the morning Chase and I ran a 5km coastal trail from Augusta to their very impressive boating marina. Of course we stopped off along the way to take happy snaps and walk out on small jetties along the estuary. Drew and Ollie rode the trail ahead of us and doubled back to pick up the car and caravan before coming back to pick us up.
We visited the Cape Leeuwin lighthouse and the boys really enjoyed the audio tour, especially Ollie who insisted on listening to every word at each information station along the route.
It was a short drive to Margaret River after a picnic lunch near the waterside.
Touring in a tin can 