Margaret River With Kids

 

March 2020:

Standing at the edge of a glittering bay in southwest WA, I said to my husband: Surely passports are optional for Australians.

I was joking, but now that we are living through a global pandemic and international travel is temporarily not an option, I feel incredibly lucky to have such a huge, beautiful playground of a nation to explore. 

With two young boys, we have become experts at Australian family beach holidays. We have spent the past few summers on various coasts, from Jervis Bay in NSW to Adventure Bay in Tasmania, and last summer we took the kids to explore the Margaret River region in WA.

We got some funny looks when we told friends our summer holiday plans involved taking the kids to a premier wine region for 10 days. But the Margaret River has so much more to offer than world-class wines. With stunning beaches and rockpools, adventure parks, ancient caves and kid-friendly wineries and breweries, it is brilliant fun for adults and children alike. 

We honeymooned in this beautiful corner of south-west WA years ago and we knew this time would be different with a 9 and 6-year-old in tow. But planning each day with a mind to entertaining and feeding two active boys saw us exploring more of the region and it opened us up to new experiences (and a whole lot of fun) that we wouldn’t have had otherwise. It was one of the best holidays we’ve had together. 

Here are 10 fun family things to do with kids in the Margaret River: 

1. Busselton Jetty

Break up the 3-hour drive from Perth with a stop in Busselton. Stretch your car legs with a walk along the 152-year-old jetty or catch the jetty train 1.8km to the end, where you can take a tour of the underwater observatory. One of only six in the world, the observatory is 8m underwater and gives kids a close-up view of brightly coloured fish (big and small) swimming among the artificial reef created by the jetty’s timber pylons. Fish and chips at The Goose is a must, and a crisp glass of local white or craft beer makes for the start of a great holiday, and possibly the first argument over who is driving.

https://www.busseltonjetty.com.au

https://thegoose.com.au

2. Stand-Up Paddle Boarding and kayaking at Dunsborough

The calm lake-like waters along the Dunsborough beachfront are ideal for stand-up paddle boarding and kayaking, particularly for beginners. The water is clear enough for snorkelling, and those on a board can watch tiny fish darting about underwater as they glide over the top. Our boys mastered the paddle boards quickly and had a great time navigating their own way out to the sand bars and back. I fell off, fairly ungracefully, but that’s a story for another time.

https://www.swboatsbikes.com/hire

3. Simmo’s Ice Creamery

After our paddle boarding adventures, a treat was in order. Not too far away is Simmo’s, the most incredible ice cream wonderland located, oddly, in the middle of an industrial area. After choosing from 60 flavours, you walk through the shop into what can only be described as a meadowy park with flowers, ducks, bridges, a playground and a mini-golf course. It’s kid heaven. We were pretty happy too.

https://www.simmos.com.au

4. Canal Rocks

I have never met a kid who doesn’t love exploring shallow rock pools and searching for tiny crabs and fish while hopping from rock to rock at the water’s edge.

Canal Rocks, an ancient rock formation connected by a network of naturally forged canals, dials the rock-jumping experience up to 11. Go early to avoid tourist buses and take a small morning tea to have on the rocks while you watch the surf crash through the stunning red boulders of the horizontal waterfall. Bring your camera; this is nature at its best.

https://www.margaretriverwesternaustralia.com.au/locations/canal-rocks

5. Barnyard 1978

If you are after a delicious lunch of homemade pasta and local wines in a farmish, cosy restaurant setting, visit Barnyard 1978. While the kids hung out at the play equipment, we settled back into plush suede cushions with a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon and a plate of house-baked sourdough and watched the hilarious fat chickens jump to eat the low-hanging grapes from the vines. Lunch was freshly made pumpkin ravioli and pappardelle with pork and fennel ragu for the adults, while the kids had crumbed chicken tenderloins with potato bake.

On the way out, we bought another bottle of Barnyard red for later and a jar of jarrah honey, produced by their own bees.

http://www.barnyard1978.com.au/#home

6. Next Level Monkey Business Zip Line and Ropes Course

This experience blew the kids’ minds. Flying through the trees on zip lines, tackling climbing challenges and negotiating tricky ropes courses was the best fun they had on the trip, they said. As the accompanying adult, I have to agree. Pushing yourself out of your comfort zone is the best way to see what you can achieve and a couple of hours here (and a few pep talks along the way) really had the kids on a high and believing in themselves. 

https://nextlevelmonkeybiz.com.au

7. Clancy’s Fish Pub

Next door to Next Level Monkey Business is Clancy’s Fish Pub. We finished up our zip-lining adventures and walked to Clancy’s for a freshly caught lunch. Our table outside had a great view of the ropes courses and zip-lines next door, giving the kids even more to chat about.

8. Amaze'n

There are two large hedge mazes in the region. We chose to make a day of it by driving to the southern-most and oldest one, Amaze'n, about 2km from the town of Margaret River.

If you are after an Alice in Wonderland experience, this delivers. The maze is huge and beautiful and, predictably, we got lost inside it. This was an interesting exercise for the kids in problem solving and teamwork, with each having their turn as leader, and celebration when we managed to find our way to the centre and then out again.

The maze is surrounded by manicured gardens filled with sculptures, large chess and checkers, a playground and a mini-golf course. 

Our kids loved the old-school café open grilled sandwiches and ice cream spiders.

http://www.amazenmargaretriver.com.au

9. Tastings – yes really!

After the maze, we stopped in on the way back north to a few of our favourite vineyards and breweries in the area, all of which cater for kids with outside games ranging from huge checkers and chess boards, croquet and Finska. Some also had sandpits, swings, parks and farm animals. I really hope vineyards on the east coast start to catch on to the fact that parents like wine too. For gifts and “laters” treats, the Margaret River Chocolate Company is a must. Our favourites were bullets, Turkish Delight and freckles. Sharing with the kids: optional.

A few of our favourites: 

Pierro

Howard Park

Cullen

Snake and Herring

Cowaramup Brewery

Eagle Bay Brewery

10. Watch the sunset

You haven’t seen a sunset until you have experienced the intensity of a WA sunset sinking into the ocean, turning the sky from a deep burnished orange to soft inky purple. We took a picnic to the lookout at Yallingup (park in the carpark and walk about 20m along the shore tracks to a couple of benches purpose built for sunsets). We drank Cowaramup ale while the kids explored the rocks and I took a billion photos of them in the golden hour light. 

Other things in the area: 

• Amazing beaches

• Cape to Cape Track – a walk from Cape Naturaliste to Cape Leeuwin, there are         boardwalk sections

• Yallingup Caves

Where to Stay: 

Our boys are keen swimmers but they’re still learning to handle the surf, so we based ourselves at Bunker Bay, a crystal-clear beach with gentle waves, in Cape Naturaliste, about 40 mins north of the town of Margaret River. 

We hired a spacious holiday home, Paperbarks, through Private Properties, which was across the road from the beach. It came with the creature comforts of a large, well-equipped kitchen with Nespresso machine (and a supply of pods) as well as little luxuries like an outdoor shower for hosing off after the beach and L’Occitane toiletries in the bathrooms. It also had a fantastic games room with table tennis and fussball tables to keep us all entertained and the boys off devices.

Bunker Bay also has Pullman Resort and Spa with 2 and 3 bedroom villas for family stays.

Private Properties

https://www.privateproperties.com.au/destination-guides/

Pullman Resort Bunker Bay

https://www.pullmanbunkerbayresort.com.au

Getting There: 

We flew from Sydney to Perth with Qantas and hired a car for the 3 hour drive south to Bunker Bay