Places to Visit in Augusta/Margaret River
Just remember, make sure you find out the opening times of places you want to visit as many places in rural communities have varying opening and closing times depending on different times of the year.
The children and I made the plan two weeks before we left so the opening times we were looking at were school holiday times. We made up our plan and then when we visited the places some were closed as it wasn’t school holidays anymore. Silly us!
Jewel cave is somewhere everyone wants to go. Daniel and I took Joshua there when he was 4 months old. We carried him in his capsule. There are several hundred steps in the Jewel Cave, so just be mindful when planning your trip. Accessibility is limited. Liam was asking lots of questions and referencing minecraft in them. The tour guide was great and very informative. She answered his questions and showed him things he was asking about. The cave was still as impressive as ever. You can definitely get a sense of the age and history of the cave. Lights are installed in strategic positions but the cave is still dark in certain places. Next time we visit the region I would like to visit some of the smaller caves.
Augusta Museum Liam loved the fact you could take photos here and he took a lot. There was a lot to look at and the children were comparing toys. They liked to look at how the money had changed also. Liam and logan liked looking at all the old bones
Flinders Bay Foreshore Playground. We dropped in here after going to the lighthouse. Liam loved the playground. there is a ship to play on swings and a sculpture type thing. we were only there for about half an hour but there was also a bbq if you wanted to have one there. a little windy due to being right on the foreshore of the beach but was very nice. Liam wanted to visit a second time but we run out of time.
A’maze’n. The children loved the mazes here. We did the big hedge maze together in a relatively short amount of time. Then went on to look at other mazes they had around the place. While the children were waiting to play the huge game of chess Daniel and I went back to the hedge maze. And we got lost. Big time. Every time it took us back to the middle and I was getting very frustrated to say the least. After about four or five tries we made it out and back to the children.
They also have mini golf there which we paid to play. In the middle we stopped scoring and just had a bit of fun. Laughing with and at each other. For our family, because there are seven of us, it takes plenty of time to go through all of us normally so we thought the scoring would be an extra delay. They also have some sports equipment that you can use on the grass area and a playground. Liam played on the playground after we had a biscuit and a drink for afternoon tea.
Cowarawa. Candy Cow and the bakery
The Candy Cow is an amazing lolly shop. You can watch how they make some of their products. The kids saw someone measuring out the ingredients to make honeycomb. The children spent a lot of money there. Daniel and I got a few things, too. We also bought Joshua some chicken feet. Not sure how the lollies taste but he loves chickens.
Ashley also got some earrings shaped as lollies. Because we spent so much, the lady gave us a bag of honeycomb for free.
It was wet and cold and we had missed afternoon tea. Daniel had found a bakery when he went to buy me a bottle of water. So we decided to go to the bakery for late afternoon tea.
They still had pies. Daniel and I decided to share a pie and share an apple turnover. The pie was chunky steak and was the nicest pie I have had in a while. The children chose a cake or a biscuit each and were very happy with their choice. I would definitely visit this bakery again if we were in the area
Margaret River old settlement. We like to visit museum’s when we are on holiday’s and the Margaret River old settlement was the closest there was to one in margaret river. There was a cottage set up like it would have been when the town was first set up. A movie theatre, old school house, barn yards and farming equipment. It was set up quite well and was not expensive to get in either. There was volenteers to chat to they were quite knowledgeable
Choc Factory – lots and lots of chocolate here. The name says it all. The children were excited because there were chocolate buttons for customers to sample white, milk choc and dark chocolate. There is a cafe there that serves great hot chocolate. Three of the children got ice cream with very generous sizing but they didn’t do samples. Liam didn’t like his flavour so Daniel had to suffer and eat his. I went back to get him another one and the lovely lady gave him a new one for free. We watched some chocolate being made. There is a large area outside where you can take your children for a run.
Fudge Factory, We stopped here and got some fudge and some Morrish nuts. The children were excited to watch them make some fudge. They also sampled some.
Lighthouse is somewhere I really wanted to go as when Daniel and I went there 17 years ago. Back then, Daniel went up on the tour alone as I didn’t go into the lighthouse because I was looking after our four-month old baby, Joshua..
I was very disappointed to find out that the lighthouse was under renovation and it wasn’t open to the public. Liam, Ashley Daniel and I still had a walk around the old cottages and up to the lighthouse.
There is an interactive house with videos and plenty of decorative plaques to read about the history. It was interesting to see how they lived and there was a chart on the wall to say who the lighthouse keeper was and for how many years.
Wow Illusions – we drove past here on the way to the chocolate factory. It looked interesting so I watched a YouTube video about it and we decided to stop there on the way back. The illusions were good. A mirror maze, it was shorter than I thought it would be. Slanted room that was hard to walk in. Couple of other rooms and things to do. I think we were there two hours max and we did everything at least twice. Wow Illusions is ideal for younger children and not so much for teens.
Thousand Sun Cafe – Logan wanted to visit this cafe. He was impressed with his food and milkshake. We all had milkshakes. Chantelle had a homemade sausage roll but she didn’t like it, but Logan finished it off. Logan and Liam both had toasties and I had a really nice seafood platter. It was a small place but very busy also does take away
Augusta Fish and Chips. Every Friday night we have fish and chips so we decided to keep the tradition alive. The fish and chip shop was quite busy we waited 30 min for our meal which was 4 fish, $10 chips, two pineapple fritters and six squid rings cost about double of what we pay at home $66 I was looking forward to my dinner but sorry to say it was awful most of it went into the bin. Was very disappointed.
Farmers Market Margaret River – talk about how busy it was. We had trouble getting a car park. We were a little disappointed to begin with as we didn’t realise what a farmers market was. We were thinking just like a normal market buying second hand goods. It’s a market for farmers to sell their produce. There were people cooking things there. The smells were amazing. Chantelle and I got hot chocolate. It was so delicious. There was honey, fresh fruit and veg handmade items. Everything looked nice
Augusta markets were in a car park, with people selling their second hand items. Of course Daniel found books. He grabbed three, I think. Liam bought himself a lucky dip. I got a few kids books. Chantelle found herself a travel mug which she seems to be collecting now. On the way back to the car I found a second hand toy shop. I picked up a few to use for work.
In Augusta there was a great second hand book shop. I think it was run by the Lion Club. All the ladies that worked there were volunteers and all books were donated. The books were very cheap. Most of the kids books that I paid for were 50 cents each and she gave me a few for free. I think the most Daniel paid for a book was $2 except for the Winston Churchill set of 4 hardcover books they were $20 for the set.
We had a great time in the Augusta/Margaret River region. Definitely would visit again. Daniel said he would like to visit the book shop again.