There are several things to do in Margaret River. It is a small town in south Perth, Western Australia. It is known for its world-famous wineries, berry farms, chocolate factory, and unique whale-watching experience.
The locals often call Margaret River “Margs,” and it is one of the most popular destinations to visit in Australia. Margaret River is Known for its award-winning wineries, beautiful coastlines and beaches, and fascinating landscape.
1. Things to Do in Margaret River
You can visit Margaret River during summer, considered the best time for warm and pleasant weather. Summer in Australia is usually between December and February. However, there is no hard and fast rule. You can visit there any time of the year.
1.1 Visiting the Local Wineries
Visiting the local wineries is one of the must-do activities in the area. Margaret River is particularly renowned for producing a wide variety of world-class wines. An interesting fact is that 20% of the premium wines in Australia come from Margaret River.
While the most famous wine of the Margaret River region is the cabernet sauvignon, the area is also known for making some of Australia’s best chardonnay.
Other specialties include Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot, and Sheraz. The chardonnay grown here is different in its many varieties and styles. Some wines here are lighter, while some taste richer and more flavourful.
The white wine, one of Margaret River’s most popular drinks, is primarily acclaimed worldwide. The drink is a must-try drink as it’s famous for being a refreshing drink that leaves a citrusy taste in your mouth, leaving you wanting more. It is usually solid in taste and comes in exciting flavours like black currant and cedar.
Although each variety of wine is a must-try here, you should try wines from the following vineyards in the Margaret River wine region: Voyage Estate, Leeuwin Estate, Stella Bella Winery, and Cape Mentelle Winery.
1.2 Trip to Margaret River Chocolate Factory
This place might become your favourite destination if you love chocolate and can not get enough of it. Margaret River Chocolate Factory is no less than a paradise for chocolate addicts; if you are one of them, you are bound to fall in love with this place.
The Margaret Chocolate Factory, popularly known as the Chocolate Factory, is one of Margaret River’s most visited and loved destinations. It was founded in 1999 in the Margaret region and is famous for its great range of chocolate products.
But here comes the best part! The Margaret River chocolate factory lets you have free entry, so you get to taste their amazing chocolates for free of cost. They also allow you to watch the entire chocolate-making process free of charge. Isn’t that amazing?
The original Margaret Driver factory is just 20 minutes from the Margaret River. This company has another factory which is located in the swan valley.
You will find every information related to chocolate, from delicious chocolate cakes, ice cream, and chocolate bars to even chocolate body products! There is nothing that they don’t produce.
1.3 Leeuwin Naturaliste National Park
Another thing to do in Margaret River is to visit the Leeuwin Naturaliste National Park. Leeuwin Naturaliste Park is the perfect destination if you are an adventurous soul.
From scuba diving and camping to rock climbing, you name it, it offers all sorts of thrilling, adventurous activities. No wonder it is one of Western Australia’s favourite holiday destinations.
Once you get here, you can walk through the trails through lush green forests to the beautiful coastline. On the west coast, you can witness one of the most beautiful sunsets you have ever seen, setting over the Indian oceans. Leeuwin Naturaliste Park includes the Boranup Karri forest, damp lands, and a nationally significant karst system with hundreds of caves and speleological features.
The Leeuwin Naturaliste Park stretches 120 kilometres along the coast between Cape Naturaliste and Cape Leeuwin. Various walking trails, including the cape to walk, lead you to the Park’s main centre.
Another beautiful destination is Meekadarabee Falls, also known as the “bathing place of the moon.” Meanwhile, the Boranup Karri forest has tall karri trees and lush green cover, mesmerizing you.
1.3.1 The Boranup Karri Forest
There are coastal cliffs facing west lie between Karridale and Cowaramup Bay. The coast provides excellent views over the ocean, and you can also surf along the shoreline of the Naturaliste National Park.
You can also enjoy snorkelling at sites like Prevelley and Gnarabup Beach. The Limestone Leeuwin Naturaliste ridge has several top-notch caves, many of which are open to the public.
The way that leads to Boranup Karri forest is a beautiful scenic view, and the forest makes for a perfect camping or picnic spot. Nearby, you will find the Boranup lookout from where you can see over the coast west to Hamelin Bay. In the forest, you can picnic, hike and take aesthetic photos to make it more memorable.
In the spring, you might even get lucky and spot kangaroos, birds, other wildlife animals, flora, and fauna.
Once you visit Leeuwin Naturaliste Park, you will never want to leave it. You will want to keep returning, with each visit offering something unique and a different experience.
1.4 Hamelin Bay
Hamelin Bay is a bay on the southwest coast of Western Australia. It is between Cape Leeuwin and Cape Naturaliste and got its name from the French explorer Jacques Felix Emmanuel Hamelin.
The stunning and enthralling bay is only a short trip from Margaret River. Hamelin Bay is world famous for its breathtaking view. It is like an endless sea, with many things to explore here.
Hamelin Bay will leave you mesmerized each time you visit, be it offshore or onshore, and if you get lucky, you can meet the friendly stingrays who sometimes swim to the shores to greet you.
But be careful, and do not get too close to them as they might try to attack if they feel threatened. You are also not allowed to feed them. But you will only find them when the water flows calmly, as they prefer calm water mainly in summer.
1.4.1 Check the Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse
The Cape Leeuwin lighthouse is the tallest in mainland Australia. It is at the top of the peninsula, where the Southern and the Indian Oceans meet.
This place is also one of the world’s great capes and a must-visit attraction if you come to Western Australia. Hamelin Bay was built in 1895 from the local limestone, serves as a landmark, and still plays as an essential lighthouse for vessels that navigate the cape.
It is best to have a guide that will guide you to the top of the tower, from where you can see the stunning seascape and learn about maritime history. There is even a centre in one of the original lighthouse keepers’ cottages dedicated to the lives and remarkable history of the numerous lighthouse keepers who were once custodians of the coastline.
They also provide you with interactive technology such as animated films and artifacts, stories through which you can learn exciting insights into the lives of the men, women, and children who were once original inhabitants of this place.
1.5 Berry Farm Tour
If you want to experience berry picking, Margaret River’s berry farm is the best place to start. It allows you to have a first-hand experience with berry picking with the abundance of fresh and locally produced various varieties of berries! With its beautiful and picturesque berry farms, Margaret River is known for its fresh and local produce.
Do not worry if you are not an expert at berry picking, as you can have fun doing many different activities. The berry farms include several exciting activities apart from berry picking.
One of the best-known farms is Rosa Glen berry farm. It is just a short distance from Margaret River town and is not limited to berry picking.
You can taste their fresh and homemade jams from freshly produced berries in huge varieties and flavours, such as strawberry, blueberry, cranberry, etc.
They also offer preserves and sauces, sparking fruit wines and liqueurs, ciders, and vinegar, or you can even dine at the cottage cafe, loved by the tourists, especially children, and enjoy your tea and lunch. Children have a lot of fun playing here.
1.6 Visit the Famous Caves
Margaret River is home to some of the oldest and most mysterious caves that offer exciting and eventful experiences to its visitors.
1.6.1 Jewel Caves
Jewel Cave is an award-winning cave, making it a popular tourist destination and a must-visit spot.
It is the largest cave open to the public in Western Australia. It got its name from a jewel casket, a small chamber inside the cave.
There are three chambers within this enthralling cave system and a large selection of fascinating and delicate rock formations, including straws, helictites, stalactites, flowstone, fossils, coral, and more.
The karri forest surrounds the cave, and the cave exemplifies the thrill and the excitement of the journey.
1.6.2 Lake Caves
You can walk through a cave model featuring flowing steam at cave works. They also have interactive touch screens to get information on topics related to the cave speleothems(formations) and history.
You get to view the depths of the lake cave. There is also a theatre and tearoom on site.
There are also a series of stairways and paths where you can see the giant huge karri trees growing from the deep depths. The cave’s lake never dries up and offers stunning reflections from the way along its edge.
1.6.3 Mammoth Cave
It is believed that over 10,000 fossils had once accumulated inside the cave. Mammoth Cave is known for being home to the remains of Australian megafauna that became extinct around 46000 years ago.
It is home to a rich diversity of flora and fauna. It has also been recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site and one of the world’s international biosphere reserves.
At the end of the cave, you will be met with the astonishing Marri and Karri forest. Mammoth Cave is more than a cave. It is an entirely natural experience.
1.7 Visit Blackwood River
The Blackwood River is the largest in the southwest of Western Australia. It begins in Quelarup and enters the southern ocean in Augusta.
You can find a wide variety of different fish in the Blackwood River. Any time of the year is suitable for fishing in the Blackwood River near Augusta. You might face difficulty when it rains heavily as the freshwater washes down the river.
The ancient Jarrah forest and beautiful green hills make the Blackwood River even more beautiful and enticing. Make sure to gaze at the night that offers an amazingly memorable experience.
You don’t need to worry about the weather, as each season offers something unique. You get to experience beautiful misty mornings in winter, refreshingly cool summer nights, a colourful show of deciduous trees in autumn, and the fusion of purple, yellow, and pink.
During autumn, warm autumn hues fill up the valley. With calm and mild weather, this is the best time to visit for mountain biking and bush walking activities. Winter is another pleasant time to visit the southwest when the hills and surrounding regions get covered with enticing morning mist, and the landscape is covered with tulips.
During spring, wildflowers bloom, gardens are open for the public with numerous events that keep you engaged, and you can experience the culture, people,
and art at once. It is a treat to the eyes, for sure.
1.8 Whale Watching
Margaret River region Whale watching should be your go-to adventure if you want something relaxing.
The whale watching season commences in May when the whales first appear in Augusta, south of the Margaret River, heading north from the southern part of the ocean to their breeding grounds.
The Margaret River region is known for coastal spots that provide a beautiful whale-watching experience and is one of the few locations where you can witness the interactions of humpbacks, southern right, and blue whales.
Margaret River whale-watching tours operate from two areas, Dunsborough and Busselton. As a result, several whale-watching tour operators run in the region, with popular departure points including Augusta in the south and Busselton and Dunsborough further north, all serving as good spots to commence your sightseeing journey.
Both regions offer you some of the best whale-watching experiences in Australia, boasting high numbers of whales and some of the longest-running whale-watching seasons in the world. Usually, it runs from May to early December. Thus, Every visitor gets to witness one of the unique wildlife experiences because it operates for an extended period.
1.9 Bunbury Regional Art Gallery
The Bunbury Regional Art Gallery is a dynamic exhibition space in southwest Western Australia. It provides a platform for exhibitions by local artists and touring exhibitions nationwide.
With six different gallery spaces, the Bunbury region’s art gallery offers a wide range of exhibitions. The exhibition’s theme changes every 6-8 weeks, making it a vibrant and diverse art gallery that is one of its kind in Australia.
It caters to the needs of everyone, as there is always something for everyone to get excited about. It is like a window to the world of art.
The exhibition programming has vital regional significance and national relevance and is housed inside one of Burberry’s oldest historic buildings. The pink former convent inside the art gallery has traces of past lives that you can access while roaming around the spaces.
Their wide range of works ensures that every art enthusiast gets to experience something that relates to their area of interest.
Whether you are an artist or an aspiring artist passionate about art, the Bunbury Regional Gallery should be on your itinerary list when you visit Margaret River. You can even bring family and friends along, making it all the more memorable.
Ticket cost: entry is free
2. Conclusion
Margaret River is a diverse, picturesque region. There are many exciting things to do in the Margaret River region, from experiencing nature’s works of art, like the thousand astonishing caves, to its kind whale watching and pleasant berry picking or relaxing in nature’s lap in a natural paradise like the Leeuwin Naturaliste Park.
It is a beautiful experience that will make for a memorable trip. The best part is that it offers something for every age group, whether children, youth, or adults.
Last Updated on March 2, 2024 by ayeshayusuf
