On Sunday 12 February 2017, Busselton hosted it’s 22nd Busselton Jetty Swim. I believe the Busselton Jetty swim is the 2nd biggest open water event in the state, with the Cottesloe to Rottnest swim being the largest.

The Busselton event attracts in excess of 2000 entrants with only approximately 20% of participants being local. A further 5000+ supporters and spectators line the shore and Jetty to offer their support, and to marvel at the tenacity and athletic skills of the competitors. It’s an epic event, and hats off to all the organisers. With so many additional visitors to the area, I’m sure many Busselton businesses benefit immensely from the additional revenue raised.

Paul and I arrived after the swimmers had taken to the water this year, so we missed the excitement as they made their big, joint splash at the starting line. Our friends and neighbours, Kaye and Brian told us the beginning is a real sight to behold. This year Kaye’s brother, Peter was one of the entrants.

Like most of the participants this year, Peter’s goal was just to complete the race. The weather was windy and the water choppy, apparently the worst conditions ever experienced for the swim to date. The participants had to swim wide of the jetty to avoid being blown into it, no doubt adding distance to the normal 3.6kms. The chop on the water was such that it was difficult for swimmers to breath without taking in seawater. The conditions were awful. Certainly not conducive to any personal bests, or record breaking speeds.

The event was supported by volunteers from St Johns Ambulance Association, Busselton Marine Rescue, and Busselton Life Saving Association. All were kept busy. There were a number of inflatable rescue boats, and jet skis ferrying swimmers to the shore when the conditions become to tough. I saw one swimmer wrapped in a silver thermal blanket, and I’m sure there would have been many more. Our water safety in Australia is constantly dependant on the many volunteers who donate their time and skills. There are so many of them. They are a wonderful group of people, and have my utmost respect.

The first Swimmer over the finishing line was Tim Hewitt, with a time of 44.56.13, approximately 2 1/2 minutes longer than last years winning time – no surprises there.

As the rest of the swimmers reached the shore it was clear how absolutely dreadful the conditions had been. Smiling faces were rare, and it was clear every step being taken along the sand towards the official finishing line was being taken with considerable mental effort. Some of the comments to be heard were:

“That was awful.”
“That was shit.”
“Last years swim was a doddle compared to this years”.

Some of the faces were green when they reached the shore, and I believe many were horribly sick, both during the race, and at it’s completion.

I haven’t managed to track down the exact number of participants this year, nor how many actually completed the race. Accolades though to all who entered the water on such a dismal day. For those who pulled out without completing the event, congratulations on even beginning the race. You were very brave. There’s certainly no shame to be felt at withdrawing, or being rescued. For those who completed the event, I’m in awe. It was clear from all the faces as the swimmers made their way to the finishing line, there was no immediate feelings of Joy. I hope that as the pain faded, the realisation of what you accomplished kicked in. And with that realisation I hope you felt euphoria. You all deserved euphoria.

In recent years boutique breweries have made their mark in the Margaret River wine region, providing yet another diverse attraction for this wonderful area. There’s plenty to choose from, and like the wineries, most also have reasonable lunch menus to entice and satisfy their patrons.

Paul’s ‘at home’ beer of choice lately is the locally brewed, Colonial Brewery’s, Small Ale. With an alcohol content of 3.5 he finds he can have a two or three with little effect, and he enjoys the taste.

Last week we decided to take a trip to said brewery to see what other tipples they have available on tap. It’s a rustic sort of establishment, with both alfresco and inside dining. I tried their apple cider, very refreshing, while himself partook of their IPA (6.5%), which he proclaimed to be full of flavour and, “pretty, damned good”.

For those unsure of which ale to buy, a sample board with all five tap beers can be purchased.

We ordered our salads for lunch, me a frekkah, feta and beetroot salad, and Paul a classic Caesar. Then out to the alfesco area to sip our ales overlooking a tranquil lake while we awaited our meals.

All of the wineries and breweries have their eateries overlooking water of some sort – it seems to go with the territory. Doesn’t matter whether it’s a lake, or an ocean, it sure beats eating inside a stuffy restaurant in suburbia.

My salad was good, and reminded me of the first time I ever heard of, and tried Frekkah, which was at Maggie Beer’s farm shop in the Barrossa Valley in South Australia. For those of you who don’t know what Frekkah is, it’s green cracked wheat – very nutty and tasty. Paul said his salad was lacking and he’d had better Caesar’s. Didn’t matter though, what mattered was just getting out and having a look.

We finished off the day with a wander up the main street of Margaret River, and an Ice Cream cone at the Ice Cream shop. Daily living in an area that overseas tourists find awe inspiring, and Perth people only get to enjoy now and again for a week or two at a time. An area with so much to offer. Living here – what a pleasure!

Australia day. A day for families. We wandered down the shoreline today observing the crowds. What stood out most was the laughter. No tears, no yelling, and no drunken idiots. Just families and groups of people gathered together under their sun shelters with their picnics, their games, their toys and their boats. People enjoying the sun, and the sea and the beach. I love Australia day.

Our beach is normally almost deserted, but on Australia Day it comes alive with people. I don’t mind them sharing our little piece of paradise when they’re having so much fun. Come Monday, they’ll have all returned to their homes and their jobs and their schools in Perth – and we will have our beach back to ourselves again. A joy to see them here, but an even greater joy when they’re gone and we have the beach back to ourselves once again. They only get to have an occasional day in paradise. We have it all summer long – what a pleasure!

Whilst people in the far Northern Hemisphere dream of a white Christmas with lots of snow, here in Australia we hope for a different white to enhance our Christmas days.

We had beautiful weather this year for the big day. So, Paul and I headed around to the bays north west of Dunsborough, starting at beautiful Meelup Beach. Meelup is a beautiful family beach, that usually has moderately good surf. Just up from the sandy shore there’s picnic tables and free gas barbecues under the shade of dozens of beautiful peppermint trees. We expected a few people to be there, but we hadn’t expected there would be many.

Were we surprised when we managed to find the last available car park at only 10.30am. We had misjudged the pull of the beach on a sunny Christmas day in the south west.

Children were trying out their new boogie boards.

And Surf Life saving were taking no chances on someone coming to grief on a Christmas Day. They were there in force, all donating their time to keep us safe.

After leaving Meelup we headed around to see some of the other beaches. All seemed to be well occupied, with an equally good Surf Life Saving Presence.

Mental note to myself – next time I see Surf Life Saving shaking a tin I must remember all the equipment in evidence this wonderful Christmas Day and donate accordingly.

I love watching families at the beach. All having fun, laughing, and just ‘doing stuff’ together. And the young lovers, holding hands and enjoying each other’s company. And the oldies (like us) people watching as we enjoy our own sedate beach activities. People, walking, swimming, surfing, eating, sun baking and just enjoying the great outdoors in perfect weather, on perfect beaches, on a perfect day. What a pleasure!

The only trouble with living in a popular tourist destination is that when tourist season hits, so do the tourists. What for most of the year is our own little tranquil beach suddenly becomes crowded as you will see from the photos I took of Paul as we went down to our little patch of beach for our daily walk.

As we walk up the beach towards Busselton there’s a few more resorts, so a few more people. But compared to photos we’ve seen of lovely beach destinations in Europe, or even the gorgeous beaches in Perth – we’re very, very spoilt, and consider ourselves soooo lucky. There’s not a day goes past as we walk up the beach that we don’t look at each other and say, “What a pleasure”!

I’m so pleased I’ve joined up with a local women’s walking group. The women meet up twice a week at 8am at a local cafe near the beach path and walk for a 1/2 hour in each direction along the path overlooking beautiful Geographe Bay. There’s no better way to get to know people than walking and chatting, not to mention the hour or so after the walk spent in the local cafe having a coffee with the ladies.

Not only do the ladies walk twice a week with a coffee follow up, but they also go out to lunch at one of the eateries in the winery area at least once a month. I’m not only getting to know people in the local community, but am also getting local information on the better places to eat. There’s nothing like ‘local knowledge’.

A couple of weeks ago the walkers met at Palmers Winery , near Dunsborough. The meal, service and ambiance was superb, and not over pricey. So, today I went there again, this time, with Paul.

Paul had the fish of the day, a superbly cooked Red Emperor dish which he reported was excellent. I tried the Bento Box, something new to me. For those of you who don’t know what a Bento Box is, (I didn’t), it’s a Japanese meal served in a box with several different compartments. The compartments hold a selection of delectable Japanese morsels, including some raw scallops and raw tuna. A hot rock comes with the meal on which to cook the raw items to ones own liking. It was an intriguing meal, and one I wasn’t disappointed with.

We followed up by sharing a desert – also very nice. Then a walk around the dam and a visit to the cellar tasting area. Unfortunately, we forgot to take our camera, so we only managed one photo taken on the iPhone, which was badly in need of a clean, so the photo’s a bit hazy. There’s nothing quite like rows of vines with roses at either end, overlooking a beautiful lake to inspire fantasies of being in some romantic European country – perhaps Tuscany, or the South of France.

But then again, who needs to be in either Tuscany, or the South of France fighting through hoards of people when we have such delights on our own doorstep, only minus the crowds. It’s a real pleasure to be a tourist in our own neighbourhood, only with the comfort of our own bed to come back to at the day’s end.