Margaret River

17/02/12

(277km from Perth; population: 10 000)

Margaret River is situated on the banks of the Margaret River approximately 10km from the ocean.

Situated where lush forest meets the headwinds coming off the ocean, Margaret River, or Marg’s as it’s affectionately called, has a huge variety of things to do and see.

The development of Margaret River can be attributed to the Group Settlement Scheme of the 1920s, when some 100 settlers found themselves setting up industries with the assistance of the Government Scheme.

Today the town rests in the heart of the state’s largest premium wine producing region. This, combined with the stunning natural surroundings, supports a thriving tourism industry attracting visitors from all over the world.

The waves to be found in the Margaret River region have also proved themselves world class. This stretch of coastline has played host to a number of major international surfing competitions that attract the world’s best surfers.

It is here in Margaret River that we met up with Tony and Matt (friends from France) who were working as grape pickers.

We met up in the town centre and then headed off to the coast for dinner.

The sunset was magnificent. Every few minutes or so, the colours would change, going from, gold to all different tints of orange and red.

After a good meal and nice chat, it was time for bed (the guys had to be up really early for work). We spent the night on a car park in the town centre. Not a very nice spot for camping, but at least we were hidden from the Rangers.

At the moment in Marg’s, there seems to be a war against backpacks going on. Being a wine area, there are lots of fruit picking jobs. These jobs attract loads of backpackers. The problem is, there isn’t anywhere for these backpackers to stay. The local campsites are way to pricy, or full, so backpackers tend to camp illegally.

Apparently there have been some problems such as littering and noise at night. So for the last couple of weeks, the Rangers have been busy ‘hunting down’ and giving fines to all the ‘illegal campers’. They even had posts in the local newspaper about it!

Lucky for us, we won’t be staying long in Margaret River…

Le carnet de voyage (en français)

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