Busselton WA, Jetty, Underwater Observatory, Port Geographe WA

Busselton WA April 27 2015
It's Monday morning, and in WA that means a holiday for the Anzac day, which meant that huge crowds came down to the Busselton / Margaret River / Augusta playground for the long weekend. The van park has been chokkers and fairly unpleasant, so joy of joys, most near everyone went home early this morning.

We had planned on doing the Underwater Observatory at the jetty this morning, but we found that all those people who had been in the cabins and hotels and B&Bs had gone there when they checked out. And, we also found that you have to book a spot on a train ride and tour, so we opted for 3pm, which left us at a loose end for something to do. We were going to have lunch in the nice looking Goose or the Equinox, but baulked a bit at $28.50 for a hamburger, plus public holiday surcharge. We ended up drifting back down to Margaret river and had lunch there instead. We had intended to tour the cheese factory on the way back, but that which was open in the morning was now well and truly closed.

Back in Busselton, we had seen a sign for Port Geographe about 7km up the road, so we went exploring and found a nice marina and a nice hotel type place which would have been ideal for lunch. Oh well, had coffee and a banana and walnut muffin instead.

The Deck. Port Geographe. Busselton WA

The marina. Port Geographe. Busselton WA

Back at the jetty, we boarded the toy train for the 20min ride out to the observatory, which is almost but not quite right at the end. We all crowded in and underwent the obligatory 20min talk that forms a guided tour. The observatory is a big spiral staircase that goes down 3 levels and 8 metres to the ocean floor. At each level there are big windows for fish and coral viewing. There are lots of pylons, both old and new, that have become covered with coral reef type creatures and they reckon that there are over 300 species all just here. The are also justifiably proud that it's all natural, in that they do not feed the fish or net them in or interfere in any way. The water was fairly clear, apparently, and there were lots of fishes and corals. Quite fascinating.

The train. Busselton Jetty WA

Underrated Observatory, right out at the end. Busselton Jetty WA

Underwater Observatory. Busselton Jetty WA

Underwater Observatory. Busselton Jetty WA

Underwater Observatory. Busselton Jetty WA

Underwater Observatory. Busselton Jetty WA

Underwater Observatory. Busselton Jetty WA

Underwater Observatory. Busselton Jetty WA

Underwater Observatory. Busselton Jetty WA

Underwater Observatory. Busselton Jetty WA

Underwater Observatory. Busselton Jetty WA

Underwater Observatory. Busselton Jetty WA

Underwater Observatory. Busselton Jetty WA

The End. Busselton Jetty WA