Bunbury

The Port of Bunbury, just two hours drive south of Perth, is located on a spectacular peninsula surrounded by blue waters of the Indian Ocean, Koombana bay and the Leschenault Inlet.

With a current population of around 30,000, Bunbury is the third-largest urban area in Western Australia and is the major port and commercial center for the southwest region.  A vibrant town with a strong maritime atmosphere, Bunbury is now renowned for the wild but friendly dolphins that interact with people in Koombana Bay.  The 90 dolphins that live permanently in the calm waters of the bay have been coming in to the beach for decades.  Bunbury’s other features include Western Australia’s southern-most mangroves rare basaltic rock and nearby Tuart Forest.  A colorful “cappuccino strip” of sidewalk cafes and a variety of eating places has developed along the central business district’s Victoria Street.  These cafes and the many award-winning restaurants and historic pubs ensure the atmosphere hums from dawn to dusk.

We took the shuttle to a shopping area where we hired a car & driver and went around the town.  There really is not much to see or do here, but at least we saw a lot of Bunbury, went to the Yacht Club and stopped in a private club where our driver was a member to have a Coke.  We also went to a wildlife park where we saw Kangaroos, peacocks & emus and even had the baby kangaroos eating out of our hands.  It has been very cool from Auckland to Sydney, but today the temperature was about 90 and tomorrow in Perth it will be even hotter.