Margaret River. And Beer.

We had a half day before Phil's Ironman and the day after the race to explore the Margaret River area.  We had been there briefly during the last race son both knew that we needed to go back to see the Canal Rocks.  It's a rock formation on the coastline about 30 minutes south of Busselton.  The rocks are an interesting formation that channels water into sort of a plus sign.  The waves come in and push water across and also back and forth.  The rocks are tacky so very easy to climb around on, and one of our favorite things is to climb around on rocks so it was a sight we were looking forward to seeing again.
The water is really clear in the shallow parts
Pretty red rocks 

A good perspective of the plus shape the water makes

The bridge to get to the rocks


Monday Phil deserved a beer (or three) so we went down to Margaret River and tried some wineries and breweries.  We also stopped at the Margaret River Chocolate Shop and a cheese shop to sample some local treats.  I thought with a name like Margaret River the river would be really pretty and scenic.  But I was wrong.  It was a small and very unexciting river.  But we did find a neat art gallery just past it.
Lizard outside the art gallery
We headed to Colonial Brewing Co. next and were pleasantly surprised by the fish tacos and beers we found there. 
Colonial Brewing Co. tasting paddle
Really tasty fish tacos
The next stop was Black Brewing Co, which we had been to previously when it had a different name.  The location was as nice as I remembered, overlooking a nice big pond.
The pond at Black Brewing Co.
Black Brewing Co. Tasting Paddle
That's my kind of Christmas Tree!
 We headed back towards Busselton and stopped at Meelup Beach on the way.  It was absolutely gorgeous - clear turquoise water, pinkish red sand, and not another soul in site.  Except flies!  Phil was pretty sore from the race, so I explored while he slowly hobbled around.
Meelup Beach



The following day we headed back to Perth to catch our flight home, but we had to make one more stop on the way - to Phil's favourite, Feral Brewing Co.  He enjoyed their tasting paddle while we had lunch, then it was to the airport and back to the grind.  
Feral Tasting Paddle

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