Day One

Meet your driver or pick up your hire car from Perth Airport or the city and head south to the Busselton Jetty Precinct. Enjoy the lively atmosphere with numerous cafes and restaurants that are ideal for lunch. Take a stroll along the 150-year-old, heritage-listed Busselton Jetty that stretches 1.8 kilometres over stunning the Geographe Bay. Or sit back and relax on the Jetty Train. At the end of the jetty, descending 8 metres beneath the waters’ surface, visitors can view the amazing corals and fish life within the Busselton Jetty Underwater Observatory. Busselton’s white sandy beach is also great for a swim.

Then head off to your luxurious and superbly located accommodation, Smiths Beach Resort. Beautifully located right in front of – as the name suggests – the glorious Smiths Beach, a stay here also situates you a hop, skip and jump away from Meelup, Point Picquet and Eagle Bay – some of the regions most spectacular beaches.

Relaxation is the theme of the afternoon. Select an indulgent treatment from nearby Bodhi J Wellness, or enjoy a relaxing drink at Lamonts with a superb view. Of course, you could just park up on the pure white sands of Smiths Beach and while away the afternoon soaking up sun and salt.

Day Two

Enjoy a leisurely breakfast on your terrace or balconette, and be ready to immerse yourself in the amazing coastal experiences that surround the resort. This morning’s activities are accessible by short drives, or if you want to get some exercise pack plenty of water and some refreshments and get ready to walk.

Head to Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse for the 30-minute lighthouse tour. At its highest point, the lighthouse towers over 120m above sea level, and the views are stunning.

Then enjoy a stroll along the boardwalk for views over the Indian Ocean to Sugarloaf Rock. For the walkers, continue along the paved path for 45-minutes (90-minutes return) to Sugarloaf Rock. For the drivers take the scenic 10-minute drive. As you approach Sugarloaf Rock you will instantly see why this towering, sea-sculptured rock that emerges from the Indian Ocean is one of the most photographed coastal landforms in the region.

Return to the resort to freshen up, and choose from surrounding venues like Swings & Roundabouts, Wise Winery or Eagle Bay Brewing Company for lunch. All have spectacular food, wine and beer) with stunning views!

After lunch immerse yourself in art and bushland at the art precinct along Marrinup and Gunyulgup drives in Yallingup. Pop down to Yallingup Beach to watch the surfers, and call into any of the providores, cellar doors or farm gates that take your fancy along the drive.

Enjoy an experience to treasure for a lifetime with a twilight Koomal Dreaming tour. Wadandi guide Josh “Koomal’ Whiteland will take you on a short guided bushwalk identifying traditional medicine plants and local Noongar knowledge. Then, venture into Ngilgi Cave to hear Josh relate the dreaming legends with his unique way of storytelling. Here, deep inside the earth, Josh delivers a mesmerising didgeridoo performance in the stillness of the cave. Private and group tours are available.

Enjoy dinner at one of Dunsborough’s many local restaurants, wine bars, brew houses, fish pubs and cafes or make your own back at the resort.

Day Three

Relax and spend the morning at the resort, check out and drive to your new accommodation – Heritage Trail Lodge – at Margaret River. Leave your car there – today involves wine tasting! Arrange a drive to take you to Voyager Estate for the full Voyager Estate experience.  The Estate Tour, Tasting, and Discovery Menu offers the full Voyager Estate experience, from vine to wine and garden to table.

Your five-hour tour starts with a behind-the-scenes Estate tour where you’ll visit the vineyard, underground cellar and taste wine straight from the barrel in the barrel hall. Once you’ve seen where the wine comes from, it’s time to taste them with a guided tasting in the beautiful cellar door. You will then move into the stunning restaurant for a six-course sensory dining experience that charts the story of Voyager wines from vineyard to glass. Each dish is paired to an aged or limited release wine.

Return to Margaret River, check in to your accommodation and then spend the rest of the afternoon and evening exploring Margaret River’s main street galleries, boutique shopping, cafés, wine bars and restaurants if you have any appetite left. Dinner at Mikis Open Kitchen is on the cards for those who don’t mind two exquisite dining experiences in one day – it’s definitely worth it.

Day Four

Pick up some gourmet goods for today’s activities from Blue Ginger or The Larder, then venture out to Gnarabup Beach Café for a beachside breakfast overlooking the waves. After breakfast, be sure to visit Margaret River’s most famous surf break Surfer’s Point.

Head south down Caves Road to the towering Boranup Karri Forest and marvel at the stunning pale barked trees illuminated by the sunlight. Visit the Boranup Gallery and see works from Australia’s leading designers, makers and artists.  Head back up Caves Road a little way and stop in at the forest lookout on the eastern side of Caves Road, then take Boranup Drive. With its hard limestone base, it is suitable for two-wheel drive vehicles. The drive winds its way through stunning forest and loops back to Caves Road. Along the drive, you’ll find the Boranup Lookout which takes in views across the picturesque forest and the stunning turquoise waters of nearby Hamelin Bay. This is one of the day’s many great picnic spots!

Continue to Hamelin Bay and possibly see the friendly eagle rays that come into shore, then drive to Western Australia’s most south-westerly town, Augusta. Enjoy views across the Hardy Inlet and Flinders Bay and be sure to look for whales in season. There’s great picnic spots all along the inlet and bay.

Continue to Australia’s tallest mainland lighthouse at Cape Leeuwin. Go to the top of this working lighthouse and enjoy breathtaking views across the treacherous oceans and Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park. Grab a coffee at the Cape Leeuwin Cafe, while keeping an eye out for rare rock parrots, petrels, albatross and gannets.

Return to Margaret River via the highway. Karridale and Witchcliffe offer some quaint little shops and there’s an amazing maze and gardens on the left. There are a number of premium wineries with cellar doors in this vicinity, both to the west and east, and well worth visiting.

Head for dinner at Swings Taphouse or Morries in town, before returning to the quiet of your lodge.

Day Five

Have breakfast on the main street then spend the morning exploring Margaret River town. There are lovely cafes, shops and galleries. If it’s a Saturday, enjoy the all-important Margaret River Farmers Market. See the actual Margaret River and enjoy river walks.

Start your journey north as you make your way back to Perth, allowing time to explore some more of the hundreds of farm gates, cellar doors, brewing companies, providores, chocolate companies, olive oil producers and galleries along the way.