Busselton WA (part 1)

Getting there

From Albany we travelled north-west, stopping in the little town of Manjimup for coffee. Then saw thick smoke ahead from two controlled burns. Arriving in Busselton, the air was dense with smoke which turned the sky to orange like it was sunset instead of 2pm. Thankfully the smoke cleared by the next morning.

We stayed at Busselton Jetty Tourist Park. This comprises of three different parks, each a block from the other. We were in Park 2, great position. Easy walk to the jetty, cafes, IronMan start.

Around Busselton

There is a shark net surrounding this area

IronMan Asia Pacific

When booking Busselton, we didn’t know that the annual IronMan Asia-Pacific Championships were on the first week end. Due to a cancellation we managed to get a camp site. People from all over the world had come for the race. Busselton was buzzing with excitement the entire weekend. It was fantastic to witness and we made the most of it by being on the side lines from 5.30am til early evening.

The Ironman race is a 3.8km swim, 180km bike ride and a 42.2km run with no rest period in between.
The half Ironman race is half of that, so they call it the Ironman 70.3 which is the total distance. The oldest male competitor to finish was 79 years old, and the oldest woman was 74.

First full Ironman race starts. The half Ironman started one hour earlier.

Jetty Train and Observatory

The train is powered from solar panels on the top of the carriages. At either end of the jetty the engine can turn around by coming off the tracks and driving on the wooden platforms (it has double tyres: steel and rubber).

Solar Express Engine turning around (sped up)

Kite Festival

Gracetown is about 50km from Busselton. The 2025 Gracetown Annual Kite Festival, included Australian painter and master printmaker Leon Pericles’ iconic 12-panel octagonal kite train, called ‘Stained glass windows in the sky” a spectacular creation that earned him an international prize for Best Kite in the World at a major festival in China during the late 1980s.

Busselton Museum

Yallingup Malibu Classic

A 30 minute drive from Busselton is the coastal town of Yallingup. It just happened to have the annual Malibu (longboard) Classic on, so we headed down to watch. Another fantastic beach.

Cowaramup Township

The quirky little town of Cowaramup is well worth stopping at. Great shops. Fabulous icecream/sorbets. Not sure where its name comes from or what it originally had to do with cows, but now it’s all about cows.

In 2012 the town installed 42 lifesize fibreglass cow sculptures around the town, as a tourist attraction. In July 2014, the town set a Guinness World Record for the largest group of people – 1,352 – dressed as cows.

Simmos Icecreamery

Well worth visiting, particularly if you have children. Great adventure playground. Over 60 udderlicious ice cream flavours created from local full-cream milk in scoops and take-away tubs. Picnic and BBQ area. 18 hole mini-golf. Barista coffee and toasted paninis. Warming waffles and sensational sundaes.

Cruising Christmas Lights on the canals

Lots of operators run boat tours of the Port Geographe Canals to see the Christmas lights. We went with Epic Marine Charters. The Port Geographe Canals community runs an annual competition for the best Christmas Lights on the Canals. With local companies as sponsors, there is a prize pool of $20,000 for best Christmas house lights, with votes from visitors and the community.