From Dunsborough I cycled to a couple of stunning beaches in the north east of the peninsula. The furthest and most isolated was beautiful Bunkers Bay.
Video here.
From here I cycled to Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse at the very northern tip of the peninsula but I lost my photos from that, sorry.
My map here.
I can also recommend the long beach at Eagle Bay. It’s busier as it’s easier to get too but still really lovely. Both these beaches have a lot of shallows so there’s no need to worry about sharks!
They could also be hiked as part of the Cape to Cape track.
Inland from Eagle Bay are two well known places to eat and drink…
Wise Wine (High Intermediate B+), 237 Eagle Bay Rd, www.wisewine.com.au
The entrance to the Wise Wine vineyard is immmediately over the road from the Eagle Bay Brewery below, so you get to choose between beer and wine. The food is much better at Wise though, although not as good as other wineries I visited.
Their boast is that they are the only vineyard whose vines reach as far as the sea. Although I couldn’t quite see that this was actually true with my own eyes, the view from their terrace was still pretty good.
I started off with a round of white wine tastings at the cellar door and concluded that their Pino Grigio was the one for me (B+) despite the A$48 asking price in the restaurant (a separate business apparently).
The Swordfish began things well (B+) but was also a bit pricey at A$44.
I wasn’t that hungry so I went straight to the Australian cheeses which were the best I had on the trip. The Chevre and the Brie both scored A. The service was average but everything else was good so I left happy.
Eagle Bay Brewing Co (Intermediate C), 236 Eagle Bay Rd, www.eaglebaybrewing.com.au
This is the place to come on a hot day when you really need to slake a thirst. It was in the low 30s when I cycled up the hill from Dunsborough. The greeter was pretty gobsmacked to see me as it seems nobody in their right minds would normally cycle up here in the heat!
I was spitting nails so I downed a pint of their excellent Pale Ale (A) in a matter of minutes. I followed up with a tasting paddle of all their beers (Kolsch, Lager, Amber Ale, Hoppy Blonde, Pale Ale, Black IPA). The 5.1% PA is the best as far as I’m concerned.
A friend tells me that beer was exactly what my body needed after all that exertion, in order to balance my electrolytes.
The dining room is very big, they must be able to cater for a couple of hundred customers at once. The view is okay but not all that imho. Video here.
Despite positive reviews from various sources, I didn’t rate the food here at all. The grilled Barrimundi dumped on my table was passable in flavour (B) but the oily salad it came with wasn’t great (C).
I had to send the following Korean Chicken Wings back they were so bad (D).
And the Marinaded Octopus wasn’t much better (C-). The Iced Chocolate for dessert saved things a bit (B+).
Service was variable but generally okay. A good place to drink Pale Ale but I wouldn’t go back for the food.
So stick to the wineries! Heading west next…