Long before the Margaret River region’s meteoric rise to the top of many wine lists, Western Australia’s third largest city, Bunbury, was a major Centre. It remains an important port for this thriving region in the southwest of WA. (Link courtesy of Wikipedia)
Today we were fortunate in being removed from the “wait list” and given (bought) tickets to visit the Margaret River Region.
IT looks to be a very pleasant day weather-wise …. we’ll see
Around 9:14 this morning under beautiful sun drenched skies, our bridge crew slowly maneuvered our vessel slowly in to Koombana Bay and gently kissed the pier, no 180 turns, no vibrating thrusters – just a perfect “three point’ landing.
This was the view from deck 14, the Sky Deck
The Maasdam is the only HAL ship we have sailed on that provides such a panoramic view from this deck.
Just aft of this setting is the pristine mast superstructure;
And at the base of the superstructure, discretely mounted is this plate;
Following shipbuilding traditions, through the ages. Can you just make out the coin?
Our six hour tour today carried us through the rolling farmlands and vineyards to the center of this region; Margret River . It was a long hot drive with few opportunities for photos.
One of my readers had requested a view of homes in Western Australia, sadly today this is the best I could do. I’ll try to get more as we sail up the west coast. Because of the ever present danger of brush fires, most homes are constructed of brick or stone with either tile or metal roofs.
Tomorrow we arrive in Fremantle, the port for Perth. It will be a busy day for our stellar crew as many folks will be disembarking and their rooms have to be spick and span for the arriving guests.
It is also mandatory that we disembark for a Face to Passport Inspection and be back on board for 4 PM Mandatory Passenger Emergency Muster Drill. So we just plan to take the free shuttle into the city of Fremantle for ….
Next: We continue or trek northward to our next port of Geraldton, Western Australia
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Jack and Barbara Cummings
Retired US Navy, Retired Network Technician
View all posts by Jack and Barbara Cummings
Cummings Family Adventures 
Lots to see in Fremantle. Maritime Museum , Fremantle market and, maybe, Little Creatures brewery for a bite and drink. Enjoy!
Your previous post about the tugs. Always amazed at how such a small boat can pull and maneuver such large ships ! Bunbury from the sky deck – what a pretty town. Nice house picture and landscaping, similar to homes in U.S. The Margaret River region sounds comparable to our Eastern Washington hot growing area. Does it look the same? Your photo of the coin beneath the mast, yes the coin came through. Interesting ship info. Thanks Jack.