Dunsborough

Dunsborough sits at the top of the Cape to Cape coast, 25 minutes west of Busselton, and it is the quieter, prettier half of Geographe Bay. Sheltered swimming bays on one side, wild limestone coast on the other, and a whale season that runs for four months.

The drive from Perth

Roughly 255 kilometres, about two hours 45 minutes, on Kwinana Freeway, Forrest Highway and Bussell Highway, then onto Caves Road. All sealed and straightforward. The same stops apply as the Busselton run: Mandurah, the Bunbury Dolphin Discovery Centre, and Ludlow Tuart Forest.

Once you turn onto Caves Road the drive becomes the attraction. It runs through karri and peppermint under a canopy, past cellar doors and cave entrances, and it is the road most people remember from a South West trip.

What to do when you get there

Whales, first. Geographe Bay is unusual in that humpbacks and southern rights use the same bay in the same season, and the window runs from August to late November with the peak from late September into early November, calves included. Cruises leave from Dunsborough Jetty and the Professional Fisherman boat ramp, typically 9.45am and 1.15pm, run about two hours and cost around 100 dollars for an adult, usually with a sighting guarantee.

The rest of it:

• Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse, with tours, a free whale watching platform and the Cape to Cape Track northern trailhead.
• Sugarloaf Rock, the granite stack just south of the cape, and the best sunset on this coast.
• Meelup Beach and Eagle Bay, both sheltered, both good for a swim with small kids.
• Bunker Bay, the pick of them if you only have time for one.
• Ngilgi Cave at Yallingup, 15 minutes south, with stalactite chambers and semi-guided tours.
• Canal Rocks, where the swell funnels through a gap in the granite.
• HMAS Swan, a scuttled destroyer that is now one of the best dive wrecks in the country.

When to go

September to November for whales and wildflowers, December to February for flat, clear swimming water. Winter brings big surf and rain but also the quietest cellar doors of the year, so it depends what you came for.

Cape Naturaliste, Sugarloaf Rock and Canal Rocks all sit inside Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park, which charges the standard 17 dollar vehicle entry at fee stations. If you are also doing the Pinnacles or Lesueur on the same trip, buy a Parks Pass instead.

A two day plan

Day one: leave Perth early, stop at Bunbury, and be in Dunsborough for a late lunch. Spend the afternoon at Meelup and Eagle Bay, then drive out to Sugarloaf Rock for sunset, which is 20 minutes from town and worth timing properly.

Day two: the 9.45am whale cruise, lunch back in town, then Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse and the first stretch of the Cape to Cape Track in the afternoon. If the swell is up and the cruise is off, swap in Ngilgi Cave and Canal Rocks instead, then take the free lighthouse platform for the whales.

Add a third day and you can push south into the Margaret River cellar doors, which start about 20 minutes from Dunsborough at Yallingup.

The hire car we would put you in

The Compact SUV, a Kia Sportage or similar. Caves Road and the cape roads are narrow, winding and often busy with cyclists, and the Sportage gives you a higher line of sight through the bends without being wide enough to feel awkward. Five seats and two bags is right for a couple or a small family on a long weekend, and the boot swallows wetsuits and walking boots.

If the group is bigger, the SUV 7-Seater carries seven with the same easy driving manners. For a group wine and whales weekend where one person drives, the People Mover with eight seats and four bags is the practical answer.

Before you leave the depot

Book the whale cruise before you drive down, since the good departures fill in October. Pack layers, because a boat in Geographe Bay in September is colder than the beach suggests. Take walking shoes for the Cape to Cape Track, even if you only intend to do the first kilometre, and fill the tank in Bunbury rather than Dunsborough where fuel is dearer.