Perth & Margaret River Holiday - Bushtucker River Tour

Rated as a 'Must do' by Lonely Planet, the Bushtucker River Tour was an unforgetable experience. It was here that my new camera got dunked in Margaret River, and where I tried bushtucker food - kangaroo, emu, whitchity grub spread, just some of the more memorable ones. Click on the pictures for a better view.

The tour started at the mouth of the Margaret River, on Pervelly Beach, home of some of the best surf in Oz. There were 12 of us + our guide Miri.

Our first stop was a 200 year old tea tree forest on a floating island. It was eerily beautiful with its twisted tree trunks of papery bark.

Margaret River is a slow river that's 85% fresh water and 15% salt. This is the lifeblood of the many vineyards, olive groves, orchards and dairy farms in the area.

We stopped along the right bank, in a small cove, dragged the picnic basket to a sunny patch of grass just pass more tea trees for our bushtucker picnic.

We made sandwiches while watching kangaroos in the distance as big white puffy clouds blew across blue, blue skies.

Later, we went on a bush walk. Miri pointed out plants that we could pick and sniff, chew, rub for all kinds of exciting smells and tastes. Do you know that Arum Lilies grow like weeds all over the place here? I never saw a prettier sight than a hillside covered with them. It felt like Wordworth's I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud minus the daffodils for white lillies: A host, of golden daffodils; Beside the lake, beneath the trees, Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

It was on our way back to the beach when we had a race. The prize was a bottle of Redgate Shiraz. I was so sure we'd win as my kayak had 2 strapping Kiwi guys plus another girl with as much determination as I. Only we didn't count on getting rammed by another kayak of senior citizens which caused our kayak to tip over. We ended up neck deep in Margaret River, squealing cause of the cold. Brrr!! My camera was inside my lifejacket instead of inside the plastic box they provided for storing such equipment. Too late, it was soaked. I managed to rescue the SD card containing these images but lost a 1GB card that had all the images from the previous 6 days - something in it short-circuited. Sob sob! I'm now trying to find some service here that can retrieve them.

But I had serious FUN! And I highly recommend this tour for anyone with half an afternoon to spare when they're in Margaret River. Bring suntan oil with high SPF though. My arms below my elbow are burnt and peeling now. LOL!