Bunbury used to be just a place to stop en route to Busselton and other towns in the Margaret River region but the coastal city is having a renaissance period. In fact, we recommend you make the Bunbury area your first port of call on your journey "Down South" (a local term for the region below Perth, which includes all of the Margaret River region)—especially if you love cocktails, fine food, and dolphins. 

In the city of Bunbury you can swim with wild dolphins (in season) or wade in shallow waters with them under the watchful eye of center volunteers and biologists. About 40 bottlenose dolphins make their permanent home in and around the waters of Koombana Bay off Bunbury, and that number jumps to about 160 between October and May. From Bunbury, head inland to meet the community of 10,000 garden gnomes at Gnomesville in the Ferguson Valley. If you travel further along the South Western Highway, you come to the picturesque town of Donnybrook, where there are rolling landscapes and miles of fruit orchards. You can even pick your own plums and apples from February to June.