Try these must-do activities for a fab holiday in Busselton
As well as being the gateway to WA’s Margaret River region, Busselton is an adventure mecca with endless beaches, crystalline waters and a world-famous jetty.
- September 2019
- Updated June 2021
With an underwater observatory and a forest you can ride through on a unicycle, the west coast town of Busselton is bursting with surprises.
Jump off a jetty
The town’s landmark 154-year-old wooden jetty juts a staggering 1841 metres out into Geographe Bay. If you don’t feel like walking to the end, jump on board the open-sided solar-powered red train (fun fact: it provided the inspiration for Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki in his famous film Spirited Away). On the journey to the end of the world’s second-longest timber-piled jetty you’ll have the chance to see bottlenose dolphins and humpback whales as well as local anglers pulling in their catch.
Get close to the marine life
Eight metres below the water’s surface at the end of the jetty, the Underwater Observatory is a natural aquarium with 11 viewing windows set at different depths looking onto Australia’s greatest artificial coral reef that has sprung up among the jetty’s piles. Feel like getting even closer to more than 300 species of marine life calling the deep sea home? Book in for the Underwater Helmet Walk and explore this aquatic forest on a tour beneath the water.
Get some beach time
The soft white sand and calm, shallow waters of Busselton’s beach make it perfect for families. Across the school summer holidays from December each year the Aquatastic waterplay park adds to the fun with huge inflatables for sliding, climbing and bouncing in a patrolled section of the water.
Savour the sunset
Few things beat enjoying the magnificent sunsets over the Indian Ocean with a drink in hand at The Equinox beachfront bar and restaurant.
Enjoy a relaxing drink
The Geographe wine region has a fast-growing reputation for chardonnay, shiraz and emerging Spanish and Italian grape varieties that flourish in the mild Mediterranean climate. Taste the terroir at cellar doors including Capel Vale, Thomson Brook and Willow Bridge Estate, or simply kick back with a beer in the centre of Busselton at Rocky Ridge Brewing Co., which makes its ales with hops and barley grown on brewer Hamish Coates’ family farm at Jindong, just 18 kilometres south of Busselton.
Spot a possum
Shine a light on the endangered population of western ringtail possums with the Possum Night Spotlight Trail, a self-guided 1.5-kilometre walk in the Tuart Forest National Park, 10 kilometres east of Busselton. BYO torch.
Clip and zip
As well as a thrilling zip-line course, Forest Adventures South West lets you unicycle or ride a BMX through the treetops of the Ludlow Tuart Forest – plus there’s a 13-metre base jump for the super adventurous.
Go surfing
As befitting the gateway to Margaret River’s famous surf beaches, Busselton has its own champion of the waves in Taj Burrow. The retired pro surfer runs WA’s most prestigious junior surfing event, Taj’s Small Fries, each January at nearby Yallingup Beach. Boasting strong swells and reef breaks, Yallingup is considered by many to be one of the best surfing destinations in the world.