Bunbury sits on the coast of Western Australia about a hundred and seventy kilometres south of Perth, and it is the gateway to the south-west, the corner of the continent famous for tall forests, surf, caves and wine. It is a working port as well as a seaside city, and a place with a straightforward, friendly feel: broad streets, a long beach, and a scattering of big old pubs. The city was named for a British officer who explored the area in the 1830s.
What really sets Bunbury apart is the dolphins. At Koombana Beach, wild bottlenose dolphins come in close to shore to feed, and the dolphin centre on the shore runs a programme that lets visitors paddle into the shallows to see them, though the animals decide whether to turn up. A short walk away, the estuary of the Leschenault Inlet is a haven for pelicans, cormorants and waders. From the lookout on Marlston Hill, the whole bay spreads out below, particularly beautiful at sunset.
For riders, Bunbury is the northern end of one of the best loops in the state. Heading south, the road passes through Busselton, where the jetty, nearly two kilometres long, is among the longest of its kind in the world, then joins Caves Road, which winds through karri and marri forest, past dozens of wineries and limestone caves, down to Margaret River and the coast. The karri trees, which can exceed sixty metres, form a tunnel of grey trunks and green light. The bends are easy and the surface is good, but the forest roads can be damp and shaded, and kangaroos and emus are frequent at dawn and dusk, so slow down.
Fuel is easy in Bunbury, a city of nearly seventy thousand, and the south-west towns have stations, though they may close early in the evening. Spring brings wildflowers, and from September to November humpback whales pass off the coast, visible from headlands. Summer is hot and dry with a risk of bushfire, so check warnings. The best months for riding are October to May.