God's own country A look at the Cape-to-Cape region of Western Australia

What is it about the Capes that attracts so many visitors year in, year out? Well, take your pick. It could be the multitude of wineries, famed internationally their superb varieties. It could be the surf, which rolls consistently onto the coast. At any one time you can be assured of a decent wave somewhere on the Cape. Then again, it could be the forests with their giant karri trees, which surround Margaret River at the heart of the Cape. But then it's just as likely to be the caves. Cape Naturaliste (to the north) and Cape Leeuwin (to the south) are linked by the Leeuwin-Naturaliste Ridge, a ridge of limestone running the length of the Cape which lends itself to a system of underground karsts as important to cave research as it is to tourism. The Cape's climate also adds to its appeal. While the temperature can climb to the high 30Cs in summer, the nights are cool and pleasant. Autumn, when the surf is at its best, is still warm, and the rains are usually only threatening. The sometimes strong winds of summer have gone. Winter is cold and wet, and lends itself to snuggling-up by the fire. Spring is the time of colour on the Cape, when the wildflowers splash their colours from Naturaliste to Leeuwin. It wasn't that long ago that the Cape district was renowned for little more than its dairy farms. Surfers have been coming here since the 1950s, but it wasn't until the late 60s and 70s when viticulturalists recognised the potential of the land that the vineyards began attracting a whole new set of people. These days, the Cape has lost little of the charm it had in the early days of its tourism industry. But that's only because its residents fiercely battle to keep it that way. Thousands of tourists visit Dunsborough, Yallingup, Margaret River and Augusta every year, and many of them choose to either stay or come back to live. That puts a tremendous amount of pressure on the district's planners to retain its charm while allowing for growth. Sometimes you feel they are losing the battle, but at this stage Margaret River is still a quaint town belying a vibrant and cosmopolitan community; Augusta is still a sleepy town at the end of the highway which many retirees have chosen to call home; and Yallingup is still little more than a surfing community, albeit surrounded by the holiday homes of the rich and famous. Only Dunsborough in the north has become what you might call a typical tourist destination; but even then it remains one of the State's most beautiful places. So, you can still drive around the Cape and see relatively few people, even in the height of summer. The vineyards are tucked away in a network of narrow country roads, twisting and winding through farmland and forest. Most of the caves can be found along Caves Road, the secondary arterial route running the length of the Cape. On the Bussell Highway itself are cheese factories, caravan parks, homesteads and chalets. Then there's the coast, renowned the world over for its pounding surf, which can reach 20 feet several times during the year. It's no secret that some of the world's most decorated and promising surfers, among them Dave Macaulay, Mike McAuliffe and Taj Burrow, still call the Cape their home. You can read about the Cape for hours, marvel over photographs for days; but there's only one way to experience it properly. And that's to come have a look.