Capes Conversations

From concerts and touring theatre to gallery exhibitions and local amateur performances, live events are a powerful way to bring people together, not only drawing visitors but creating meaningful experiences for locals.  The opening of Saltwater Busselton, a state of the art performing arts venue complements the Margaret River HEART, and increases the region's ability to attract world class p...

Most of us have spotted a gold medal sticker on a bottle of wine, but what happens behind the scenes to earn it?  Host Kellie Tannock takes you inside the world of wine shows, where hundreds of wines are judged blind, reputations are built, and the quality of an entire wine region is put under the microscope.   From judges and scoring systems, to the value wine shows bring to both producers and co...

As winter gives way to spring, or Djilba as it’s known in the six-season Noongar calendar, the Margaret River Region transforms in a spectacular way.  From delicate orchids and colourful kangaroo paws to wattles, banksias and flowering heath, our landscapes come alive with thousands of native wildflowers.  It’s stunning. And it also marks our status as a global biodiversity hotspot, one of the mos...

Art has a unique way of helping us see a place differently. And every year, Margaret River Region Open Studios (MRROS) invites us behind the scenes to meet the artists who help shape our region's creative identity.  From painters and potters to photographers, sculptors and glass artists, more than 150 creatives open their studio doors every September, giving locals and visitors the chance to...

Nearly 200 years ago, a small group of settlers arrived in Augusta, facing isolation, uncertainty and a landscape unlike anything they had known before.  In this episode of Capes Conversations, author and historian Bernice Barry shares the extraordinary stories uncovered through years of research into diaries, letters and journals from the region's earliest European residents.  From the life...

Wildlife encounters are among the most memorable experiences for travellers, and often a highlight for locals too.   In the Margaret River Region, that could be spotting whales and dolphins from a boat or paddleboard, watching stingrays in the Hamelin Bay shallows, seeing a quenda or a possum, kangaroos, birds, reptiles and so on.  But where is the line between observing wildlife and disturbing it...

Capes Conversations heads into the darkness to explore the nightlife of our region's forests and caves.  As the sun drops, researchers armed with acoustic monitors and bat traps take to the bush around Mammoth and Jewel caves on a delicate mission.  With great care, they’re learning which microbat species are living, feeding, roosting and moving through this landscape.   The research is led b...

Every day, visitors learn through the places they visit.  Whether it's understanding local wildlife, connecting with cultural heritage, exploring history, or gaining a deeper appreciation for a region's landscape, tourism experiences can be powerful learning opportunities. Sometimes that learning comes through a guided tour, an interpretive display, or a conversation with a passionate lo...

There’s something pretty special about spending time in the Margaret River Region — the open space, the slower pace, long afternoons that stretch into evenings.   But for many, the question isn’t just where to go… it’s whether they’ll feel comfortable getting there in the first place.   In this episode of Capes Conversations, Kellie Tannock explores accessibility as a mindset, not as a checklist....

Food is much more than something we eat. It’s one of the most powerful ways we connect with a place, its people and its stories. In this episode of Capes Conversations , we explore the role food plays in tourism and the way memorable culinary experiences can deepen our understanding of a destination. From family recipes and cultural traditions to paddock-to-plate experiences and hands-on cooking c...

  Have you ever walked into a space and felt transformed?  In the Margaret River Region, it could be a grand restaurant with plenty of polish, or a small rustic cellar door that makes you feel a certain way as soon as you walk in. In this episode, Kellie Tannock focuses on the senses, exploring how the spaces around us shape how we feel, or how we learn, often without us even noticing.   From the...

For ten days every July, the Margaret River Region comes alive as venues from Busselton to Margaret River open their doors with something a little special for the Cabin Fever Festival.   But Cabin Fever isn’t just a festival — it’s a chance for our community to lean into winter. To leave hibernation, come together and celebrate everything we do best: incredible produce, bold local wine and beer, a...

Each year, one of nature’s great journeys tracks along Western Australia’s coastline.  Before winter, humpback and southern right whales leave Antarctica’s icy waters for their long migration north to warmer seas — hugging our continent before trekking south again months later.  Known as Margaret River Region's 'whale nursery', Augusta's calm, sheltered waters provide a safe pl...

In every regional community, volunteers are the backbone.   It's volunteers who run or support regional emergency services, kids sport, community events, arts festivals, historical societies, leisure groups ... the list goes on. So much of this only happens because our volunteers give thousands of unpaid hours to make it happen.  This week, host, Kellie Tannock talks to guests about the impac...

On Capes Conversations this week, host Kellie Tannock takes us back in time to look at what’s widely regarded as WA’s first tourism attraction.  It’s one of Margaret River’s show caves, which suffered damage in its early years of tourism, when a visit was an eight-hour adventure, not the one-hour experience of today. We’ll find out just how much our behaviour has changed with better understanding...

In  the past decade, Australia’s craft beer scene has shifted from niche to mainstream.   More and more beer drinkers were chasing local, independent, flavour-driven brews, and the industry responded... with brewers in the Margaret River Region right at the forefront of this golden new era..  Margaret River’s craft beer story began in the mid 90s with Bootleg Brewery – then something of a lone wol...

This week, Capes Conversations looks at the plight of some lesser known, or less publicised, wildlife in our region, and the work being done to protect them.  This episode could apply to so many of our native species where human impact, feral animals, habitat loss, light pollution, introduced species and climate change have all impacted our local wildlife and put them under threat. Host Kellie Tan...

There are numerous land & coast care groups across the region, focused on rehabilitating degraded and weed-ravaged land, returning it to native bushland. One group, the Augusta Land and Coast Care Group also moonlight once a month as the Friends of Cape Leeuwin, with projects around Augusta as well as working alongside the Capes Foundation team at the Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse Precinct. Gudrun T...

Each year, Margaret River’s Surfer’s Point plays host to the world’s best surfers, all chasing a win as they vie for the World Surf League’s World Title in the Western Australia Margaret River Surf Pro.   This year, Margaret River is number two of 12 stops across 9 countries on the circuit.  This season also marks pro surfing’s 50th year. This week, Kellie Tannock speaks to World Surfing League&ap...

Margaret River Region is internationally renowned for its wine, particularly Chardonnay & Cabernet Sauvignon. From late January to early May, depending on the season, the harvest takes place - international workers arrive, all-night operations begin in the vineyards and crates of grapes are brought into the many wineries across the region.  Viticulturalist, Tim Quinlan and winemaker, Ely Jarvi...

This week, Capes Conversations looks up ... up at the vast dark skies above us. It's something we take for granted but Carol Redford, founder of Astrotourism WA, wants us to proud of what's above our heads every night.  She shares her knowledge of our visible astronomical objects with practical tips to start learning more about our stars and planets. Photographer, Aidan Kean also shares...

The Ludlow Tuart Forest was once the entry into Busselton, before the bypass was built. It’s now signposted as the scenic route into town and most people miss it. This week, Capes Conversations looks at what makes the Ludlow Forest so special and why it needs community help to regenerate and thrive.  The Ludlow Tuart Forest is the only tall Tuart forest ecosystem in the world. Once covering more t...

We recorded this episode on March 3, 2026 to highlight the devastating impact of second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides (SGARS) on our native wildlife. The regulatory body, the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Association (APVMA) is conducting a review of SGARs and taking public submissions . Then, great news, on March 10 came the announcement that SGARs poisons would be declar...