Capes Conversations

  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...