Things to do in Busselton Walk the jetty, then meet the makers

Yes, start with the jetty. It runs 1.841 km out into Geographe Bay, the longest timber-piled jetty in the Southern Hemisphere. Walk it, or ride the solar train, which does the trip out and back in about 45 minutes.

At the far end, the Underwater Observatory takes you 8 metres below the surface down a spiral staircase, to look at the fish looking back at you. Tours take up to 44 people and depend on the weather, so book ahead.

Back on the foreshore by the jetty, Sea Play on the Bay is a nautical-themed adventure playground built for a mix of ages and abilities. Water features are part of the design, so pack a towel. For the smallest ones, the Toddlers Playspace on the same foreshore is built around an old railway ganger trolley. If you're heading on south after this, our Busselton to Margaret River day trip starts right here.

Now for the shopping. Origins Market is an indoor market at 86 West Street, with more than 50 makers under one roof. Check which days it's open before you go.

Obison Coffee Roasters pours coffee from a stall here. It's a local Busselton family business, and the name joins the family's two sons' names together. Its blends run from the smooth Wakey Wakey! to the full-bodied Coffee To A Kn!fe Fight.

Capricopia, the goat and bee farm, has had a craft co-op stall here since November 2021. The farm is in the Margaret River region, and the soap started with one goat. Smudge was Cath's best milker. The extra milk went into the first bars in 2014, and the soap still carries her name. The farm's own beeswax goes into its candles.

At the jetty end of Queen Street is the Busselton Cultural Precinct, a heritage-listed group of public buildings. The original courtroom and bond store went up in 1860, and the new courtroom in 1897. Between them they handled the district's law and order, governance and telecommunications. The City of Busselton now runs them as gallery and exhibition space, with a courtyard, a bush food garden and artist-in-residence studios in the old stables.

Queen Street has a run of independent shops, and nearby on Peel Terrace the Busselton Museum fills the Old Butter Factory, run by volunteers from the Busselton Historical Society.

Busselton's own soap maker is Moon Haven, a four-generation family business. Leonie started it in the family kitchen around the turn of the millennium, and today it sells online only. The signature recipe took three years to develop, and every batch is left to dry and harden before it goes out. If you're shopping for someone back home, our South West gift guide has more from the makers in this guide.

For a walk or a ride that isn't on the sand, pick up the Wadandi Track, a shared path for walkers and cyclists. Its Busselton section starts near the jetty and runs 15.5 km out to Carbunup River.

Along the way it crosses the Vasse River at the Vasse River Diversion bridge, then carries on through the wetlands of Broadwater Nature Reserve. It's an out-and-back unless someone's collecting you at the other end, so go as far as you like and turn round.

If a flat path leaves you wanting cliffs, the coast walking starts at Cape Naturaliste. Our Cape to Cape Track guide has the whole thing, lighthouse to lighthouse.

Out at Vasse, Margaret River Roasting Co roasts in a unit on Burler Drive. The cafe sits inside the working roastery, so you can watch the roasting while you drink. It's a Vasse business, and it says the roastery runs on solar power.

Its most particular coffee is Yira Yarkiny, grown in North Queensland and made in collaboration with Indigenous artists and traditional landowners. Every bag sold supports the Children's Ground Foundation.

Yahava KoffeeWorks began in 2001 in a shed on Metricup Road and now has cafes and stores across WA, including an outlet in Vasse. If you drank it on holiday, the trick to getting the same cup at home is remembering the blend: Kahava, Espresso or BlackGold.