MARGARET RIVER EVENTS

Autumn in Margaret River: The Alpacas' Guide to the Margaret River Pro and More

By autumn our alpacas have grown back half their fleece and all of their attitude. They've also developed a keen interest in surf hair. So when the world's best surfers roll into Margaret River each April, the alpacas consider it their event.

We asked them to rate the region's autumn events. Their scale runs in pronks, the stiff-legged, four-feet-off-the-ground bounce alpacas do when they're thrilled. Five pronks means the whole herd lost its composure.

The Margaret River Pro

When: April, across a waiting period of around ten days
Where: Surfers Point, Prevelly, a short drive from the farm
Cost: Free
Kid Factor: 5 pronks

The Western Australia Margaret River Pro brings the World Surf League Championship Tour to Main Break and The Box. Entry costs nothing, and surfing runs from 7am to 5pm on days the contest is on. The swell decides which days those are, so check the WSL app or the @wsl Instagram each morning before you pack the car.

Kids can wait on the walkway after their heats for autographs and selfies with the surfers. The event hub has big screens with replays and commentary, plus food trucks for the inevitable "I'm hungry" at 9:15am.

Parking tips: On weekends, park at McLeods Paddock opposite the Margaret River Golf Club and take the shuttle, which runs from about 8am to 4pm. Midweek parking sits at Riflebutts Reserve. Bring the bikes and scooters, as the organisers add extra racks.

The alpacas docked nothing. They watched a replay of a backside air and pronked into the fence.

Surfer at the Margaret River Pro, Surfers Point — Photo: Jess Kerr, via Margaret River Region

Here Comes the Sun festival

When: Lines up with the Margaret River Pro in April
Where: 3 Oceans Winery, Metricup
Kid Factor: Check the age rules before you buy tickets

Here Comes the Sun partners with the World Surf League and times its live music to the Pro. Think surf in the morning, bands in the vineyard by afternoon. Book a grandparent, a babysitter or a patient older sibling.

April school holidays in Margaret River

In some years the Pro overlaps the April school holidays, which turns the week into a surf-and-farm double act. Mornings at Surfers Point, afternoons back at Birchfield to feed the animals, bounce on the trampoline, count the kangaroos and emus in the paddocks, and light the first woodfire of the year.

Our guide to things to do in Margaret River with kids fills in the gaps between heats.

Margaret River Readers & Writers Festival

When: A weekend in May
Where: Nala Bardip Mia (Margaret River HEART), 47 Wallcliffe Road, plus events across the region
Kid Factor: 3 pronks

Authors, big ideas and long conversations take over the town for a weekend. Check the program for sessions aimed at young readers. The alpacas tried to borrow a book and ate the bookmark.

A strawbale cottage with a woodfire makes the right place to read whatever you bought.

Session at the Margaret River Readers & Writers Festival — Photo: Daniela Tommasi, via Margaret River Region

Margaret River Ultra Marathon

When: A weekend in May
Where: The Cape to Cape coastline, finishing at Howard Park winery in Wilyabrup
Cost: Free to watch
Kid Factor: 2 pronks

The 80km ultra starts at Hamelin Bay and heads north along the coast. A 42km trail marathon runs from Yallingup to the same finish line. Cheer at the finish and hand the kids a cowbell. Watching people run 80km impresses the alpacas for about four minutes, then they go back to grazing.

Keen to walk a slower stretch of that coast yourself? Our guide to Redgate Beach and the Cape to Cape starts close to the farm.

Trail runner in the Margaret River Ultra Marathon — Photo: Matt Hull, via Margaret River Region

Margaret River weather in autumn

Autumn brings calm, mild days and cool nights. Vintage wraps up, the vines turn gold, and by late May the first humpback whales start passing Augusta. The donkeys take over from there in our winter guide.