Feature by Jo Baker
Competing on the World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour circuit has taken pro surfer Isabella Nichols globetrotting a hotlist of coastal destinations, but Western Australia’s Margaret River region on Wadandi country remains closest to her heart.
And it’s not just the pull of world-class surf and the Margaret River Pro drawing her back to Perth to take the 3.5-hour drive south. It’s a deep connection with the rawness of its wild natural beauty. It’s going with nature’s flow and finding the purest simple pleasures in the little moments.
“Every time I come here, I feel so much gratitude for what I do. More so than anywhere else on tour. It’s raw. It’s beautiful. It’s my favorite place in the whole world,” says Isabella.
As a Queenslander who’s deeply connected with Margaret River, we asked Isabella to share her most unforgettable moments outside the WSL competition and her go-to must-dos.
Eagle Bay, Dunsborough
Caves Road drive
“Jump in the car and take a ride down Caves Road with an open mind and see where it takes you,” is Isabella’s top tip for an unforgettable Margaret River experience. Just a 4-minute drive from Margaret River lands you on Caves Road - a 111-kilometre tree-lined stretch leading to the most incredibly diverse adventures you’ll ever pack into a single day. A bejeweled string of pristine beaches and strikingly sculpted granite headlands. A wonderland of tall timber forests and ancient caves. And a roll call of world-class winemakers and chefs curating the most divine food and wine pairings. Isabella particularly loves to swing by Swings & Roundabouts for pizza and Fishbone Wines for sushi.
Mammoth Cave
Head down beneath the forest floor into the immediately dwarfing chambers of Mammoth Cave, one of over 100 cave systems tunnelling deep into the ancient limestone karst Leeuwin-Naturaliste Ridge. Parts of this subterranean world are open to the public, and at Mammoth Cave you can rock up and explore at your own pace with a self-guided audio tour of the super-sized stalactites and fossilised remains of long extinct megafauna, from giant wombats and echidnas to Tasmanian tigers.
Cape to Cape Track, Margaret River
Cape to Cape Track from Ellensbrook
March-May (autumn) or September-November (spring) are the best times to get out there walking the spectacularly scenic Cape to Cape Track. Between competing and training, Isabella has explored just a short stretch from the stunning coastal headland of Ellensbrook to her favourite beach at Redgate and the magical remoteness of Conto’s Beach. She was so blown away that she’s put it top of her list to walk the whole 135km from Cape Naturaliste in the north to Cape Leeuwin in the south.
Margaret River Pro opening ceremony
If you're here for the Margaret River Pro in April, head down to Surfers Point for the opening ceremony in the late afternoon the day before the comp begins. Anyone’s welcome to come listen as Aboriginal storytellers share their deep cultural connections to this place that stretch back over 40,000 years. It’s a spiritually wholesome experience Isabella never misses.
Isabella Nichols at Margaret River Pro
Surfing Yebble at sunrise
The stretch between Prevelly and Gracetown known as Yebble (honouring a local Noongar legend) is packed with so many types of reef breaks on different tides and wind directions, there's always somewhere to surf. “You can just go walking and come across a wave and it'll be fun,” says Isabella. “And when you're out there at Main Break in the early morning, watching the sun come up over the cliffs, it's just like the most phenomenal place to be.”
Sunset over the big waves
Sit at the top of the hill overlooking the Main Break at Surfers Point, or down on the beach at Redgate with a glass of wine and watch Mother Nature paint the sky and ocean. “We don’t get to experience ocean sunsets on the east coast,” says Isabella. “And the beauty of those moments, that cotton candy sky, almost brings me to tears. I’ve never experienced that from being in nature before.”
“Just put your phone away and enjoy everything that's in front of you, in the moment,” Isabella says. “That’s the best way to experience it.”
Published April 2024.