Margaret River Region.

Margaret River wineries are famous.

If someone told me I would have to spend the rest of my life in the Margaret River Region, I'd go willingly!! It is a delightful place to spend some time. From the beautiful blue waters of Geographe Bay, to the bay side towns of Busselton and Dunsborough, each with its unique attractions, to the dozens of wonderful wineries, the amazing collection of fresh produce, and the breathtaking scenery, it certainly has a lot to offer. And if you are an action kind of person, there is every conceivable kind of sporting activity. You can surf at the world renowned breaks along the Indian Ocean coast, you can dive at a number of sites, kayaking and sailing are popular, there is great fishing in the Bay and out at sea, high class golf courses, and cycling and walking trails all over the place, and there is the world famous trek from Cape Naturaliste, to Cape Leeuwin. I think you get the picture, we really like it around here!!!

"The Goose" is a favourite.

We have spent a total of 7 or 8 weeks in the area, and feel right at home. When you stay a while you get to know, and be known. The cafe scene is great, and we have tried most. We love "The Goose" with its wonderful location by the jetty. Many days, we start with a long bike ride, east or west around the waters of the bay, then stop back at "The Goose" for coffee, which is excellent, and the food is good as well. The weather continues to shine on us. Sunny all the time, but the evening breezes have been a good reminder that the next door neighbour is Antarctica! We have not experienced the stinging heatwaves that the west is famous for, it has simply been pleasant. Many days we just sit around and read, others we head out to explore.

Stella Bella Wines were great.

The wineries of the Margaret River are world renowned. I hadn't realised just how small the area in which the wineries are located is. It is as if you could throw a blanket over them. There are the big names such as Leeuwin Estate, Evans & Tate, Sandalford, Vasse Felix, Voyager Estate etc., but it is the smaller boutique style places that we like. The quirky names they come up with. How about, Frog Choir Wines, Flying Fish Cove, House of Cards,Howling Wolves, or Swooping Magpie. One of our favourites was Stella Bella, where we had a lovely time talking to the passionate young lady behind the tasting counter. It is vintage time at the Margaret River and she took us out into the vineyards to taste the sweetness of the different grapes. The owner is apparently a bit eccentric and has unusual names from fantasy books, to describe his wines. His premium wines are bottled under the Suckfizzle Label, a tongue twister that becomes more dangerous the more you drink!!

It doesn't get much better than this!

Table number 21 

On another day, we dropped in at the winery called Swings & Roundabouts. There are tables and chairs around the lawn, shaded by beautiful gum trees, and there is a huge wood fired pizza oven, sending forth the most amazing aromas. A young Italian guy is singing away and churning out the authentic thin based pizzas. We tasted some wines, which were very good, chose the glass we would share with our pizza, and headed out onto the lawn, with our table number screwed to a cricket stump, and instructions to stick the stump in the ground beside our chosen table! When we've had enough, we just pull up stumps!! The pizza was just delicious, the setting looking out over the vineyards was breathtaking. Another memorable day out.

Be tempted at Laurance Wines.

The winery at Laurance Wines.

For sheer visual effect, we had to visit Laurance Wines. From the time you enter the gate, past the tempting apple in a tree sculpture, and drive along the manicured driveway towards the winery, right up until you walk inside the tasting rooms, your visual senses are whacked. In the centre of the lake is a golden sculpture of a lady ready to dive into the lake. The lawns and gardens are a mass of colour, which as you get closer, you realise are petunias and roses. The building is

Beautiful lawns and gardens.

Glass sculpture at Laurance Wines.

an old Spanish design. The entry is glass and suspended above you are huge chandeliers made from wine glasses. There is a massive, lurid glass sculpture on a pedestal, and inside are many more similar artworks for sale. The place just exudes style. Everyone seems to be whispering, it all seems so divine! The wine tasting is like no other. To top it all off, the wine doesn't come in conventional bottles, it comes in Arabic style decanters, all painted with flowers of different colours suited to the wine inside! You can even buy the empty bottles!!

Duckstein Brewery.

The Brewery entrance.

Not far away is the Duckstein Brewery. If you haven't noticed, breweries are popping up in all the wine areas. Duckstein's is the Laurance equivalent in a brewery. Magnificent building around a man made lake, serving great food. It really is a pub in the vineyards. Me, I can't get into boutique beer. They all seem to have a strange bitter aftertaste, and it must be something in the brewing as they all seem to have it. I tasted a beer called Grizzly Bear. When the guy asked what I thought, I told him I thought it was still hibernating. He looked slightly puzzled and said it does take time for them to mature, so I asked if I could try the 2012 vintage. I'm not sure he'll ever lose the puzzled look!!!

Anyone for a Chukka?

The local Team.

Busselton runs some great summer events, and we have been right in the middle of it. Our caravan park is so wonderfully located, along the waterfront. Last weekend we packed the cucumber sandwiches, broke out the tweed singlet, and headed across to the Polo for a few chukkas. Entry was free! Nothing is free anymore! What's the catch. Well the only catch was that they asked us to head out at chukka breaks and stomp down the clods of earth chucked up by the horses. I warned Carolyn not to stomp on anything that was steaming! She caught my drift as I chukkered her a wink! It was all quite exciting, as we got to stand right at the fence. We were that close you could touch the horses or get smacked in the head by a flying mallet! The standard was good, with some hotshot from Argentina playing, who was actually quite a bit better than anyone else. We had a fantastic day.

The windblown Cape Leeuwin
Lighthouse.

The rugged Coast at Flinder's Bay.

For a lovely day's drive we headed south to the sleepy village of Augusta, and the Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse, at the bottom of the Margaret River Region. It was blowing a gale. First stop was the Deckchair Gourmet Cafe & Deli, which proved to be a beauty. Lovely fresh food and great coffee. Augusta is a nice, little, if not windblown place. It is situated along the partly protected shores of Hardy Inlet, which is quite a large waterway. There was a 2.00pm river cruise, but in that wind we may never have made it back! A little further south is Flinder's Bay, named by Matthew Flinders on the epic journey of explorers Bass &

The new Augusta Marina.

Flinders around 1801, as they circumnavigated Australia in a small open boat, mapping the coastline for the first time. Now that was an amazing journey! We passed a small cafe advertising "Last meal before Antarctica", but given that the place seemed long closed, we can only assume Flinder's Bay to Antarctica isn't big on the tourist trail! I parked the car and got out to take a photo of the rugged coastline. The wind was even stronger, and I immediately got soaked, it wasn't raining, and I was 100 metres from the water! Just a stones throw down the coast, we came across a huge construction site. They are building a new marina, why I don't know! It must be costing tens of millions of dollars. The sign said it was being funded by the "Royalties for Regions" program, further evidence of the huge money the WA Govt. gets from the mining industry. At the lighthouse we just struggled

to get out of the car in the wind. We opted not to do the Lighthouse tour, primarily because of

The calm waters of Hamelin Bay.

the wind, but aided by the extortionist entry fee. We watched a stream of people walk into the entry building, then walk back out, take a couple of photos and get back in their car and leave. Maybe they should talk to the Royalties for Regions people. On the drive back, we took a detour into picturesque Hamelin Bay. There isn't much there but a caravan park and general store, but the protected bay is just beautiful. We stood at a small lookout, and watched as dozens of small, and even some large stingrays, slowly scavenged their way along the shoreline, occasionally breaking the surface with their wings. It was unbelievable just how protected the bay was. There were a number of people fishing and swimming all along the bay. This is just a lovely place to spend some relaxing days soaking up the sun.

Getting ready for the swim.

Off and racing around the Jetty.

This weekend we had the annual Busselton Jetty Swim. They restrict the field to 1,750 swimmers from all over Australia. The waterfront was packed for the 8.00am start, which is sent off in waves (of course!), starting with the professional swimmers, all the way down to the dog paddlers. It is 3.6 kilometres out around the jetty and back down the other side. Actually, it is a big weekend, with a cycling Criterion, lots of concerts and other forms of entertainment. We missed a lot of the Saturday events, as we had to move sites within the caravan park. The management

Set up at park No.3.

here have been wonderful. The park is full all the time, and added to that has been the annual visit of a large caravan club. We have just kept delaying our departure by "one more week". One of the managers in particular, Shirley, has been unbelievable. She has kept us on the same site up until now, but now we have to move up to park no. 3, which is about a kilometre up the road. This is where the caravan club is based. Shirley got us a really nice site, and many caravan club members were cracking their necks to help us get parked. I hate it when we get helpers! You usually end up with 5 people all screaming different instructions which I totally ignore! Haven't had an audience this big for some time! Thankfully, Greg the manager turned up, took over crowd control, and all went smooth. We should be able to stay here for the remainder of our time in Busselton.

In case you haven't guessed, this blog post is being written over a period of weeks. It didn't seem like there was that much to write about, but now we are reaching Tolstoy proportions. So take a break, have a beverage of your choice, and resume at your leisure!!

Apple orchard around Balingup.

Balingup was a delight.

The beautiful surrounding district offers up so many different landscapes. We ventured out towards the fruit growing districts around Donnybrook, Balingup and Nannup. This whole area should be called "The Ups", as so many of the place names end in "UP". Apparently, this is Aboriginal for "Meeting Place", but we haven't come across it anywhere else in our travels. Personally, I think there was some explorer stumbling around the district with a bad case of the hiccups saying I think I'll call this place Baling "UP"! The area is full of orchards. Stone fruit, and

Delightful cafes and gift shops.

Wonderful small wineries.

apples and pears, and there are farm stalls and produce markets a plenty, from which to sample the beautiful fresh produce. We have been savouring the most wonderful peaches, nectarines and apricots. You just forget what fresh, tree ripened fruit tastes like. In quaint little Balingup the locals are passionate about their town. They have a number of Co-Op shops selling the local wares. We were told in no uncertain terms to avoid the last shop on the right, as the owner buys stuff from China!!! We stocked up with some great home made jams for our morning toast. Actually, the Mulberry Jam was so delicious we drove back to Balingup a second time to buy some more!! The drive across from Balingup to Nannup, yes, that bloke still has the hiccups, was beautiful, with rolling hills covered in orchards and vineyards, as we followed the Blackwood River all the way into Nannup.

Mum said I'd end up
in the Pour House!!

We ventured back to Dunsborough, to check out some of the mega homes around the water's edge. Guess what mum? Remember all those times you told that if I didn't curb my ways, I'd finish up in the poor house? Well, mum's advice is never wrong. I ended up in the Pour House at Dunsborough, but it was nothing like you thought it would be! It's not such a bad place!
We couldn't believe how quiet the town was. Last time we headed over, it was wall to wall holiday makers. This time the shop keepers were begging you to come in. We were going to sample the famous fish and chips at Squid Lips, but it was closed. Now the crowds are gone it only opens Friday to Sunday. The place next door was doing a roaring trade, and guess what the special was? Fish 'n Chips!! And it was good.

A good stop.

Beer & Cider at Bootleg Brewery.

For another day, Carolyn had read that the Bootleg Brewery was good, so we took the drive out. Great setting on their own little lake. We found a big table under a huge umbrella, out on the lawn beside the lake. It was a gorgeous sunny day, and we wiled away a couple of hours with a plate of local whitebait, and some beer and cider samples. It was all pretty good, but I'm sure it was the setting that made the boutique beer taste better! I actually loved their slogan "BEER isn't the ANSWER. BEER is the QUESTION, and the ANSWER is YES."

Patriotic Voyager Estate Winery.

Voyager Estate Tasting Rooms.

A little further up the road is the famous Voyager Estate winery, which is next to Leeuwin Estate, famous for its wines and amazing concerts, that are now in their 30th year. This was the weekend of the concert, but tickets had been sold out for months. This years special artist was Diana Kraal. How amazing would that have been, sitting out under the stars. You couldn't even get near Leeuwin Estate, but Voyager was no problem. Again, it is magnificent. Long driveways bordered with manicured lawns, and roses. A huge Aussie Flag, and all the whitewashed buildings, looking like they had been here since the 17th century. Their wines are among the most awarded from the Margaret River region. Really lovely wines. Xanadu Wines is just up the road, another of the high end icons of the region.

Around Mandurah Waterfront.

Mandurah waterfront.

We figured we wouldn't be staying in the Mandurah and Rockingham areas, which are a little to the north. So we headed up to have a look. These used to be holiday destinations, but are now outer suburbs of Perth. Mandurah used to be a sleepy little hamlet on a protected inlet. It is now a monster marina, with resorts and canals full of expensive homes and high rise apartments. There is no doubting the beauty of these places, with the sparkling Indian Ocean and white sandy beaches. Walking around the waterfront district, it is a real case of spot the

Coastline around Rockingham.

Fish 'n Chips at Cicerello's

Aussie. We cannot believe how many Poms live in and around Perth! We could have been walking along Brighton Pier! They are followed closely by South Africans. You might remember the African dried meat called Biltong. Well, there are shops that sell nothing but Biltong! It comes in all kinds of flavours, and we call it beef jerky. Personally, if I'm going to eat steak, I'd much prefer a nice slab of Rib Eye on the BBQ, rather than 30 minutes of jaw breaking, tooth gnashing Biltong!! Fish and Chips at Cicerello's on the pier, is an institution in both Fremantle and Mandurah, so we gave it a go. Very nice and a magic location. At Rockingham, it is a lot more commercial. The bay is a commercial harbour, and home to a big Grain Loader, for exporting wheat around the world, and there is also a big Naval Base. The waterfront area is a little more down market, but the coastal scenery is still lovely. For golf enthusiasts, there are a couple of great golf courses along this coast. There is The Links at Kennedy Bay, and a little further south, Secret Harbour, situated in a new and very nice housing estate, really looked magnificent.

Off to The Laundry for Valentine's Day.

One of the local parrots.

Our time at Busselton is coming to an end. But before we go, we two old romantics have to celebrate Valentine's Day. This year I have really excelled, I'm taking Carolyn to The Laundry! Now before you get all excited, let me explain, that The Laundry is a lovely little restaurant in Busselton, where all the plates are designed to share, sort of like Big Tapas. The entire meal was excellent, and we washed it down with a bottle of Snake & Herring Semillon Sauvignon Blanc. How's that for a label, Snake & Herring!! It was great wine. We can't extend at Kookaburra Caravan Park, so we are going back out to nearby Peppermint Park for our last 

Marinated prawns. Delicious!!

Throw a shrimp on that BBQ!

weekend. Surprisingly, this park is also still quite busy, but we find a lovely big site out the back. Carolyn's ducks find us before we have even set up!! Whilst enjoying Happy Hour, some of the beautiful local parrots come by for some seed. They are striking in colour, and different to what we've seen along our travels. After such an enjoyable stay around Busselton, we decide to a have a big farewell dinner at the best restaurant in town, Chateau Relaxeau. It will be marinated prawns on the barbie. We haven't lost our touch! Now where is that bottle of Snake & Herring. What!! No Snake & Herring left!! Looks like it will have to be the Swings & Roundabouts! God, the sacrifices we make!!

More Cafe became our Busselton
favourite.

Alas, we have to take the caravan back to Perth for the rest of the repair work to be done. After that we will be heading off to new territory. We will be heading south, to the tall timber country, and the southern ocean. We hitch up and head for Perth, but before we go there is time for one "More" coffee. After trying just about every cafe in town, we decided that More Cafe was our absolute favourite. The Goose is also great and has the location, but when it comes down to the coffee and goodies, More has a slight edge. We thought it only fair that we say good bye, and warn them of the impending economic downturn that would befall them with our departure! We wished them luck, and headed for the highway and the 3 hour drive to Perth.