Wine and Chocolates

Surf, wine and chocolate were to dominate the next stage of our Australian road trip as we entered the Margaret River wine region. This coastal area has more than 200 wineries packed into an area about 25 miles by 10 miles.

Many are 'boutique' wineries that only produce small quantities each year and the region is known for quality. As well as wineries there are specialist food producers including chocolate and fudge makers, olive oil producers and craft galleries galore. Our drive took us through Busselton and out the other side. I spotted a succession of Christian camps on the coast road seemingly all competing with each other as there were (in no particular order) camps for Catholics, Anglicans, Baptists, 7th Day Adventists, Scripture Union and the Abundant Life Centre and possibly a few more...but little clue as to why they'd all chosen to be next door to each other. Before arriving in Margaret River we stopped to visit some of the small coastal towns and beaches along the way..with no more camps in sight! Dunsborough was bustling for a Sunday morning with the coffee shops doing a roaring trade. Yallingup only a few miles away was quieter and had lovely beaches that had attracted the surfers. Between the two communities we'd made a short detour to walk round the Cape Naturaliste headland. Lunch was a picnic by the sea after we'd spent half an hour scrambling over Canal Rocks, a natural geographic feature which had created a canal like channel following erosion. The sea surges crashing through the channel and over the rocks were spectacular. 

By mid afternoon we'd arrived in the town of Margaret River It was lively and had attracted lots of surfers who were competing in a World Surf Pro event. We checked into a cabin we'd rented for a couple of nights, located on the edge of town on a quiet campsite with lots of trees and after unloading the car we walked back into the town centre to explore on foot. Despite being a Sunday afternoon pretty much everything was open...apart from the bottle shops. For those who don't know Aussie supermarkets are different to those in the UK in that they don't sell alcohol. To buy booze you need to visit a bottle shop...and there are two varieties, the conventional type of shop and....the drive through!

There are other cultural contrasts that confuse the traveller. Aussies seem inordinately keen on shortening names and adding a vowel. Fremantle next to Perth is known as Freo. The aforementioned bottle shops are 'bottle o's. If an Aussie admires your thongs they are not making a comment on your risque underwear...they are just complimenting your footwear, what most people in the UK would call flip flops.

The morning after our arrival we'd planned to watch some of the surf competition but a traffic accident had closed the only road to the beach. No one was getting in or out. After a detour we ended up instead in a small town called Cowaramup, or 'Cow Town' as its known by the locals. 

They've gone big on cow statues here..including a bizarre golden cow statue on a long pole that's a parody of a nearby statue at a winery called 'Free as a Bird'. The locals however call the original 'chick on a stick' and the cow version 'rump on a stump'. 

After a surfeit of cow theme gift and craft shops and stopping to watch some colourful parrots (Australian Ringnecks) we headed to the Margaret River Chocolate Factory. Mrs B. seemed quite happy.

With free samples and multiple chocolate purchasing options we could have been there a while...

Eventually we departed and headed to the 'House of Cards' winery which made single vineyard wines. I tried three reds and bought a spicy shiraz and then immediately went next door to Gabriels who made artisan chocolates. These were superb and I bought a small single origin bar of java cocoa beans that had a smoky taste..dark and aromatic and not at all like Cadburys!

Our next stop was the Howling Wolf vineyard and Rivendell cellar door where I sampled 4 more reds..all excellent. So we'd managed two vineyards and two chocolate makers before lunch. Not a bad morning's work.

By now Mrs B. was driving so we ended up at a tea shop. It was called the Lavender Tea Rooms and I had a strong coffee and a lavender scone with jam and cream....I needed something to absorb the alcohol.

We meandered down the coast after lunch first finding the deserted Moses Rock beach, our walk through the bush was observed by a solitary kangaroo.

Further south Redpoint beach was full of surfers so we sat on the rocks watching their efforts. As far as I could tell this involved 5 minutes of paddling, 5 minutes of waiting for a decent wave and then about 5 seconds being upright. You must need a lot of patience to be a surfer!

Back in Margaret River we bought some locally made cheeses and chorizo for a light meal and concluded that to fully explore this area we'd need at least a month..and even then there might be some wineries left out. Still it was time to move on and head inland towards the vast karri forests around our next destination: Pemberton. 

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Peppermint Delight

After four days in Perth it was time to hit the road, so after collecting a hire car, I pointed our vehicle south and navigated through the Perth suburbs until open countryside appeared. Our destination was the delightfully named Peppermint Grove Beach, a small beachside community 130 miles south of Perth located in Geographe Bay. With no need to rush I headed first towards the small city of Bunbury, a bustling place on the coast with lots of places to eat and drink. This part of South West Australia was first explored by the French. Geographe Bay is named after the ship that brought the first European explorers in 1803. Place names offer reminders of early French influence although it was British settlers (and later convicts) who finally established Bunbury -named after Lieutenant Henry William St. Pierre Bunbury. 

Bunbury had a busy shopping centre and lots of eateries so we chose a cafe called Serendipity.. .it seemed fortuitous! After lunch we started a 5.3 kilometre walk around the Leschenault Inlet, following a boardwalk through white mangroves and a 2500 year old eco system. It was very relaxing walking through an unusual wildlife area that information boards revealed was home to 70 bird species and of international importance.  

Our walk concluded it was time to stock up at a supermarket before making our way 20 miles or so further South to Peppermint Grove Beach. Driving through Tuart Forest (a type of eucalyptus), unique to this part of Australia, we saw hundreds of kangaroos in amongst the trees and close to the roadside. By late afternoon we found our beach house, built of limestone ,with beautiful circular windows that were set in reclaimed wheels and completed with unusual stained and leaded glazing. 

Hidden amongst the dunes and two minutes walk to the beach the house was a real hideaway. Almost as soon as the bags were unloaded we were unable to resist a walk through the dunes to the beach, noting that even this could be a hazardous activity in Australia! 

Mrs B. stuck to the middle of the path! The beach was stunning, white sand, gentle surf and almost deserted.

We watched the sun starting to set over the Indian Ocean before returning to our beach house, home for a couple of nights, and settled down to a quiet evening. With no TV,  wifi or even a radio we spent a relaxing evening reading and playing scrabble. 
Brilliant blue skies greeted us the next morning so after breakfast we went down to the beach again - to dip our toes in the water. With green winged parrots flying between the trees and an empty beach as far as the eye could see it seemed like paradise.  Reluctantly we left it to explore some of the surrounding area. The small town of Capel, 5 miles away, had a good cafe serving excellent coffee but other than that had nothing to detain us for long, so we headed back through the forest towards the seaside town of Busselton. I brought the car to a halt on route..as our road had taken us through a small hamlet called Ludlow! 

We crossed the Ludlow River..which looked suspiciously like a stream to me! 
Busselton was bustling..full of families enjoying the sun and sand. It also has the longest pier in the Southern hemisphere. At 1841 metres long (just over a mile) it was quite a sight stretching out into the Indian Ocean. 

There was an entry fee and we bought a combination ticket that gave admission to the pier, a return train journey along its length and entry to an underwater observatory that had been built at the end and that went 8 meters below sea level. The observatory gave views of an artificial reef and it was absorbing watching marine life through glass windows..oblivious to our presence. 

The day had flown by and we headed back to Peppermint Grove for our last evening in the beach house , once again spotting more kangaroos amongst the Tuart trees on our journey. There are more forests to come further South but before that we had to pack our bags once more as our next destination was to be Margaret River...home to some very fine wineries and some gourmet chocolate makers. Both Mrs B. and myself were looking forward to this..although our interests may be slightly different in terms of focus!

Last Days in Perth

There's a lot to like about Perth. And a lot to discover. With two days left to explore, the choices about where to go and what to see were plentiful, so a walking tour was in order. My first destination was Heirisson Island, a small mile long nature reserve that sits in the middle of the Swan River,accessed from the Causeway Bridge just on the edge of the central business district. Our walk took us past the WACA..a mecca for cricket fans. Tall concrete floodlights towered over the stands which had recently hosted some Cricket World Cup matches. 

Avoiding distraction and navigating some busy roads we finally arrived on Heirisson Island, an oasis of calm. Surrounded by water and birdsong a gentle track led us around the island. The reason for our visit was some wildlife spotting as we'd read that there were some wild grey kangaroos living on the island. At first we thought we'd been led on a wild goose chase (or more accurately a wild roo chase) but eventually Mrs B spotted the silhouette of a roos ears...and then the rest of the roo camouflaged against scrub and short spiky clumps of grass in a wetland area. I walked quietly and slowly through the grass, camera in hand and then realised there were three roos chilling out no more than 6 feet from my feet. After taking plenty of photos we reluctantly left the roos in peace..and before Mrs B could smuggle one into her backpack. 

The next leg of our walking tour took us along the banks of the Swan River until we reached the Barrack St jetty. Refuelling with coffee and suitably revived some culture was in order. Our first stop in the cultural quarter was the Museum of Western Australia. This was a mixed bag. A photographic exhibition and a gallery devoted to aboriginal culture were both terrific. We also inadvertently attended a short talk on the endangered black cockatoo...with a live specimen called 'Rex'. I was simply trying to see a particular part of the museum but an attendant seemed keen to encourage us to sit down and learn about cockatoos. When travelling I've learnt to go with the flow - so not wishing to disrupt proceedings I sat down with a slightly bemused Mrs B and learnt more about black cockatoos than I ever expected to in my life. 

The Art Gallery of WA was next up..and I avoided any mishaps. It was a rather bland building but housed a fine collection of both modern and contemporary art. A meandering route found us in an area called Northbridge where we enjoyed the street art and quirky shopping opportunities. 

After 6 miles of exploring on foot we headed back to our apartment having been enchanted by Perth and happy we'd stil got one more day in the city and lots more to see.

For our final day, before heading South, we thought a visit to Perth Mint would be interesting. Alas these plans were foiled by a coach load of pensioners. Admission was by guided tour only..and all the upcoming places were taken. Rather than wait we headed for the beach!  A cheap train jouney took us through Perth suburbs before we alighted at Cottesloe Station. Ten minutes of walking and the beach was in sight..it was beautiful. Cloudless skies and blue sea with clean golden sand made for a beautiful sight. Cottesloe Beach was backed by a beautiful pavilion and trees. There wasn't a pensioner in sight!

A flock of white cockatoos squawked and argued on the grass and in the trees behind the beach, doing their best to imitate a flock of seagulls. 

We walked for a while along the seafront, watched a few surfers and reapplied sun tan lotion. It was getting warm! The local convenience store sold made to order cheese toasties..so lunch was taken al fresco. Then some more walking and sunbathing made for a relaxing time.

It was hard to leave Cottesloe but our rucksacks needed repacking in readiness for the next stage of our journey. The next destination would be Peppermint Grove Beach, 150 miles further South but likely to offer plenty more beachcombing opportunities. 

Hello Perth!

The old music hall song proclaims that "Its a long way to Tipperary"...which may well be true...but its a longer way to Perth! Our flight from Manchester departed on time and we we well looked after by the Etihad cabin crew but with a total flying time of 18 hours and time in airports it took the best part of 24 hours to reach Perth. Access through Australian immigration and border controls was a breeze...I don't recall getting through an airport any faster. 

We hopped on a local bus from the airport and this went through some of Perth's suburbs before reaching the city centre. We have rented an apartment for our time in Perth and as we'd arrived a few minutes ahead of time we went into a nearby coffee shop recommended by our host Linda. We'd just ordered coffees and picked up a message from Linda to say she was running late so had asked her friend Mark to meet us when a voice behind me me said "Hello Chris and Jan, I'm Mark". That was super efficient I thought....whilst simultaneously  thinking how did he know who we were. I guess our backpacks were a bit of a giveaway! There were some problems with the key fob that gave entry to the apartment block so whilst waiting for Linda to arrive we chatted to Mark who was very friendly. I learnt that he was a consultant working in the mining industry (a chemist and geologist ) and had lived in Perth for 7 years. We swapped a few travel stories before finally getting into our apartment..spacious,, comfortable and air conditioned. 

The following morning was bright and sunny so we set off on foot to explore Perth passing some statues of kangaroos on the way. Mrs B was quite taken with them! Strolling down to the Barrack St jetty gave us our first proper view of the Swan River and the Bell Tower. 

The whole area was a construction site suggesting that despite a down turn in the mining industry Perth seemed to have a booming ecomony. Free buses operate in the central business area so deciding to avoid the construction works we hopped on a couple of buses and arrived before long at the Kings Park and Botanic Garden.  The views back towards Perth were stunning and as we sipped our first coffees a red wattle bird wandered by our table.

After our refreshments we started to explore the park. The war memorial was a poignant reminder of all the Australians who had lost their lives fighting in the first and second World Wars.

Then we headed through beautiful themed gardens showing all the different plants and trees of Western Australian. We spotted a cheeky looking Rainbow Lorikeet in one of the trees and our walk was surrounded by birdsong.  then followed a treetop walkway before meandering through bushland. Kings Park covers 1000 acres..so despite walking for about 2 miles we had only seem a glimpse of the different areas. 

We finally made our way back to the bus stop and found our way to the shopping malls. Mrs B's eyes lit up at the souvenir shops..whilst I sorted out a pre-paid sim card for my mobile. After 6 hours of exploring and 7 miles of walking we decided to call a halt to our explorations with the knowledge we still had two more days in this interesting and varied city. 

Continental Confusion and the Avoidance of Haggis

It was mid January...and as we'd not been travelling outside of the UK for all of a month...I casually asked Mrs B if she fancied a trip to Perth. With visions of heather clad hills, kilts, shortbread and haggis, neeps and tatties on supermarket shelves Mrs B seemed quite enthusiastic about my suggestion for another trip...although this initial enthusiasm waned a little when I mentioned I'd found some cheap flights....

In order to avoid any further confusion I thought it important to highlight that my intended destination was Perth in Western Australia (WA) which is normally a lot warmer than its Scottish namesake and had nicer beaches..although the chances of finding haggis in the supermarkets are somewhat slimmer.

After this initial confusion and some research a rough plan was formed to fly to Perth, WA, and then undertake another road trip to explore the Western and Southern Coasts of this part of Australia. This trip is now only 10 days away and in the next few days the trusty old backpack will be repacked in readiness for another adventure.

I confess that I didn't know too much about Perth and South West Australia before reading up about this distant (to us) part of the world. For a start, despite being the capital of Western Australia Perth is a long way from anywhere. It's over 2000 miles from Sydney, a 4 hour flight away. In fact its closer to Jakarta, (Indonesia) by air than most other Australian cities. Our journey will take us from Perth down the coast through Bunbury, Margaret River, Mount Barker and as far as Esperance.

We should experience a variety of landscapes and Southwest Australia is also rich in plant and animal life...one of only 34 global biodiversity hotspots although travellers are wise to be circumspect both on land and in the sea. To quote Bill Bryson Australia "has more things that will kill you than anywhere else". Even the caterpillars can be venomous! It probably wasn't a good idea to let Mrs B read this....

The Margaret River area also has quite a few wineries (an essential part of any trip) and as well as empty beaches we will travel through forests of ancient giant karri trees. All in all this trip should offer plenty of variety and new experiences...but very little haggis.