A three-hour drive south of Perth gets us to the Margaret River area and a quick visit to the Info Centre finds us staying the next 3 nights in a gorgeous two bed, two bath house (www.assured.net.au). Harley’s much amused by the novelty of having stairs for the first time in 3 months and spends the first half an hour running up and down them. I’m much more amused by having lots of space, a garden and a whole street of shops just a one minute walk away. A quick trip up to the supermarket and the bottle-shop and I’m practically skipping back in the heat of evening sunshine. I’m so happy! Can’t decide if it’s because of the weather/accommodation/proximity to shops combo or just because I’m child-free for an hour!
Margaret River is chock-o-block with wineries, which is obviously the reason why Will’s here. I’m not much of a drinker myself but as the dutiful partner, I feel I should accompany him. Day 1 itinerary: a visit to Cape Mentelle winery where we taste each of their dozen or so wines. At an average price of AU$35 (about £16) per bottle and trying to stick to our daily budget, we opt for the 2007 Georgiana (a blend), at a more reasonable AU$14. Next up, a visit to the Berry Farm where we thought we could pick up some soft fruits but this sadly turned out to be a selection of 25 or so chutneys and jams which were available for tasting and purchasing. Oh well, best stick to the wineries. Visit no 3 is to the beautiful Leuwin Estate where we try each of their 15 of so wines and settle on their rather fine 2005 Art Series Riesling. Winery no 3 was Xanadu, where we tried most of their dozen or so wines but none of them tickled our palettes enough to buy, so we settled for lunch there instead.
Feeling a bit wined-out, we stop on the way home at Hamlyn Bay beach, a beautiful stretch of beach with just four other people on it. Mistake number one was getting out of the car. The swarms of flies were so appaling; the locals were wearing special nets on their hats to prevent the flies from going into their mouth and nose. We were not so well equipped and felt like rotten pieces of meat as the flies literally swarmed all over us. Will and the kids stripped off hoping that a dip in the water would ease the situation, which worked until the second they stepped from the water and the flies descended again. It was truly revolting. As we get back into the car, about 20 flies follow us in and we have to drive quite some way before managing to get them all out of the windows. Only later do we discover that this particular bay is famed for the stingrays that swim in very shallow water. You know the stingrays that killed Steve Irwin…yes, those ones.
Finally, a quick stop at the lighthouse where the Southern and Indian Oceans meet before the final leg of the journey back and we are treated to our first sighting of a kangaroo in the wild.
The designated driver decides he wants to take the long road home via the Kirri Forest, which is interesting for about the first mile. He’s delighted by the very tall, very straight Kirri trees, enthralled by the sight of two green galahs and entranced by spotting a kookaburra. I just want to get home and open the Riesling, now that I’ve finally been converted to liking wine. In case you’re interested, the Art Series Riesling was very good but the Georgiana was sadly not. False economy.
Surprisingly un-hungover, day two’s itinerary pans out in a similar way with our first stop at Vasse Felix which boasts some stunning sculptures around the grounds and, after first tasting a dozen or so wines, we settle on their 2005 Shiraz. Next stop Cullen’s (sorry Nick, it was a winery not a gin distillery), and the obligatory tasting of a dozen of so wines saw us buying a 2006 Pinot Noir which should be drunk chilled. Drunk, did someone say drunk? Hic. Not so. We’ve still got enough room for a visit to Wise Wines to try theirs. Hmmm, not too much to please our taste buds here but we buy a bottle of their sparkling shiraz which we know our friends will appreciate. Stunning views from here so we decide it’s a good spot for lunch. Oh yes, did I mention that it’s only just lunchtime and we’ve already tried about 30 wines? A one course lunch, with just one glass of wine (for me, Will’s driving…!) and very small pasta dish for the kids precedes a bill for 140 dollars. Ok, the views are spectacular, but £70 for a very average, very small, very non-alcoholic lunch leaves us feeling slightly deflated.
I’d always wondered how our Aussie friends knew so much about wine but now I understand. Head to a winery in France and, at best, an old man will greet you at the door with a nod, pour you a sip of wine and watch as you drink it, waiting for your approval and your order of a dozen bottles of his oh-so-fabulous wine. Here in Oz, it’s very, very different. There’s absolutely no obligation to buy and they delight in educating you about the grapes, the soil, the wine. Want to just try the wine without the chat? Fine, just tell them which of their dozen or so wines you want to try (all of them, if you like. Of course, we never did that) and they’ll pour and leave you to it. Want to chat, they’ll happily talk to you about the label choice, the winemaker, which of the wines you may or may not like. I have discovered that I like Aussie Shiraz very much and that, despite not liking many of the German Rieslings that Will often brings home, the Aussie versions are actually rather good.
Only one thing left for the day, and that’s to head to the Margaret River Chocolate Company where we can fill ourselves up on their chocolate.
A very good day is only slightly improved when we see that the weather forecast is 30degrees for Perth and just 1 degree for London.
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