A trip to Margs (see how local I am?)

Well we finally made it to Margaret River and can see why people are shocked that it has taken us this long. I'm wondering why we haven't been lots of times already. I think what I most enjoyed was the very different climate and scenery to Perth. It is very green, with a really charming mixture of forest, farmland and beaches.

Of course you would go broke if you went all the time. Especially if you ate as extravagantly as we did. We arrived Friday night and had a welcome meal at Wino's (highlight: cassoulet and a glass of local red in front of the fire on a rainy night).

The next day we visited a few wineries and The Berry Farm which is a world of condiment yum: relishes, mustards, sauces, conserves and preserves, all made from fruit grown on the property.

Then we had lunch at Vasse Felix which is the oldest winery in Margaret River. It is a bit of an institution, owned by the Holmes a Court family (so don't feel obliged to buy after a tasting - they don't need the cash!). It's quite an amazing location with the restaurant on the second floor overlooking the vineyard and a partially underground, turf-covered tasting room next to a gallery showing some of the Holmes a Court collection of Aboriginal art. But most importantly, the food was delicious. Here is the view from our table when the sun came out briefly.

 A friend from work was in town over the weekend too and we caught up on Saturday night for some red wine quaffing and trivial pursuit. Very nice. We even won the game, with the substantial assistance of the Fella's impressive general knowledge. Although, winning might not be the best way to cement new friendships...

 Some of you may know that I really love cows (hi Mum!) Driving through the country often becomes a cow-spotting exercise with me pointing like a child and saying, "Hello cows!" Thankfully my lovely Fella is very patient and even helps me out with his superior spotting skills. So, a real bonus for me of the weekend wasn't just the real cows everywhere, but also that we arrived in time to catch the very end of the annual Margaret River Cow Parade. How to describe it? Well, there are a bunch of fibreglass cows, artists decorate them and they're placed in various locations all around the region from March to June. This year there were 85 of them. I decided that to keep things under control I had to limit myself to cows that we stumbled across - no special trips to see them. Although we were a bit tempted to see Guernicow. I also managed to limit myself to just one photo. I'm really trying hard not to turn into a crazy cow lady.

We decided on a slow drive home on Sunday, stopping at a few wineries on the way. My favourite was Cape Grace Wines for the full experience of an interesting chat with the owner/operator. It's really nice to see some small family run wineries motivated by passion rather than money who are producing some excellent wine and being recognised for their efforts. Sorry, I got a bit earnest there.

We also stopped at Smith's Beach, just south of Yallingup. We climbed out onto an outcrop of rocks to catch the amazing view. We definitely want to return and do some more walking around here.

 
After a brief visit to Yallingup - a sweet little beach town with houses perched on a windswept hill - we went to Cape Naturaliste. This is the beginning of the Cape to Cape Track which runs 135km from Cape Naturaliste to Cape Leeuwin. The rain cleared for long enough for us to have a little wander around, including a stroll along a completely deserted beach, with no other footprints. The cold, windy weather suited the desolate, remote atmosphere. As the Fella has said, there are times here when you feel very aware that you're on the edge of the continent. Of course, Sydney is on the edge of the continent too, but the vast uninhabited spaces here, and the fact that New Zealand isn't just over the horizon, makes it feel very different.

And then home to unpack the wine (some to drink now, some later if we can manage it) and start planning our next trip.