Around the wine district (Margaret River)

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Hi everyone

It’s a lovely sunny and not too hot day today in Dunsborough, WA. This is unlike Perth which is going to be 37 degrees again. As we are near the beach, we have a good breeze. The humidity is also very low. As a result, my hair is an absolute disaster and looks more like a bird’s nest than usual. I got extra strength gel to tame it a bit. I hate having photos where I look like a sheep.

The place we are staying at is very nice. The beach is just a short walk though a stand of trees. It’s just beautiful.We went to the township of Dunsborough which is very upmarket and evolved from a group of holiday shacks to the so called Millionaires Row community. We had lunch at a fish and chip shop called Squid Lips. It’s one of the top five chippies in WA. You can see the menu here http://www.squidlips.com.au/Menu.html Peter and had scallop and prawn wraps...not what you normally get at a fish and chip shop. In my role as an international chip connoisseur I can report that the chips were to die for and second only to those cooked by Chef Carl at the Bridge chippy in Belfast.

After having stuffed ourselves full of chips and prawns and scallops and shark...we waddled off for a walk to the Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse which is situated on a rugged promontory and has panoramic views of the Indian Ocean across Geographe Bay. Peter, Barbara and I did a bit of a (well very short) trek to see the whale watching viewing site. No whales though. I wish I hadn’t worn white shoes because the track was very brown sand. Erk!! I’m wearing runners today in case of more trekking.

So to the wine....we stocked up on Sav Blanc in Perth and are steadily making our way through 6 litres. I suspect it’s evaporating!! Just in case we do experience a shortage, we’re planning to restock at some of the wineries today. They are very conveniently located. We have one (Flametree http://www.flametreewines.com.au/ ) across the road! Nice wine but very expensive. We also went to this huge winery, Leeuwin Estate. http://leeuwinestate.com.au/ This winery is so posh that it has its own landing strip and helipad. Seriously, upmarket place!!

We’re off to Busselton this morning. It has a marine life centre that Peter, David and Barbara are interested in. I’ll slope off to a coffee shop with internet access J. Of course there are other things to do in Busselton as we her right in the middle of the Busselton festival. I’m looking forward to going to the local dog show. I am particularly interested in the categories of dog with the best hairdo and dog that looks most like their owner. We were a couple of days early for the dog show unfortunately....

We continue to get reports from Jo and Bruce letting us know that Cleo has taken over their house and has converted them into slaves. She’s very clever like that and is able to wrap humans around her paw with great ease. We are very glad she’s with people who love her after her unpleasant experience at the cat resort last year.

We're back at the resort now and getting ready for a BBQ.... Will be back live tomorrow.

pj and Sandy

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