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Published: September 29th 2009
Thanks to a thoughtful wedding gift (3 nights at a B&B) from our WC friends (Eric’s friends from University) we had a fantastic long weekend in picturesque Margaret River - aka. Perth wine country!
Our journey started early Friday afternoon…first thing on the weekend’s agenda? Master driving on the wrong side of the road, yes..its just plain wrong. Off we went in our Toyota hatchback rental, Eric drove first but after a little bit of back seat driving from yours truly…I was soon thrown into the driver’s seat. I am happy to report that not only did I manage to navigate the roads pretty well but I also hit the windshield wipers at least 50% less than Eric when attempting to signal (yes, controls in the car are on opposite sides too).
We arrived at the Rosewood Guesthouse B&B in Margaret River after 3.5hrs of driving. We felt immediately refreshed to a) finally get out of the city b) have our own set of wheels & drive for the first time since we left c) have a change of scenery from our apartment. The B&B was top notch, the home was cozy and our hosts were warm and welcoming. Each morning
we awoke to the best home cooked breakfast (aside from yours Mom) we’ve had since leaving Canada.
We managed to pack a lot in during our 4 day stay including a full day wine & food tour, stop at a local animal farm, tour of the famous Jewel Cave, coastal scenery tour and of course lots of wine & dining.
‘Wine for Dudes’ was the wine & food tour we chose…I was hesitant at first to go with this tour company as I had visions of being the only girl on an all guy wine tour, thankfully the tour name wasn’t literal. The tour is geared towards a younger demographic, the goal is to take the pretentiousness out of wine tasting in a laid back approach. The tour was WELL worth the $80/pp, we visited 4 wineries, a chocolate factory, cheese factory and finished the day off at an awesome independent brewery…think huge outdoor patio and plenty of sunshine!
The tour guide said our group was unusually small (8 people) due to the fact that the Footy finals were taking place that day, this made the experience that much more enjoyable. Our group consisted of 3 Scottish, 2 Kiwi’s and
1 obnoxiously intoxicated Auzzie..
The highlight of the tour was a picnic at one of the wineries - tapas style for which we had our own wine mixing session before to pair with our lunch.
We quickly made friends with the couple from New Zealand, Tracey & Shannen, they have lived in WA for the past 5 years and were newly engaged as of the day prior. After a day of touring we invited them to join us for dinner that night, we had our trusty discount entertainment card with us (which brings significant savings when out dining..and trust me when I say you need it here) and reservations!
We headed out after dinner for drinks at the only local bar that seemed 'hopping' - Settlers. Settlers was an interesting mix of beach bums, surfing hippies, cougars and the fake ID crowd...within 10 mins we had our fill and moved on to the more reserved Margaret River Hotel bar.
On Sunday we headed to a local animal farm so that I could finally get up close and personal with some Australian wildlife...ie. a baby Kangaroo, or 'Joey' as the locals say. I finally managed to pet a kangaroo and Eric
was patient as I cuddled the little guy. Eric eventually managed to get me out of there when he pointed out the 5 yr olds in line behind me...ok, it was a KIDS petting zoo but that is besides the point.
After the farm we made the drive out to Jewel Cave. Being somewhat clostrophobic I was hesitant to take the tour, luckily our tour guide chose to tell us just how far underground we were (50 meters) until we were down there! The sights were absolutely spectacular...the pictures don't do it justice.
Monday morning rolled around and it was time to say goodbye to our B&B and Margaret River. We took the scenic route home, stopping at some of the most picturesque and secluded beaches on this side of the world (at least that's what our guide book told us). Take a look at the pictures, you decide...we call it paradise.
Next on the detour home came the Bussleton Jetty...the 3rd longest Jetty in the world. The winds were epic that day and after a brief stroll on the Jetty we decided it was time to hit the road.
A few more hits of the windshield wipers (by Eric
of course) and roundabouts later and we were home.
Side note for the not so tech savvy - i.e. me. If you click on the photo's individually in our blog you can view them in a larger format. Who knew..
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Rita
non-member comment
Looks like you had a great time
I just have to say one thing...I am so jealous that you went to the petting zoo. I should have gone to the petting zoo when Mike and I were there. Sigh...