Friday Dec 1, 2017

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We were very impressed by the Stay Hotel in Margaret River, that was the Quality Inn until two days ago. Very clean and friendly, but what surprised us most was the detail at which the room was presented. Every little bit of comfort, like slippers and plenty of toiletries, FREE mini bar including two beer, six soft drinks, two OJs, jelly beans, chocolate bars, bottled water, nuts, crackers, and off course free coffee and tea.

In the morning, we spent a lot of time shopping here, some of "us" like that. We still wanted the fish and chip we missed out on last night, so on our way out of town we stopped in again at the Sea Garden Café for lunch, Ferdy had the shark and Marion the hake. Very nice indeed.

Although we took the scenic road, we did not get the ocean views we had expected, but it was the right road to be on for wine tasting! We kept better records of all we tried, but will spare you the detail. At Vasse Felix we gave 4 stars to the 2016 Chardonnay and the 2015 Shiraz. At Killerby and Ferngrove (the former was recently acquired by the latter), we had 4 stars for three of their Foundation line, the 2016 Chardonnay, the 2015 Shiraz and 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon. After a total of about 8 samples (very small sips), we decided to stop since Ferdy was the Skipper (designated driver). Marion rather enjoyed the experience since she’s beginning to learn that better wines are usually less acidic, and that’s good for her.

There are also some other goodies in store for us here. The Margaret River Chocolate Factory, Providore (jams, chutneys, sauces, olive oils, dressings etc), and Bettenay’s Winery and Nougat all had tastings and samplings. What a treat all this was. Good thing we’re flying home, otherwise we’d have been loaded up with all these great products!

Back at Ocean Beach Hotel in Cottesloe we sample our Lindemans Cabernet Sauvignon deal of the day, all of $6. And this will all end tomorrow as we fly out close to midnight.

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Photos

The Caves Road
This coastal road does not show a coastline, but has many caves located along it.

Providore
Providore and Coward & Black Winery are attached to the Margaret River Chocolate Factory (likely the same company).

Busselton Jetty
No time to walk onto the jetty. Too much time shopping and wine tasting!

Comments

[Gerry]

Enjoyed your trip too. Have a safe trip home