Small Town, Big Reputation !
Trip Start
Sep 04, 2007
1
103
123
Trip End
Sep 01, 2008
Margaret River,
Australia
Saturday, June 21, 2008
After leaving Albany Friday morning June 20th, we planned a route that would take us out of Albany on the South Coast Highway to Denmark! It was a beautiful winter day! Calm winds and clear skies! Great driving conditions! We drove past karri trees as well as cattle and sheep farms! A very tranquil drive! It wasn't long before we arrived in Denmark, a place where the ocean meets the forest. A drive over the Denmark River and a quick turn from the town onto Ocean Beach Road took us past Wilson Inlet to Ocean Beach lookout which overlooked Ratcliffe Bay on the Southern Ocean! Here, we watched at the waves rolled in, row after row, almost symetrically!
Back on the South Coast Highway we continue driving west along the large Karri, Marri and Jarrah trees which often hugged and clouded the highway overhead! The drive was impressive as we past the "Valley of the Giants" nearing Walpole! Having taken the treetop walk during our last trip down here 6.5 years ago, we decided to pass on this attraction, which allows visitors an impressive 40 meter walk above ground among the top of the Karri Forest! As we continued our drive along the South Coast Highway, the road would periodically offer impressive glimpses of the coastline, which often would prompt a "kodak" moment!
As we headed northwest toward Pemberton, we decided to make the first turn off the South Coast Highway toward Northcliffe which we probably could've bypassed because once we got to Pemberton, we ended up doubling back a bit to visit the Salitage Wines cellar door.
Denmark Coastline !
The visit to Salitage Wines was well worth the extra effort as we tasted wines from their Salitage and Treehouse brands of wine! A bottle each of riesling and pinot noir was the least we would leave with! In addition, we learned the name Salitage is an acronym for the owners four children - Sarah, Lisa, Tamara, Gerard!As we left Salitage and raced down Vasse Highway to Silkwood Wines and another cellar door, slowing down in Pemberton only because we had to! Rick drove the Hyundai in a way that would've made the Ferrari F1 Racing Team happy. And, we can confirm, no animals were hurt or laws broken during Rick's brief racing adventure! Unfortunately, we arrived at the gates of Silkwood Wines at 3:45pm (which we understood closed at 4pm), only to learn cellar door sales are on Saturdays and Sundays! Darn it! We were disappointed but not devasted!
Well, with Silkwood Wines cellar door closed, we decided to take a break and visit Beedelup Falls which was located only a few kilometers north. Although the falls were small, the sound of the falls and smells within a forest of karri, marri and jarrah trees offered a feeling of intimacy with nature. Very much like being back in Canada!
With about an hour left of sunlight, we left Beedelup National Park for our next destination Margaret River! Driving in dusk is always risky with kangaroos along the road providing a level of unpredictability! We did see a couple of roos standing along the highway although none making an effort to do much of anything.
South West WA Coastline !
However, as luck would have it, about 10 km's south of Margaret River, with darkness firmly settled in, a kangaroo did spring acroos the highway in front of us, narrowly missing our car! Whew! As Maxwell Smart would say, "missed it by that much"! We arrived at "The Vintners Retreat" Bed and Breakfast around 6pm, our accommodations for the next couple nights. Having stayed here last November, we thoroughly enjoyed the comfort and hospitality that Jeannie and Howie provided at their B & B. In addition, the breakfasts were fantastic! We also kept good on our promise to stay here for this last visit to Margaret River. Upon arriving, we were looking forward to having dinner with Jeannie and Howie. This is an option they provide to guests who arrive on Friday evening for the weekend. Jeannie cooked up a fantastic two course meal consisting of Beef Wellington for the main course and a Hazelnut Meringue for dessert! Our toughest decision for the evening was selecting a bottle of red! Not so easy, especially when you're in the middle of wine mecca! Their daughter, Carrie and her friend drove in from Perth just in time to join us all for dinner. It was a lovely social evening!
Saturday morning began with a hearty cooked breakfast enjoyed in the company of other guests Sue and Terry from Fremantle. Our itinerary had us heading south to Augusta for a whale watching tour and a visit to Cape Leeuwin and the lighthouse. Cape Leeuwin is the most Southwestern point in Australia.
Beedelup Falls amongst a Karri Forest !
The Leeuwin Lighthouse, built in 1895 is a feature of the coastline where the Indian and Southern Oceans meet. Having booked the two o'clock Whale Watching Tour with Naturaliste Charters, we spent some time at the lookout points near Cape Leeuwin for the outside chance of spotting a whale. Unfortunately, the whales were a little too far out.
We made sure we were at the Augusta Jetty in time for the charter. The afternoon charter had about 50-60 people booked so it took awhile to tender us from the shore to the charter boat. But once aboard, the boat handlers had a good idea of where the whales were located within Flinders Bay. Soon whales were spotted and the boat began to make several directional changes in the effort to get better views.
The sight of whales breaching on the horizon caught the captain's attention. Within minutes we were about 10 km's out, and Humpback and Southern Right whales appeared around the boat in all directions. At some points, the whales were surfacing within 100 meters of the boat. All passengers had their eyes fixated on the waters horizon, hoping to catch the one awsome sight or photograph. However, it was always a guessing game where a whale would surface as once they took a breath and dove into the water, they could remain underneath for up to 20 minutes. And then, without notice, a whale would burst through the ocean's surface, all 50 tons, creating the biggest splash you could imagine as they returned to the surface. Seeing that display of nature was impressive! Like us, most people were awestruck! By 4:15pm, the captain began his return to the Jetty. By 4:45pm we were on the Bussell Highway back to Margaret River.
Prior to our departure on Sunday morning, June 22nd, we shared our previous days experiences with Jeannie and Howie and fellow guests Sue and Terry. Again, we enjoyed another fully cooked breakfast. This would provide the right amount of energy to make three winery stops on the way home. Of the three wineries, Adinfern Estate, Treeton Estate and Flinders Bay Wines, we would definitely recommend a visit to the Flinders Bay and Adinfern cellar doors.
By 1:30pm and the Margaret River Wine Region firmly in our rearview mirror, we were well on our way home to Scarborough, about 3 hours away!
Good Bye Margaret River! The town will be always be in our memories but her wines will forever touch our palate!
Cheers, Rick & Elsie!
