We made it to the Margaret River despite hair raising tree climbs and foul weather, just in time to dry out the tent and let it rain again! Not that I'm complaining about the rain as they haven't had a drop here in over 6 months and the land looks parched. Mmmm.......parched.............just how Craig and I felt at the thought of all those great wineries to go around with 3 children in tow! Actually, in the end we chose just 3 to go to and the kids were great. The second winery found great entertainment for all . Watching Sophie chase Polish bantums through the vineyard chook house and fruit trees till she caught one, much to the delight of the winery girls (who said the chickens couldn't be caught) was very funny. Never under estimate Sophie when there is a chicken involved. Her persistance will stand her well in life!
While the vineyards were great it was a little harder to chase down the produce to go with the wine. When we did find a farm shop and cheese dairy the quality was fantastic, jsut not prolific like in some other wine areas of Australia. The Cobb oven got a work out with a lamb roast that actually tasted like lamb, the tin of tiny taters may have brought the overall standard of poshness down but we were happy campers! The ridiculously priced bag of korma curry powder will stand us in good stead when we head further north and have to rely on my cooking for all our nutrition!
One would think that alcohol and food were all we did in the M.R. but we did a bit of other stuff too. We took the kids down their first limestone cave which was a great experience for us all. After a short talk the cave at Nligiri was self guided, a better option for the kids with a ranger in the deepest part to let them feel broken stalicmites and stalictites, shining lights through them to relfect that they are all crystals. Fun for everyone. The ampitheatre cave at the end was awesome in that we all lay on our backs and stared at the ceiling and gave ourselves the visual illusion that the stalictites were a galaxy spinning above our heads. All that is except William who couldn't make the illusion happen and came out of the cave a bit sad that he hadn't had the star wars experience!
On our way north to Freemantle we stopped in at Busselton Jetty, the longest wooden pylon jetty in the southern hemisphere. At 1.8km long I know you think we should have walked it after all the food we ate in the Margaret River but we did the touristic thing and caught the mini train to the end. Tacky but true I'm afraid! The best bit was the underwater observatory at the end. The guided tour down the three levels from just under the jetty to the sea floor at 8m was fascinating and we made the most of both the guide and our time just sitting watching all those fish going about thier business! Though I think both Craig and Lochie were dreaming slightly of the fish on the end of a hook! In fact we did see a fish with a lip peircing, one that got away from someone else for a change!
So whats next? Time to go to Freemantle and see what the West Coast urban life is like for a day or two. See you there...................
While the vineyards were great it was a little harder to chase down the produce to go with the wine. When we did find a farm shop and cheese dairy the quality was fantastic, jsut not prolific like in some other wine areas of Australia. The Cobb oven got a work out with a lamb roast that actually tasted like lamb, the tin of tiny taters may have brought the overall standard of poshness down but we were happy campers! The ridiculously priced bag of korma curry powder will stand us in good stead when we head further north and have to rely on my cooking for all our nutrition!
One would think that alcohol and food were all we did in the M.R. but we did a bit of other stuff too. We took the kids down their first limestone cave which was a great experience for us all. After a short talk the cave at Nligiri was self guided, a better option for the kids with a ranger in the deepest part to let them feel broken stalicmites and stalictites, shining lights through them to relfect that they are all crystals. Fun for everyone. The ampitheatre cave at the end was awesome in that we all lay on our backs and stared at the ceiling and gave ourselves the visual illusion that the stalictites were a galaxy spinning above our heads. All that is except William who couldn't make the illusion happen and came out of the cave a bit sad that he hadn't had the star wars experience!
On our way north to Freemantle we stopped in at Busselton Jetty, the longest wooden pylon jetty in the southern hemisphere. At 1.8km long I know you think we should have walked it after all the food we ate in the Margaret River but we did the touristic thing and caught the mini train to the end. Tacky but true I'm afraid! The best bit was the underwater observatory at the end. The guided tour down the three levels from just under the jetty to the sea floor at 8m was fascinating and we made the most of both the guide and our time just sitting watching all those fish going about thier business! Though I think both Craig and Lochie were dreaming slightly of the fish on the end of a hook! In fact we did see a fish with a lip peircing, one that got away from someone else for a change!
So whats next? Time to go to Freemantle and see what the West Coast urban life is like for a day or two. See you there...................
Looks fantastic O'Sullivans! - Dan
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