The region around Margaret River features two things we enjoy, wineries and fantastic places to walk.
In the two days we spent in the area we visited four wineries, tasting more than 20 wines in total. We stopped at
Windance,
Vasse Felix,
Xanadu, and
Churchview. Windance is noted for its Shiraz, so after tasting a range of its wines and chatting with the owner, we bought a bottle to take home. We will save it for a special occasion.
Like Windance, Churchview was a relatively small outfit. However, the other two looked immense and a bit pretentious. The wines were excellent everywhere, but one sensed the large scale of operations at Vasse Felix and Xanadu had turned tasting into as issue of size over substance. Their grounds and tasting halls are immense, with carefully manicured lawns. Vasse Felix even has a small pond with artwork interspersed. I am sure it makes for a lovely backdrop to weddings and other events, but is it still about the wine?
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Churchview
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| Vasse Felix |
We also had some great walks, including along the
Cape to Cape Walk and in the
Boranup Karri Forest, where we hiked among many species of eucalyptus trees. While there we realized how much we missed our after dinner walks in Boulder. That is just not very pleasant in Singapore.
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| Boranup Karri Forest |
On our way home we stopped by Freemantle for dinner. We just missed the sunset, but still enjoyed some lingering daylight as we walked along South Beach. Then we headed to
Cappuccino Strip, a hub of cafes, bars and restaurants. I ate surf and turf while H had some pasta. She was not impressed with the spaghetti, but the steak was fantastic.
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| Enjoying the last bit of daylight in Australia |
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| Cider anyone? |
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| Cappuccino Strip feels a bit like New Orleans |
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| Surf and turf |
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| Spaghetti carbonara |
Then we returned to the airport and flew home. It was a short trip - Wed night to Sat night - but we thoroughly enjoyed our first trip to Perth.
