Margaret River, DID, and Busselton

Posted by efloow on November 24, 2015 in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

November 18-24

 

 

In Margaret River we lived the cliche – wine and surfing dominated our time.

The camp site at Wharncliffe Mill was nestled in the woodlands just outside the town and was a striking and very pleasant change from the beach sites of the last few months. It was very quiet with amazing facilities, including an excellent playground with loads of kids of similar ages that kept Holly and Alex occupied for hours. We also had the great company of Nev and Deb for the week. They have been travelling in the opposite direction for the last few months and we very much enjoyed sharing a few drinks, nibbles and stories around the fire in the evenings.

 

 

Our surfing experience was through the Margaret River Surf School… we are not quite ready to take on the the famous breaks of the area unassisted! The three mornings spent with the guidance of a very patient Van at Redgate Beach were excellent. Alex's enthusiasm and doggedness translated into impressing everyone and by the end of the three days he was making the transition from white water surfing to green waves. Holly bravely gave surfing a go, but decided, like Sarah, that life on the beach has more to offer.

 

 

Compared to previous visits to Margaret River, our wine experience was tempered by the kids and this morphed the cellar door tastings into a new adventure for us. We only went to one or two vineyards most days and enjoyed timing the visits with luxuriant lunches; Leeuwin Estate was very lavish and Hayshed Hill was a tasty surprise. A real treat for Sarah and I was the Cabernet Sauvignon tasting at Voyager Estate where a sommelier guided us through the different vintages and tastes over a number of years – the kids enjoyed it equally as much as they got 2 hours of uninterrupted iPad time!!

 

 

Between surf school and vineyards we explored the other local attractions. We all enjoyed the indulgence of the Margaret River Chocolate Factory… handfuls of the chocolate button samples where consumed and “best day ever” was mentioned! We did the tours of Jewel and Lake Caves and learnt about stalagmites, stalactites and the other spectacular cave formations. We travelled the whole of the peninsula between Cape Naturaliste and Cape Leeuwin, visiting the National Park, the lighthouses at either end and the forests with the massive Karri trees. We got close to black kites and a barn owl at the Raptor Sanctuary and enjoyed being lead around the tree maze at the botanical gardens by the kids. We also, at the insistence of Alex, were reminded why mini golf should be avoided.

 

 

Another treat was the Cape Mentelle Vineyard behind the scenes tour. We were the only four on the tour and the guide did an excellent job of making it relevant to the kids. We were taken to the fields and shown how the vines were lovingly cared for. We also got shown the production side with the sorting and crushing areas and the massive storage areas, including the oak vats, and got some insight of the witchcraft that goes into making a premium wine. We even saw the finished product being bottled and of course got to taste some! I suspect that Alex and Holly as a 7 and 8 year old probably know a little too much about wine!

 

 

It was fascinating to realise that Margaret River has only been a wine growing region for about 45 years and, despite its notoriety it only accounts for three percent of total Australian grape production. However, because of its soils, marine influenced climate without the extreme winter and summer temperatures, it produces over 20 percent of the Australian premium wine market.

 

 

Daddy Induced Damage, or DID, was another major feature of Margaret River. Maybe too much time, or more likely too many wine tastings and late nights around the fire were responsible, but I managed to break the roof lifting mechanism of the van trying to open it with a catch still on! To make matters worse, I shorted the whole electrical system while moving the inverter to a 'better' location. This necessitated an unplanned trip north again and an overnight in Busselton for the magic, understanding and incredibly helpful people in 'The Caravan Doctor' to repair all the damages. Whoops!

 

 

Despite the unplanned diversion, we really enjoyed Busselton, even with all the schoolies swamping the town. We walked the 1.8 km long Busselton Pier, which is the longest wood pile pier in the Southern Hemisphere.

 

 

On November 22 we had been on the road for 5 months and driven 22,173 km. We have used 4,136 litres of diesel that has cost us $6,394.38 (an average of 155 cents per litre). Only two months left….