April 7, 2019 by bobdebmol

Missives From Margs – Vintage!

It’s Autumn and that means it’s vintage time in Margaret River! It’s is probably the most exciting time of the year. Vintage starts mid February and extends until late April. Not only is it the time when this seasons crop of wine grapes are harvested and crushed, it is also peak tourist time. While summer holidays are always busy with family holidays, specially in a location with such fabulous beaches, autumn is the pick of the seasons weatherwise. So this region gets realy busy in autumn.

Naturally, winemakers and grape growers are nervously watching the weather, praying for sun and no rain. They are busy testing grapes so they can get them covered in nets before the Silvereyes (tiny little birds that peck holes in grapes) descend and wreck the crop. Contractors come to town to service the winemaking equipment, operate the grape harvesting machines and tractors. There is a sense of expectation in the air!

Vines covered in nets to prevent the tiny Silvereyes from ruining the grapes

The town is also full of backpackers. They come here primarily for the grape harvest, where they can work the hours required in specified jobs to gain their 2nd year tourist visa as well as some much needed cash to continue their travels. And of course, they are also here to enjoy the great weather and great surf. Head on down to Surfers Point any afternoon, after grape picking has finished for the day, and you will find the car parks full of campervans and old station wagons, packed high with camping gear. Out on the viewing terraces you can listen to just about every language on earth, as backpackers from around the world discuss their attempts at riding the famous Margaret River waves. Cafes and cellar doors are full of foreign accents as backpackers look for any opportunity to get a bit more income to fund their further travels around Australia. The hospitality industry here relies heavily on backpackers in peak season. Once vintage is over and the weather turns cold, they’ll be found heading north chasing the sun.

Backpackers cars of all shapes and sizes

This season is also Grey Nomad season. As soon as summer holidays are over, the WA nomads pack up their vans and head south. Autumn is perfect time to experience the South West and Great Southern regions; sunny, not too hot and no school holiday crowds. They are closely followed by the East Coast nomads, also taking advantage of the prime weather before turning north to experience the fabulous northern regions like the Murchison, the Pilbara and the Kimberley. They are like an alien invasion, caravans rolling into town, swarming around the shops, visiting wineries, cafes and local attractions and, in turn, providing work for all the backpackers in the hospitality business.

And in amongst all this activity, tourists from Perth and overseas make their regular long weeeknd visits to the region, filling up the hotels, motels, Air BnB’s, B&B’s and camping areas. This is also the season for concerts and most weekends there is a well known performer at wineries and venues across the region. It’s wedding season too, so that just adds another level of excitment to the region. Most Saturdays you can find well dressed people walking to venues around town or at the wineries and restaurants.

Wineries offer great places to enjoy a relaxing glass

Victorian Austin Heally 3000 club visiting

There is a buzz around town at this time of year. Everything is busy, specially on weekends. Luckily the region is large and the attractions and venues spread out so we never really feel overwhelmed. We do however avoid town itself on weekends because it gets pretty busy. Otherwise, there is a great atmosphere across the entire region. It’s a bit like footy grand finals weekend, everyone is happy and excited. There is so much to see and do hewre, that all travellers can find something to keep them smiling. Whether it’s relaxing in a cafe, enjoying wine, surfing, bushwalking or eating out, Margaret River is a happy place in Autumn.

Bushwalking in beautiful fresh surroundings

The famous Margaret River surf

September 29, 2018 by bobdebmol

Kalbarri

Oh Kalbarri, why did we neglect you for so long??

Kalbarri is a national park that has been a bit hidden from our view. On our first trip to WA, we drove straight past it. It tends to live in the shadow of its better known big brother, Karijini, the spectacular park in the Pilbara that is often regarded as Australia’s best NP. I must admit to getting them mixed up early in our travels and really only considering the Pilbara NP as the one to visit. West Australians of course have always known of the beauty of Kalbarri and it has been a popular destination for them for many years, specially as its just 600km from Perth so within a days drive to get here.

Kalbarri is unique in that it offers two completely different experiences for the visitor. The inland gorges offer spectacular scenery, carved out by the Murchison River into a grand canyon like vista. In complete contrast, the coastal section of the park offers something like a cross between Victoria’s spectacular Great Ocean Rd and South Australia’s Bunda cliffs. Place all of this near a gorgeous coastal village with a climate that allows almost year round accessiblilty and you have the makings of a brilliant NP.

Region_map

Driving into Kalbarri from the south gives you little indication of the beauty of the coastline. The scene is one of flat coastal scrub leading to the ocean which you occasionally glimpse to your left. Its not until you enter the town proper and see the vista of the Murchison River inlet and river mouth below you that you get an inkling that this might be a special place. It’s all laid out before you, looking just like a perfect landscape painting. We arrived on a perfect day too, so we had that perfect Australian clear blue sky, contrasting with white sandy beaches and pale blue river. We needed to stay in a CP to catch up on our domestic duties which was just as well, because this section of the coast has virtually no free camps and a couple of not very cheap station stays. There is no accommodation or camping at all in the NP. After a quick drive round, we decided on the Kalbarri Tudor Holiday Park, which turned out to be nice, well run park with shady sites and clean amenities. We spent the afternoon doing our washing and getting the van tidied up.

Deb had pre booked a dog minding service for Molly for the next two days so we could spend our time enjoying the NP. By coincidence it turned out that our good friends Kevin and Marie from Mandurah knew the pet minder very well so when we found that out, we were very confident Molly would be well looked after. We dropped her off early and headed out for a day exploring the inland gorges. Surprisingly, it was really cold, despite the full, bright sun. A bitter wind was blowing in from the east.

This section of the park requires payment of an entrance fee, $13 for vehicle day pass, which is very reasonable considering the excellent sealed roads throughout the park and very well established picnic facilities, lookouts and toilets at the key gorges. The Western Loop lookout is currently closed while they construct a “Skyway” platform extending out over the gorge, but all other attractions were open.

The drive out to the gorges is very flat and except for the masses of wildflowers, is fairly uninteresting, just flat scrubby vegetation as far as the eye can see. Our first stop was Natures Window and when we arrived at the car park we got an inkling of just how magnificent this park was going to be. The car park is perched on the edge of the very deep gorge carved out by the Murchison River through multiple layers of striking, stripey Tumblagooda Sandstone. This place is a geologists dream! The river trickles through the gorge 150 metres below. Over the millenia, it has carved out a spectacular gorge, eroding away the sandstone and leaving incredible rock formations behind. We were blown away by the scene, surely one of the most magnificent river gorges in the country. Natures window is a natural formation just a short walk away from the carpark, and consists of a hole right through the rocks, framing the river and gorge below. It is one of WA’s most iconic photo locations and we joined the small number of other early risers to take turns to get our own iconic photo. The view is breathtaking! We spent some time just admiring it and I went for a short walk down towards the river to get a different perspective. There is a full 8 km circuit walk that runs along the top of the gorge, before dropping steeply down to the river, then following the river for a few km before climbing steeply back up again. We didn’t really feel up to such a strenuous walk so contented ourselves with enjoying the view from the top. Our peace was shattered for a while by a couple of Irish families who had dragged their unenthusiastic small children down to look at the window. Long after they left we could hear the mother’s voice echoing up and down the gorge, but eventually peace reigned again!

Natures Window

View through the Window to the Murchison River

Layers of beautiful Tumblagooda Sandstone

Of course, the wildflowers were spectacular in the park. Different from the ones we had seen around Mulwela, but so many amazing shapes and colours along the roadside and walking tracks.

Our next stop was Z Bend Lookout a few km further up the river. Here, we looked down a deep gorge that switched back sharply in a Z shape. Incredibly sharp turns in such a deep gorge producing some spectacular views down into the gorge. This is another favourite photo opportunity, and luckily as we were here early, it wasn’t too busy. There were plenty of wildflowers to see too, alongside the roads and paths to the lookouts. We stopped here for our picnic lunch.

Z Bend

We then drove around 50km to the next two lookouts, Ross Graham and Hawks Head. These two lookouts are further out from Kalbarri, so less popular, but still very impressive. Hawks Head is a rock formation that supposedly looks like a Hawks head, but you needed a very good imagination so really see it. At Ross Graham lookout we took a walk trail down into the gorge to the river. Its not as deep here so the walk was steep but short. Down by the river we enjoyed a short break and took in the views typical of Murchison River country: deep red sandstone rocks, the river and beautiful white gum trees spreading out over the river bed. Gorgeous! There were three National Park workers rebuilding parts of the trail, backbreaking work moving new rock steps into place. All the work was done by hand, and all their tools had to be carried down into the gorge. It made us appreciate the efforts made to make our visit comfortable, safe and easy. After a full day exploring, we returned to collect Molly who had obviously had a great time with Simone and the other dogs.

Murchison River upstream near Ross Graham Lookout

Down by the Murchison River

Gorgeous gums by the Murchison River

The next day was for exploring the sea cliffs section of the park, just south of the Kalbarri township. Molly was much happier to stay with Simone today, despite there being some much bigger dogs to contend with today! I don’t think it took her long to sort them all out. We headed out the 15km to the most southern lookout, Natural Bridge. Again, it was very sunny, but with a strong, cold wind from the east so we needed to rug up again. We gradually made our way north back towards town, driving in from the highway to every lookout. The scenery was spectacular! Island Rock, Natural Bridge and the Grandstand were the first lookouts and revealed incredible steep cliffs with multiple layers of coloured rock dropping down into a perfectly blue sea. Again, there were lots of wild flowers to see, many different ones from yesterdays inland gorges. At Eagle Gorge we hiked down to the beach, a steep climb down into a pretty valley with fantastic views of the beautiful beach below. We enjoyed a break on the rocks, lapping up the sunshine as we were out of the cold wind down on the beach. Out next stop was Pot Alley, so called because lobster fishermen always lose lots of cray pots here in the rough bay. After waiting ages for a mini bus load of tourists to take a million photos and poses, we had the place to ourselves and enjoyed sitting high up on the rocks above the sea taking in the spectacular sights and sounds.

Island Rock

Island rock

That block looks ready to slip……

Natural Bridge

Island Rock

Eagle Gorge

Eagle Gorge Beach

Looking across Pot Alley

Pot Alley

By now, the cold wind was easing and the day was hotting up. We headed back to town for a coffee and discovered a coffee van at Jakes Beach, set up complete with comfy camp chairs so we could take in the morning sun and enjoy the view with our coffee.

Coffee Kalbarri Style

After a relaxing break, we headed back to Rainbow Valley and enjoyed a walk down to the beach at Mushroom rock and back through the valley of multi coloured rock formations. It was hot now and the walk was hard work, especially climbing back to the car park from the beach. We were ready for lunch when we returned so headed into town for a picnic lunch in the park by the river, very peaceful and relaxing. After lunch, our final destination was Red Bluff and a short walk to the lookout where we enjoyed fantastic views over the surf beach and up to the Murchison River mouth. Again we enjoyed a fantastic day exploring this magnificent park, and especially enjoyed being close to the ocean again.

Rainbow Valley

We were going to head off the next day to Murchison Station, but decided to stay another night in the CP in town. It was going to be a hot day and we wanted to explore the river and the township, so being close to town was more suitable. Also, the Station camp sites were busy and pretty dry and dusty so it made the decision to stay in town easy. We enjoyed a fabulous day exploring, paddling in the river and visiting the new lookout just out of town where we enjoyed expansive views over the town and coast. A highlight was visiting the Zuytdorp Memorial Lookout near town where we had spectacular views across the rivermouth to the Zuytdorp Cliffs, north of Kalbarri. The cliffs extend for 150km north from the rivermouth and reach a maximum height of 250m, amongst the tallest sea cliffs in Australia. These cliffs are named after a Dutch East India Company ship that was wrecked on the cliffs in 1712 whilst on a journey to Batavia. The ships passengers were never heard from again, although it is suspected some of them made it to shore and may have even joined up with local aboriginal communities. The wreck was first sighted in 1927, but it wasn’t until 1954 that it was definitively identified as the Zuytdorp. We also enjoyed a relaxing walk along the rive in town.

View from Red Bluff, Zuytdorp Cliffs in the background

Mouth of the Murchison River

Peaceful Murchison River

Molly enjoing her walk along the river where she met some little playmates

It was a very hot day so we also went down to Blue Holes, a popular local beach with beautiful sea pools amongst the inshore limestone reef, protected from the waves by the main reef, for a swim. It was very refreshing! We also went to Jakes Point, one of WA’s most famous surf breaks. Here you can walk out on the rock shelf and watch the surfers just metres away, surfing past you as they avoid the rocks. We were lucky enough to also see some dolphins surfing with the board riders on the same waves, jumping for joy as their ride finished!

Blue Holes

Surfing at Jakes Point

Dolphins enjoying a surf

Molly and Deb cooling off at Blue Holes

So, after 3 action packed days, it was time to move on. What a fantastic National Park, one of our favourites. And all centred around a really lovely little village located right on the banks of the Murchison River. It would be crazy to be here in school holidays, but practically any other time of the year it would be perfect. So many things to see and do, or just to sit and relax by the water…….perfect!

May 24, 2018 by bobdebmol

The Margaret River Region

Followers of my blog will know that Deb and I are in love with the Margaret River region, and in fact plan to settle here when we finish our full time travelling. Over the next few weeks, I’m going to share with you some of the things we love about this region, and what we get up to when we are here. But first, today’s blog is an over view of the Margaret River Region for those of you unfamiliar with it.

The Margaret River region is located in the very SW corner of the continent and faces the Indian Ocean to the West and the Southern Ocean to the south. It generally refers to the area between Cape Leeuwin in the south and Cape Naturaliste in the north. The distance between the Capes is 130km, a figure Deb and I know well as we walked the “Cape To Cape” track in 2012! Locals refer to this area as the “Capes”, but most people just call it Margaret River.

Running north-south along the coast between the Capes is the Leeuwin-Naturaliste Ridge, a geological formation of limestone and basalt that gives the area it’s characteristic spectacular coastline, it’s network of underground limestone caves and it’s rich soil, perfectly suitable for growing wine grapes. Much of the region was originally covered in spectaculer Karri and Jarrah forest before being cleared for farming. There are still significant pockets of these old forests, particularly in the south at Boranup. The Leeuwin Naturaliste National Park includes these forests and hugs much of the coastline between the Capes.

Karri trees in the Boranup Forest

Half way between the two capes, about 50km from each, lies the actual Margaret River, and on it’s banks sits the eponymously named town of Margaret River. The town is the main commercial centre for the region. It’s a busy town, especially on weekends, when tourists flock to the region. It has dozens of accommodation venues, ranging from 5 star apartments and resorts to backpacker hostels, as well as cafes and restaurants.

Some of the other towns in the region include Augusta in the south, a very small fishing community situated on the pretty Blackwood River, which was the first town settled in the area. Gracetown is a pretty, small beachside village on the coast north of Margaret River. It’s well known as a surfing town with excellent surfing at a number of breaks near the town. It is also, unfortunately, well known as the location of the Gracetown Disaster, a rockfall that killed 9 people sitting on the beach watching a surf carnival in 1996. Cowaramup is a small village north of Margaret River and is a growing residential area. It has attracted many tourists by calling itself “Cowtown” and has 42 fibreglass cows located around the town and cow themed shops. Yallingup is a resort town in the north, on the coast, is popular with surfers and has many weekend holiday homes. It’s also the home of Caves House, built in 1903 to accommodate visitors to nearby Niggli Cave. Rebuilt in 1938 after a fire, it became an iconic “surfers” pub in the 1970’s and 80’s. Dunsborough is the northern most township in the region, and the closest to Perth. It is located on the beautiful shores of Geographe Bay and is the holiday destination of Perth’s wealthy social set with chic , and expensive, cafes and boutiques. It’s not a town we visit often!

Yallingup Beach

This section of Australia’s coast was first sighted by the Dutch in the early 1600’s when the Dutch East Indies VOC galleon Leeuwin discovered and mapped the coast. The prevalance of french names in the area is a result of Nicholas Baudin’s explorations and mapping in 1801, in the ships Naturaliste (captained by Baudin) and Geographe (captained by Hamelin). It wasn’t until the 1830’s that Europeans settled in the Augusta region. Shortly after convicts were sent to the area to cut Jarrah timber for export, but it was not initially profitable. Later, in the 1870’s, with government support, the timber industry boomed and huge swathes of the dense Karri forests in the south were cut down and exported to England. Meanwhile, the first settlers had arrived in Margaret River where the Bussell family built their home at Ellenbrook. The town of Margaret River grew to support the timber industry and the gradually expanding farmlands.

In the 1920’s the Government started the “Group Settlement Scheme” to encourage out of work soldiers from the UK to settle in the area and start clearing the land to develop dairy farms, in order to reduce the states dependence on imported dairy produce from the East Coast. Although ultimately unsuccessful due to the harsh conditions and the immigrants lack of farming skills, the scheme did form the nucleus of today’s successful dairying industry in the South West. Further attempts were made after WW2 to encourage soldier settlers. These were more successful, and a strong farming economy developed.

In the 1960’s vines were first planted and by the late 1970’s a world class wine region had developed. Around this time, the local beaches became a magnet for surfers from around Australia and the world: the secret was out that Margaret River had some of the best surf in Australia and a long association developed between the surfers and the local area.

Cabernet Grapes at Vasse Felix

By the 2000’s the tourist industry had expanded significantly and was attracting interstate and international visitors. The region was now competing on a large scale with some of the best tourist destinations in Australia. It has become famous for its wines, quality foods, surf, bush walks, mountain bike trails and majestic scenery. Perth residents have always recognised the potential of “Margs”, as they affectionately call it , and many of them still regularly make the trip down here for a weekend getaway or a summer holiday.

So that’s a quick overview of the region. We love the region and enjoy exploring it’s many treasures. Something we really love about Margs is the mix of people who call this region home. Farmers, winemakers, chefs, gourmands, hippies, eco warriors, surfers, backpackers and retirees all blend together to make a community that is vibrant and modern, whilst retaining a solid rural backbone. Keep an eye out for my next blogs as we explore the region.