The weekend has arrived and Fiona and I settle into the serious stuff. Obviously I need to see even more of the region and investigate one of its most successful industries – wine! I have never seen so many wineries in my life. They have a great system here – you visit any winery and get a free tasting – you work your way through quite a few at each one, if you feel like buying, ok but if not that’s ok too! And with poor Fiona doing the driving, I was able to really study. I certainly concentrated hard but still not sure if I can tell my Chardonnays from my Sauvignon Blanc’s, but I sure had fun trying! We stopped at Will’s Domain, another winery, for lunch (and of course a glass of wine for me….) A lot of the wineries do really good lunch – generally modern Aussie cuisine and we were able to eat outside overlooking the vineyard in the calm sunshine – until a willy willy hit. It is the aboriginal word for spirit forms and it’s a special type of wind which occurs when wind picks up sand and leaves and spins them around like a mini tornado as it moves across the landscape. This one moved right through the al fresco restaurant flinging a few empty glasses to the ground – obviously the spirits decided the glasses needed filling so of course I obliged! One winery has the Oz equivalent of the Angel of the North – a gold female figure atop a huge pole emerging from the lake – and in true Aussie style, it’s called “the chick on a stick”! As well as visiting a few more wineries which were all really different, we shopped – even though it had warmed up considerably, I was tempted by, and gave in to buying, a pair of genuine Aussie Ugg Boots to keep me toasty at home. We also tried on a few more warming clothes (see pic) but decided it really wasn’t that cold at night….
On Sunday we do more wineries and take a look at Yallingup and Smith’s Beach – another millionaire enclave with fabulous beach houses and a huge curved bay with surfers, boarders and fishing boats. And I finally saw some kangaroo’s – as we were driving back late afternoon we passed a field full of them – feeding away on the grass and the odd one hopping around.
On Sunday we take a reluctant leave of the Beach House – reluctant as we had had such a good time and reluctant as it had really warmed up – and make our way back to Perth. I had got so used to Lily curled up on my lap as we travelled it was odd the next day on the flight to Darwin not to have her there!
So now it was time to leave the care of Fiona and Russell Travel. It’s a great company to travel with – superb accommodation in both the city and the beach, a chauffeur to drive you everywhere, all inclusive of great food and wine (even a genuine Aussie Barbie cooked up by Russ in Perth one night), a knowledgeable tour guide and the fabulous Lily to cuddle and play with. To top it all they also book your onward travel at a discount! And it’s all free – and it was really appreciated by me. I had a really good time.
On Sunday we do more wineries and take a look at Yallingup and Smith’s Beach – another millionaire enclave with fabulous beach houses and a huge curved bay with surfers, boarders and fishing boats. And I finally saw some kangaroo’s – as we were driving back late afternoon we passed a field full of them – feeding away on the grass and the odd one hopping around.
On Sunday we take a reluctant leave of the Beach House – reluctant as we had had such a good time and reluctant as it had really warmed up – and make our way back to Perth. I had got so used to Lily curled up on my lap as we travelled it was odd the next day on the flight to Darwin not to have her there!
So now it was time to leave the care of Fiona and Russell Travel. It’s a great company to travel with – superb accommodation in both the city and the beach, a chauffeur to drive you everywhere, all inclusive of great food and wine (even a genuine Aussie Barbie cooked up by Russ in Perth one night), a knowledgeable tour guide and the fabulous Lily to cuddle and play with. To top it all they also book your onward travel at a discount! And it’s all free – and it was really appreciated by me. I had a really good time.
