Margaret River

We're back in Singapore after our whirlwind Aussie trip. The weather was perfect in Western Australia but a tad too dry. I developed a bad cough during the stay which kept me awake at night.

As a result, my idea of eating and drinking my way through Margaret River was totally destroyed. I could only smell SK's platter of fish and chips and look wistfully at ice cream and chocolates. That one time I downed a cold bottle of cider resulted in a non-stop coughing fit. Yah, I must have lost some weight during the trip.

We met up with my readers, Chin and her daughter in Scarborough. There was so much to talk about, I wish we had more time!

Nonetheless it was an enjoyable trip. The air was cool and skies were blue everyday. I'm glad we rented a car and CH brought the GPS which came in very handy.

Our journey began when we arrived in Perth at 6.30am. The drive to Margaret River was a long one.

We turned off along Bussell Highway for breakfast at the award-winning Miami Bakehouse.

The pies were good, so good that SK had two seafood pies while CH ate the beef and kidney pie (below).

We continued driving for a few more hours seeing nothing but bushland and the occasional farms along the way.


Finally we spotted Carbunap River General Store, which meant our chalets were really close by.

CH was amused by the sign outside the liquor store.

We made a wrong turn and ended up getting lost in the forest. I had to call the resort for directions. We were so close yet so far. Finally we arrived at Yelverton Brook Eco Spa Retreat at about 2pm in the afternoon.

We were assigned the Jarrah Chalet.

Jarrah is a lovely house built amidst native bushland.

Everyday, we had kangaroos, wyolies, possums, bandicoots and birds visiting our patio for food.

The next day, we drove out to explore the Margaret River wine region. First stop, Margaret River town.

We were lucky to come across their Saturday market where farmers were selling honey, bread, cakes, nougat, olives, jams and preserves, plants, fruits and ice cream.

We picked up some foodstuff and headed out to the countryside. Here's a photo of the first vineyard we visited.

When I tried tasting wine, I was appalled to discover that it tasted so weird in my mouth, It had everything to do with the cough of course. We ended up buying 2 bottles anyway.

Next stop was the nuts and cereals farm shop where we bought some macadamia nuts.

I read good reviews about the lavender farm, so we stopped by there as well.

It was a wise move. It's a really charming place with different species of lavender growing everywhere.

The Lavender Cape cafe serves really good food. SK had the fish and chips while I ate scones with jam and lavender cream.


We took a leisurely walk around the farm after lunch to admire the picturesque setting.


The Margaret River Chocolate Factory just down the road proved to be a tourist hit.

The huge shop was packed with people sampling chocolate and buying bars and bars of chocolate like they were free.

The chocolate factory is so successful that they had recently launched Providore, a grand farm shop that sells award winning wines, olives, cheeses and gourmet food.

They have an impressive organic garden.



Of course, their vineyard is more impressive.

We were disappointed we didn't get to meet Winston the dog.