Street View: S32°44.645’ E151°06.005’

Leaving the warmth of the Newby’s home to venture back out into the rainy weather of the surrounding Sydney area took some extra enthusiasm.  We headed north through Sydney to reach the Hunter Valley wine region around midday.  Knowing that the Hunter Valley is best known for it’s Semillon, that’s what we focused on tasting.  First stop was the information center to pick up a wine map, here we learned the east side of the region has sandy soils and is better known for its Semillon.  Beginning on the eastern side of the Hunter we tasted at Adina Vineyard first and then Tatler Wines across the road, the Semillons were nice but it would be great to taste the same wines again in five or 10 years.  The west side of the region is comprised of more clay-loam soils and is a bit more hilly, we headed to the famous McWilliams Mount Pleasant Estate in search of their well known Elizabeth’s Semillon.  For tasting that day they offered a 2001 Semillon as well as a 2004, amazing to see the color change and the honey-like texture of the aged Semillons, it almost seemed as if they’d been aged in oak, but none had ever seen a barrel.  We bought the 2004 to save for a few more years to see how it develops.  McGuigan Wines was our next stop, where we tasted a line-up of six different Semillons, walking away with a bottle of 4 Gen Semillon which was made to represent the four generations working within the winery.  After a phone call to my father-in-law, John, he said that Tyrrell’s Wines was a must visit – it was by far my highlight of the day.  Their cellar door was open which allowed us to have a wander around, they have some open-topped concrete fermenters that I would love to experiment with (pictured here to the right).  Although the open-topped concrete fermenters weren’t used for the Semillons, they showed their strengths in some of the Shiraz.  The tasting room attendant was very enthusiastic and knowledgeable, he lined up eight-or-so Semillons starting with a bottle of 1998, which was about to be over the hill but still quite good.  Interesting to watch the color change and taste the texture differences throughout the range.  The Vat 1’s were most interesting, all of the wines ferment for about 15 days, never touching an oak barrel.  He also lined up some Shiraz, Hunter Valley Shirazes are very different to the famous Shirazes of South Australia’s McLaren Vale and Barossa regions.  At Tyrrell’s they’re all dry farmed and sourced from older vineyards.  One last stop in the region was at Sam’s request to visit the Bluetongue Brewery, where we picked up a carton of Alcoholic Ginger Beer (they need to make this stuff in the States!).  Thanks to the end of day light savings, by the end of our tastings it was high time to find a campsite for the night as it was approaching dark very quickly.  We found a great spot in a little area called Broke on the far west side of the Hunter Valley.  An interesting day, fun to visit another wine region of Australia where the locals are so proud of what they’re producing.

Beechworth is a small country town full of history located a short drive north of the Milawa gourmet region.  I’d read in a tourism brochure about Beechworth’s famous bakery, so of course there was no way I was going to forgo a visit.  We made our first foray into town one afternoon during the rain, and after sampling the Beechworth Bakery’s fine offerings, ended up returning the next day for lunch on our way to Rutherglen.  Beechworth Bakery’s slogan is ‘Australia’s best bakery’; I’m not sure if that’s deserved but it sure is a great place for lunch.  Beechworth is well worth a look if ever in the northeast of Victoria, with plenty of places to eat, designer clothes stores, a brewery and plenty of historical buildings, its easy to kill a few hours exploring all that’s on offer.

Along with the Barossa Valley, Rutherglen is one of Australia’s two original wine regions.  The first wineries established way back in the late 1850s and produced a great deal of Australia’s wine until the area was devastated by Phylloxera.  Today the Rutherglen region is known for some of the country’s best dessert wines, particularly delicious Muscat and Tokay styles.  My dad has been sending us bottles of Morris Muscat to the States for as long as I can remember, so we were both keen to get a first-hand look at the Morris facility just east of the town of Rutherglen.  We also stopped off at family-owned Gehrig Wines, started in 1858 and today in the hands of the fifth-generation Gehrig winemaker.  Gehrig was a tiny  place, harvesting only 100 tonnes of fruit each vintage, but they had some fantastic dessert wines and Lisa enjoyed having a long chat with the fourth-generation winemaker manning the tasting room when we visited.  After Gehrig we shot into the town of Rutherglen to make one last late afternoon stop at Chambers Winery, one of the other original wineries in the area.  We lucked onto finding one of the family manning the tasting room, Bill Chambers took a lot of interest in us once he realized Lisa used to work in the wine industry and sent us packing with a complimentary bottle of his scrumptious Muscat.  Unfortunately the rain was at us again in Rutherglen, but we managed to find some time for a nice fire on the banks of the Murray River at Police Paddocks (S35°58.824’ E146°30.201’) just outside Rutherglen.  A fantastic area to visit, a lot of history in the wineries and the people were so friendly and accommodating.

Street View: S41°27.471’ E147°08.395’

The Tamar Valley, spread on either side of the Tamar River near Launceston, is home to some of Tasmania’s best wineries, most of which produce only enough wine for the Tasmanian market, so quite a treat to visit.  On advice from Mike Frost and Chris Chen (a winemaker with whom we caught up in the Margaret River) we had a few wineries in mind before making our way to the area.  Our first stops were at Jansz, famous for their sparkling offerings (in fact that’s all they make!), and adjacent Pipers Brook, arguably Tasmania’s most famous winery.  The two wineries are located right next to each other on a beautiful expanse of rolling hills north of Launceston.  Lisa and Greg enjoyed comparing tasting opinions at both spots, after which we headed down the road to the small operation of Dalrymple Winery.  The wines at Dalrymple are made by the same winemaker that heads up Jansz, everyone really enjoyed their offerings and we walked away with a couple of bottles for the road.  From Dalrymple our last stop for the day was at Bay Of Fires, named after the stretch of beaches north of nearby Saint Helens where we spent the afternoon a few days ago.

We stopped off at Lilydale (S41°13.723’ E147°12.548’) for the night after our day of wine tasting, finding an unlocked gate and an absence of ‘No Camping’ signs next to Lilydale Falls for a very nice spot to sleep under some beautiful old oak trees.  Lilydale Falls were a short walk from our campsite, as were a plethora of wild blackberry bushes littering the sides of the creek that ran through the surrounding paddocks.  I braved the thorns and collected a huge container full of the deliciously sweet berries, we all had our fill during the evening and had more than enough left for blackberry pancakes in the morning.  That’s camping in style!  The town of Lilydale was quite a quaint little settlement, the main street lined with a heritage-listed general store, an eatery boasting the best fried chicken in Australia, as well as no shortage of nonagenarians walking to their daily afternoon lawn bowls meet, all dressed up in their purple and white outfits.  Quite a sight!

Our loop around Tasmania took a bit of a skewed turn to take us to Launceston, Lisa and Carol had a hankering to attend Festivale on February 13, an annual food and wine festival showcasing some of Tasmania’s best wineries and cuisine.  It was an awesome day, well worth the side-trip to Launceston, there was so much to choose from it was tough to decide.  Local breweries, fantastic wines, seafood, pizza, German sausage makers, I could go on and on…  There were also a few stages on which different live performers kept us entertained throughout the day, a great event, we all had a ball.

Whilst in Launceston I wasn’t going to miss a tour of J. Boag & Son brewery.  The tours set us back $25 a piece, over an hour-and-a-half we toured the operation from packaging all the way to the actual brewing.  The high-tech packaging line was an amazing conglomeration of machinery able to handle over 800 bottles per minute, the bottles whizzed through almost too fast for our eyes to behold.  The lagering tanks were also a pretty awesome sight, the largest of which can hold over 500,000 bottles of beer!  Back in the old days (J. Boag & Son brewing has been in operation since 1881) full-time employees were allowed to drink as much beer as they liked for breakfast, morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea.  Those days are long gone, operational health and safety isn’t too keen on brewery employees drinking beer for breakfast and lunch these days, unfortunately.  At the end of our tour we sampled four of the Boag beers in conjunction with some local Tasmanian cheeses.  A few of the Boag beers aren’t exported to the mainland, so it was fun to sample brews like Wizard Smith’s Ale and XXX Ale, both of which we’d never even seen before in the bottle shops outside of Tasmania.

We finished up our tour of Launceston with a Sunday morning walk through Cataract Gorge.  Located just minutes from the town centre the gorge has a fantastic walking trail up either side as well as a great little cafe nestled in the forest part way along.  A beautiful spot for a coffee and spot to watch the local peacocks as they walked through the diners enjoying a morning cuppa. 

Note to self: when we’re buying furniture for ourselves some time down the road the Launceston Tasmanian Design Centre showcases some of the most eye-catching and well made wooden furniture either of us had ever seen, all made by local artisans out of unique Tasmanian timbers.

Planet View: S42°05.184’ E148°13.942’

Street View: S42°05.184’ E148°13.942’

We headed east to Freycinet Peninsula in the search of fresh oysters for Dad’s birthday.  Traveling through the state’s warm center the terrain was very different than the cool forests we had previously been camping in.  Rolling golden hills with roaming livestock reminded us a bit of the hills around Sonoma County.  We stopped off at Freycinet Winery to enjoy a sampling of an excellent 2000 sparkling as well as some tasty Pinot Noirs. Once on Freycinet Peninsula we explored the National Park campground before settling on yet another great free campsite at Moulton’s Lagoon.  We enjoyed a celebratory birthday toast for Dad with a great glass of Riesling, some oysters prepared a couple of different ways, and even a few scallops.  The weather was so pleasant that when we reached Coles Bay Sam and I decided we had to get into the water.  The snorkeling was great with plenty of fish, stingrays and urchins to view, Sam managed to spear us five Yelloweye Mullet and a Leatherjacket for dinner.  Dad thought the water looked inviting so he joined us the following day for a snorkel after our hike to Wineglass Bay.  The hike to Wineglass Bay was amazing, we walked up a steep hill in and amongst giant boulders that balanced precariously on each other.  The bay earned its name from when the whaling industry used to corral the whales in the giant bay to slaughter them thus turning the water red, pretty nasty really.  The water today is a beautiful turquoise blue and happened to be pumping some good sized swell the morning we were there.  Sam could not pass up the opportunity to go for a quick body surf before we continued our hike across the peninsula to Hazards Beach and then onto the Hazards, concluding an eleven kilometer loop.  Mom and Dad weren’t feeling up to the distance so they tackled the steep steps back up and over the ridge.  Sam speared another meal of fresh fish in the afternoon and we of course had to check out the local bakery for an afternoon snack.  A beautiful sunset and warm campfire was the perfect end to our visit of Freycinet Peninsula.

Street View: S37°54.534’ E144°59.236’

After a jam-packed few weeks with Gina and Chris we took a little time to lay low in Melbourne, joining Ben and Bronte in their new apartment on the beach at Brighton.  We also spent a night in Torquay with Ben, Bronte, Greg, Jarrod and Stacey at Jarrod McCabe’s family’s beach house, fantastic weather and great company (but I unfortunately left my camera in Melbourne so no photos!).  Ben and Bronte were brilliant hosts for our time in Melbourne, opening up their home to us and touring us around their locale whenever they had a chance.  We made an outing with them to nearby Saint Kilda, taking a walk along the jetty for some great photos of the Saint Kilda Pier and also a trip down the bustling main Barkly Street where we lucked onto Tecate cartons for $31.99.  Between Bronte and me we left the bottle shop with four cartons!

We spent a day exploring the city of Melbourne, taking the train in from Brighton to the central Flinders Station in the heart of the CBD.  We’d organized to catch up with a mate of ours for lunch, Greg toured us around the ANZ trading floor (where he works) and then on to a swanky Italian restaurant in the South Bank precinct across the Yarra River from the city.  At Bronte’s suggestion we toured some of the alleyways littered with quaint coffee shops and restaurants for which Melbourne is famous, stopping off for an afternoon coffee in Centre Place with Greg before he had to return for work.  We also ventured north of the city to the Queen Victoria Markets, a huge expanse of stalls selling everything from Aussie souvenirs to fresh fruit and vegetables.  We unfortunately arrived a little late in the afternoon to catch most of the vendors, interesting to see all the same…

We took a day trip south along the Mornington Peninsula to explore some of the beautiful beaches and wineries for which the area is renowned.  A friend of Lisa’s with whom she worked in California recently moved to the Mornington and is winemaker for Montalto Vineyard and Olive Grove, a beautiful piece of property with an acclaimed restaurant at the southern end of the peninsula near Flinders.  Simon treated us to a fantastic lunch overlooking the vineyards, we also met his lovely wife Belinda and 16 month old twins Liam and Oliver.  After catching up over lunch with a bottle of Montalto Pinot Noir we explored nearby Flinders and stopped off to try our hand at some squid fishing off the Flinders jetty, unfortunately no calamari for us…  The enclaves on the northern side of the Mornington Peninsula are escapes for the rich and famous of Melbourne, seaside homes in the prestigious town of Portsea often come with a multi-million dollar price tag.  We ventured along the coast from Rye, through Sorrento and onto Portsea to take a look at the beautiful beaches and luxurious holiday retreats, unfortunately most of the larger estates weren’t visible from the outside but from the entrances we could tell that there were some serious mansions overlooking the ocean along the northern coast. 

Hallsy organized tickets for himself, Jarrod, Stacey, Lisa and I to attend the Australian Open tennis while we were in Melbourne; Greg works at ANZ bank and they’re a major sponsor of the 2010 Grand Slam tournament.  Justine Henin, Jelena Jankovic and Andy Murray were all playing in one of the two arenas at the tennis that day so we lined up to reserve seats for the day before venturing into Degraves Street for stellar breakfast at one of the hole-in-the-wall cafes.  Even though our seats were towards the back of the rows in Hisense Arena we still had an amazing view of the games, the match between Justine Henin and Alisa Kleybanova definitely one for the ages, awesome to see the former world number one (Henin) in action in her first tournament back from retirement.  Our passes allowed us to venture to any of the 10-or-more courts on which there were games for the day, pretty much everywhere except the main Rod Laver Arena, Lisa managed to weasel her way into the front row of the Margaret Court Arena to see the Williams sisters slaughter a couple of challengers in the doubles tournament.  She didn’t want to take the camera because it’d be too heavy and is kicking herself a little now at the shots that could have been…  Our seats in Hisense Arena were only good for the day session, so we spent the late afternoon and well into the evening watching games on the big screen in the Heineken Beer Garden with a few beers.  A fantastic day, I’ve been wanting to see the Australian Open for many years so it’s great that we could organize our schedule to be in Melbourne for the event.  And what would we do without Hallsy getting us all tickets through his work?!  Thanks Greg!

The filtration of water through the limestone soil over thousands of years results in some underwater caves around Mount Gambier with amazing water clarity.  The most famous caves are at Piccaninnie Ponds, a small National Park situated in the middle of 1500 acres of Al’s family’s farmland.  To maintain the water clarity only four snorkelers are allowed to swim in the ponds at one time, we booked into an 11:00AM timeslot and geared up for a dip in the 14°C (57°F) crystal clear pools.  The clarity was pretty amazing, at times it reaches 40 meters (130 feet) but wasn’t quite that clear when we were snorkeling.  The rock formations and array of freshwater plants was fantastic, a good chance for Gina to test out her newly-purchased waterproof camera.  In the water with us were four SCUBA divers, it was a little eerie to watch them on the bottom 10 meters below us as they eventually disappeared into the underground cave system into which the ponds open!

From Piccaninnie Ponds we bid Big Al adieu and headed inland to the Coonawarra wine region, roughly 50 kilometers north of Mount Gambier.  Famous for the same limestone soil responsible for the aquifers and caves around Mount Gambier, Lisa and Gina enjoyed exploring a few of the estates as we passed through the region.  We stopped off at Hollick, Bowen Estate, Zema Estate and the well-known Wynns Coonawarra Estate.  Some beautiful vineyards and tasting rooms as well as a couple of additions to The Tank’s wine cellar (though they didn’t last long!)…

On our way out of Penong we stopped off at the town’s Woolshed Museum, a collection of farming and household artifacts from yesterday but definitely not a patch on Margaret Brown’s collection on Yorke Peninsula (more on that later…).  We continued along the Great Australian Bight through Ceduna, where we quickly checked our email and stopped off at the visitor centre before spending the night at the Streaky Bay Caravan Park.  We both enjoyed Streaky Bay (S32°47.785′ E134°11.848′) a lot, a great atmosphere and a another fantastic country pub where we spent the afternoon with a few beers overlooking the bay.  It was great to see that there are still a few old-world pubs in South Australia where one can get a pint for $5.00 and a good counter meal for under $15.00.  Lisa sampled some of the local King George Whiting and I tucked into a schnitzel, something that the Western Australians are still figuring out how to cook properly…  The bar staff at the Streaky Bay Pub were quite impressed with seeing a Californian waltzing around in some local R.M. Williams garb and it was great to be able to catch the tail end of the West Indies/Australia test match from Adelaide.  If you’re reading this and ever find yourself in Streaky Bay, the caravan park kiosk on the foreshore is the cheapest place you’ll find fresh oysters anywhere on Eyre Peninsula: $5.00 a dozen.  Elliotts Bakery is similarly worth a stop, fantastic baked goods and coffees, another addition to my list of Australia’s Best Bakeries.

We spent a morning exploring the striking coastline southwest of Streaky Bay, some brilliant vistas and seriously powerful seas.  The loop around Cape Bauer was well worth the detour, as was the drive we took around the scenic Westall Way.  South of the settlements of Sceale Bay and Fisherman’s Paradise is Point Labatt, home to Australia’s largest New Zealand Fur Seal colony.  The Australian Sea-Lions and New Zealand Fur Seals were strewn all over the granite rocks at the base of the cliffs of Point Labatt, quite content to spend the day leisurely sun-baking between meals.  From Point Labatt we drove around the nearby bay and south to the sleepy seaside settlement of Baird Bay, the tourist pamphlet made Baird Bay sound like a coastal utopia but we left town within five minutes of arriving after seeing the swampy marshes that passed as beaches and the fact that the town’s campsite is a parking lot on the side of the highway!  Next was Port Kenny a little further down the Eyre, where the bar staff laughed at me when I asked if there was a campsite in town…   We ended up stumbling onto the sleepy holiday town of Venus Bay (S33°13.974′ E134°40.466′), nestled on the protected side of the small peninsula forming the opening to Venus Bay itself.  There were no campsites at Venus Bay but the caravan park is in a brilliant location on the secluded waters of the Venus Bay inlet, within walking distance of the town’s jetty and the South Head Walking Trail.  I spent the afternoon fishing off the jetty and pulled in some handsome-sized squid, we ate more fresh calamari that night than I think either of us had ever consumed in a single sitting!  A morning walk along the South Head Walking Trail took us longer than expected after we spent the better part of half an hour watching pods of dolphins frolic in the crystal clear water in the mouth of Venus Bay’s inlet.  Some of them came within 20 or 30 meters of where we were standing on the cliffs, so close that we could hear them exhaling when they surfaced.  Great to see them up so close in the wild.  From Venus Bay we stopped off at Talia Caves, taking a walk into the cavernous Woolshed cave, as well as a quick peek at the town of Elliston (add one more to Australia’s Best Bakeries) on our way to Coffin Bay at the southern tip of the Eyre Peninsula.

The tip of the Eyre Peninsula boasts a couple of brilliant National Parks, the majority of Coffin Bay and Lincoln National Parks are 4WD-only affairs so we enjoyed putting The Tank through its paces with a few days in each.  Port Lincoln (S34°43.722′ E135°53.055′) was a great spot, the first time we’d seen a hint of traffic for quite some time.  Port Lincoln could have been South Australia’s capital had the settlers been able to locate acceptable water supplies, there are some very interesting tourist attractions revolving around the town’s seafood industry.  We took a tour of one of the local seafood processors, where we saw King George Whiting being filleted at a rate of about one fish every 10 seconds and massive steaks of shark being sliced up for the state’s fish and chip shops.  Our tour culminated with a sampling of some smoked local fare: calamari, oysters, Kingfish, mussels and scallops.  So good!  We also took a tour cruise around Boston Harbour with Triple Bay Charters, the company has approval from some of the local Kingfish farmers to visit the farm nets, awesome to see 30,000 sashimi-grade swimmers up so close.  Our cruise also stopped-in on an Australian Sea-Lion colony inhabiting one of the islands near Cape Donington, the pups were very playful, their parents and grandparents always keeping a watchful eye and trying to make sure they didn’t come too close to our boat.  Our cruise and very knowledgeable captain gave us an idea of the immense size of the fishing industry in Port Lincoln.  The town has the most millionaires per capita of any town in Australia!  The big money is in prawns, Bluefin Tuna and Kingfish. 

Prawning is a heavily regulated fishery, the fisherman net 58 days a year at times scheduled by the state fisheries department.  We learned that it’s nigh on impossible to buy a fresh prawn in South Australia as all of them are snap frozen on the boats when caught.  The Bluefin Tuna harvest is also very heavily regulated by an international body which determines how much Bluefin can be caught per year by each country targeting the sought-after fish.  This year the Port Lincoln fishermen have been allotted 4000 tonnes of the lucrative fish.  There are only a few commercial Bluefin licenses in South Australia, controlled by individuals who setup the industry decades ago.  No more licenses will be created so each is worth quite a bit of money: some license holders lease out their licenses for between $8MM and $12MM per year, and when one does change hands it has recently been for more than $180MM per license!  While the tuna fishermen in Port Lincoln call it ‘farming’, the industry is more like ‘fattening’: the Bluefin are caught in nets in the Spencer Gulf and Great Australian Bight, transported back to Port Lincoln and then fed Pilchards until they gain approximately 40% of their body weight before being harvested.  When initially caught the schools of fish are spotted from the air, the pilots of the spotting planes are able to determine the approximate weight of the school and individual fish size by sight alone.  The fish are captured in giant nets and towed back to Port Lincoln at a rate of 0.5 knots (roughly one kilometer per hour), the journey can sometimes take two months!  It might sound a ludicrously slow speed, but there are Department of Fisheries observers on each boat and any dead or escaped fish go against each boat’s quota.  At north of $1500 per fish, with some of the choicest cuts selling for more than $2000 per kilogram once on the plate, it’s a little easier to understand the slow speed!  Japanese chefs will fly to Port Lincoln to select their fish and Japanese observers will watch each fish being killed to ensure that the appropriate method is followed.  When the fish are killed there are divers in the tuna nets with the fish, tuna can’t see behind them so the divers will wait for a fish to swim past and then quickly yank it backwards through the water by its tail.  The backwards motion flushes the fish’s gills with water and stuns it for a few seconds, during which time the divers will insert their hands into the gills and clench the fish’s heart.  The constriction of blood immobilizes the powerful tuna for a few more seconds, enough time to the divers to move the fish through the water and onto the kill platform.  Once out of the water the fish is killed almost instantly with a metal stake through the brain, the brain removed via a corkscrew-like implement, a metal wire inserted down the backbone to remove the nervous system (which ensures the meat isn’t tainted with enzymes), and the guts removed via machine through the anus.  The dead fish is then dipped in distilled water and immediately snap frozen to –65°C (-85°F), a temperature at which it can be kept for six years and still be served as sashimi.  Each fish has an air filled bag inserted into its gut cavity and transported back to Japan in an individual cradle to preserve its shape.  The time taken from the diver grabbing the fish to the distilled water dip is roughly 90 seconds, any longer than 3.5 minutes and the Japanese will not buy the fish, optimal time is 40 seconds.  An amazing industry, we thoroughly enjoyed the wealth of information our tour skipper had to offer…

We stopped in at one of the local vintners, Boston Bay Wines, on our way out of town as we began our journey up the east coast of the Eyre.  Along the way we ducked into Arno Bay and spent a night in another of the peninsula’s oyster-producing centers at Cowell (S33°41.124′ E136°55.593′).  It was a fun Sunday afternoon at Cowell’s two pubs, some of the bartenders were a real hoot, a good dose of country Aussie conversation!  On our way out of Cowell we grabbed a few dozen export-quality oysters, hard to resist at $5.50 per dozen.  We visited a family acquaintance’s sheep station in the southern Flinders Ranges as we rounded Spencer Gulf, a beautiful property with rivers, springs and some fantastic ranges running through it.  We ran into a few of the 14,000 sheep penned up for a shearing the next day.  Our last night in the tent for a while was in Mount Remarkable National Park in the Flinders Ranges, a beautiful campsite on the banks of Mambray Creek but we could have done without the worst swarms of mosquitoes we’ve experienced since leaving Adelaide in June.  A few days with the Browns at their farm (S34°41.041′ E137°33.672′) near Minlaton on the Yorke Peninsula was a good chance to see the Brown kids and catch up with the rest of the family, Edward had just finished reaping when we arrived so we were lucky to be able to spend a rare bit of time with him whilst on the farm.  Lunch with Jess Schulz and a few of her friends from high school at the Schulz farm near Maitland and it was back to Adelaide for a couple of weeks over Christmas.  Whew, that’s half of the country done!

The drive into Denmark (S34°57.650′ E117°21.439′) was another one of those stretches of road where we were a little overwhelmed with all the spots to stop along the way.  We visited The Toffee Factory, Elephant Rocks in William Bay National Park, Somerset Hill Winery, an alpaca farm and the Denmark Farmhouse cheese factory.  And that was just in the morning!  The coastline enclosed by William Bay National Park was unreal, definitely some of the most beautiful coastline I’ve ever seen, the turquoise waters along the shore receding to the deep blue of the Southern Ocean was so picturesque.  Had it not been for the inclement weather we’d been dodging for the better part of a week, Elephant Rocks would have been a great spot for snorkeling.  The water was so clear we could see the fish swimming in the protected pools.  I had a bit of a fright (‘bit’ might be slightly understated…) when I rounded the corner on the trail to Elephant Rocks and almost stepped on a brown snake (pictured here) bathing itself in a patch of morning sun.  Don’t fancy a nip from the world’s second most venomous snake!

The hills surrounding Denmark were pretty magic as well, dotted with art galleries and wineries there was no shortage of spots to visit.  We tasted at Somerset Hill Winery, a beautiful vineyard overlooking the surrounding countryside that boasted some great Semillons that would have been interesting to age for 10 years (so says our resident winemaker!).  We couldn’t wait that long, however, and enjoyed our bottle with some fresh fish.  It was fun to visit the Denmark Farmhouse cheese factory, the week earlier we’d tried to make it to the creamery in the tiny town of Northcliffe but missed closing time by 30 minutes.  Some of the cheeses at the Denmark Farmhouse were exquisite, we walked away with some of their tasty feta and a block of goat’s cheese.

Denmark itself was a great little town, somewhere we can picture both of our mothers enjoying the art galleries, coffee houses, restaurants, gift stores and health food establishments.  Denmark Bakery is the most recent addition to my list of Australia’s Best Bakeries, the storefront is covered with awards from the Perth Royal Show and they were definitely well deserved.  One of the galleries in Denmark had some of the most beautiful wooden tables and furniture we’d ever seen, definitely jotting this place down on our list should we ever need a new dining table down the road…  We spent the night just south of Denmark at Ocean Beach, the closest beach to Denmark’s town centre.  Lisa was as giddy as a school kid when she spotted an air-filled trampoline out the front of the caravan park in which we stayed, we both relived a few childhood experiences as we bounced around.  The Wilson Inlet, on which Denmark is located, had a nice walking trail around its edge and the beach at Ocean Beach was another in the string of fantastic beaches that the southern coast has to offer.  We threw a line in near the mouth of the Wilson Inlet but our fishing was cut short after Lisa ended up on her back, drenched in seawater after tripping whilst scurrying backwards to escape an oncoming wave!  Once I’d ran down the beach to check that she was okay we both had quite a good laugh before trudging back to the caravan park for a much-needed hot shower.

My dad connected us with an old friend of his who owns Frankland Estate winery in-between the towns of Rocky Gully and Frankland, about an hour inland from Denmark.  We called ahead the day before, organized to arrive for lunch and were treated to a tour from owner and winemaker Barrie Smith as well as a gourmet sit-down lunch with the winery staff and Barrie’s daughter Elizabeth, who’s also one of the winemakers.  A beautiful piece of property nestled amongst the rolling hills of Frankland and such hospitality from Barrie and his daughter.  We sat there for an hour or two tasting through their fantastic wines paired with some delectable meats and cheeses.  Our visit to Frankland Estate coincided with Thanksgiving in the States so Lisa was excited to be able to enjoy a sit-down, communal meal on the day of the year when every other year of her life she’d eaten turkey with her family.

Frankland Estate was on the way inland to Stirling Range National Park (S34°24.058′ E118°06.129′).  The mountains of the Stirling Range rise out of the surrounding wheat fields like jagged teeth, a collection of majestic peaks stretching for close to 70 kilometers across the plains.  The mountains are home to a dizzying array of flora and fauna and are recognized internationally as one of the world’s most biodiverse regions.  There are a number of plants, like the red Mountain Bells pictured here, that aren’t found anywhere else in the world.  There’s only one campsite in the entire National Park and it was thus pretty packed by the time we rolled in at 4:30PM, the bushland of the Stirling Range is quite dry so we weren’t allowed to have a campfire.  Definitely one of our coldest nights in a long time we sought refuge in The Blue Room shortly after the sun disappeared (and the geriatric in the caravan next to us turned off his stinking generator!).  Quite a number of the peaks comprising the Stirling Range have hiking trails to their summit, we got going early and climbed the tallest of them all: Bluff Knoll.  The 675 meter (2215 feet) climb to southern Western Australia’s tallest mountain took us the better part of the morning, tough to dress for the occasion as the steepness of the trail had us sweating heavily at some points while the wind across some of the exposed bluffs was bone-chilling.  There were sections of the hike that took us through expansive fields of wildflowers, some areas were so dense that it was like walking through a colored blanket of flowers, just amazing…  The views from the top of Bluff Knoll were awe-inspiring, full 360° panoramas of the mountains making up Stirling Range and the surrounding wheat fields.  We took the long way out of the park, traversing the Stirling Range Drive across the National Park lengthways, a beautiful area of the country, we’re glad we made the trip inland for the experience.

From the Stirling Range we ventured back toward the coast to spend a couple of days in the bustling port town of Albany and then continued west toward Esperance.  The number of white sandy beaches along the stretch of coast between Albany and Esperance is just amazing, anyone who doubts that Australia has the most beautiful beaches in the world should visit the coastline of The Great Southern.  The visitor information bureau in Albany suggested we explore Two Peoples Bay and Betty’s Beach on the way to Esperance, the road to which is a dirt track veering off the South Coast Highway about 30 kilometers east of Albany.  Two Peoples Bay is a stretch of a few kilometers of beautiful white sand, hemmed in by granite peaks at the western end and rocky granite reef to the east.  Lisa went for a long walk on the beach (and got stung be a bee!) while I spent an hour or so snorkeling at the eastern end of the bay, after which we grabbed some lunch and then headed over the hill to the more protected Betty’s Beach (S34°56.211′ E118°12.513′).  Betty’s is a collection of old iron sheds perched overlooking a beautiful cove, some of the shacks have been left to ruin and others maintained by locals from Albany for weekend trips.  It was a fantastic spot, we enjoyed watching some local teens get barreled by a very sucky little break in amongst the granite rocks on the edge of the beach before eating dinner overlooking the beach and mountains in the distance.  The sunset and waves crashing into the tide pool made for some pretty awesome water photos…

On the recommendation of Elizabeth and Barrie Smith at Frankland Estate we took a 60 kilometer detour from the South Coast Highway to the holiday town of Bremer Bay.  The town is tucked behind Point Henry, the orientation of which ensures that there’s always a secluded beach to be found somewhere within 10 minutes of town.  We explored the peninsula between Point Henry and Bremer Bay, stopping off for a swim at Little Boat Harbour on the easterly side.  I had no idea that coral existed in the cold waters of the Southern Ocean but about 50 meters offshore and 10 meters deep I was surprised to see some beautiful hard and soft coral, amazing colours and so many fish buzzing about.

Preferring to stick with campsites rather than caravan parks for as long as possible, we left Bremer Bay behind (in Western Australia you will never find a campsite within 17 kilometers of a town) and made our way along back roads to the edge of Fitzgerald River National Park.  Lisa was in the mood for some more mountains after our hike in the Stirling Range so we stopped off to climb the tallest peak in the area, East Mount Barren.  We were rewarded with some brilliant panoramic views of the coastline from up on high.  There’s one campsite in the southern section of Fitzgerald River National Park at Saint Mary’s Inlet, we stopped for the night at yet another extremely well-equipped campsite run by the Department of Environment and Conservation (this one had free gas BBQ and burners, toilets and secluded level campsites nestled amongst the trees surrounding the waters of the inlet).  In the morning we took a walk to the tip of nearby Point Ann, the southerly beginning of the famous (or infamous…) Rabbit Proof Fence constructed in the 19th century in a failed attempt to halt the spread of introduced rabbits west across the Australian mainland.  Today all that’s left are some old fence posts and rusted sections of mesh fence, but an interesting piece of history all the same.  The flies in Fitzgerald River National Park were some of the worst we’ve experienced, I think it was the first time we broke out our fly nets since Gregory National Park all the way back in July!  Some beautiful wildflowers dotted across the landscape of the National Park, not the brilliant fields we saw in the Stirling Range but some great examples of Kangaroo Paw and other brightly coloured specimens.

For our last night of camping in The Great Southern we stayed at Munglinup Reef (S33°53.211′ E120°48.338′), roughly 100 kilometers west of the port town of Esperance.  The reef bends around a small peninsula, the easterly portion a deep and quite rough stretch of ocean while the western side is protected by a long barrier of rocks making for a fantastic snorkeling and swimming spot.  It was so calm that Lisa even wanted to get in for a dip!  Lisa called me over to take a look at an Eagle Ray she’d found underwater when the Morwong pictured here flew past and I happened to have my spear drawn, I landed him in the side of the head and Lisa’s now going to be eating fish for the better part of a month!  Definitely the biggest fish I’ve ever landed on spear or line, it was so heavy I struggled to get it out of the water and it bent my spear head whilst I was carrying it.  I wasn’t sure what type of fish it was until asking master fisherman Matt Little, luckily it has some nice white flesh and Lisa has been enjoying it for dinner for the past few nights.

It’s back off into some arid country from here for us as we begin our way across the Nullarbor Plain, we’ll definitely hold the southwestern corner of Western Australia (Margaret River, The Southern Forests and The Great Southern) fondly in our memories.  Such a brilliant portion of the country with so much to experience.  Time and time again we were taken aback with the awesome campground facilities provided by Western Australia’s Department of Environment and Conservation: always with toilets, the occasional shower, wood provided if campfires are allowed…  And the shire campsites provided by the towns of Albany and Esperance at places like Betty’s Beach and Munglinup Reef were also awesome, some of the best campsites we’ve visited anywhere so far.  The fact that we had most of the spots to ourselves made it all the more fantastic.

Never one to resist a country town bakery, I convinced Lisa on lunch at The Crossings Bakery in Pemberton (it didn’t take much convincing) before exploring a portion of Gloucester National Park.  A climb up the 60 meter (197 feet) trunk of the Gloucester Tree was quite a workout, amazing views from the top over the canopy of the forest making up Gloucester National Park.  The towering eucalypts in the forests in southern Western Australia are used as lookouts by firefighters, the tallest trees in each portion of the forest have metal stakes driven perpendicular to their trunk to form a makeshift staircase.  The Gloucester Tree is one of the few trees used as lookouts open to the public.

We spent our first night in The Southern Forests at a beautiful campsite alongside the Warren River in Warren National Park (S34°30.569′ E115°57.693′).  Our spot not only had a fire pit and picnic table with benches but also a private staircase leading down to the pristine waters of the Warren River.  A really fantastic spot, so peaceful and tranquil in amongst the towering Karri Eucalypts with not a sound but the trickle of the river.  I took a dip in the river, talk about icy, lucky for The Tank’s hot shower!  From Warren National Park we stopped off at The Cascades in Gloucester National Park on our way back into Pemberton for another day of wine tasting.  Lisa called ahead to Picardy Winery, an appointment only establishment north of Pemberton, hoping to organize a tour of one of the better known wineries in the region.  Whilst waiting for a call back we took a scenic drive through the rolling hills surrounding Pemberton, stopping at Mountford Winery (where they also brew some tasty ciders), Silkwood and finally Salitage Winery.  Dan Pannell, the winemaker at Picardy, called Lisa back and we were treated to an in-depth tour and tasting of his establishment.  An outspoken but humorous bloke, Dan spent more than an hour with Lisa tasting her through all the varieties grown on his family’s estate, Pinot Noir being the highlight for Lisa.  I was fortunate enough to taste everything on offer as well, while my taste buds aren’t anywhere near as tuned as Lisa’s I did very much enjoy some of the drops on offer in the Picardy barrel cellar.

From Pemberton the South Western Highway makes its way through Shannon National Park and back to the coast near Walpole.  On recommendation from staff at a couple of the wineries around Pemberton we instead decided to make our way down through Northcliffe (Western Australia’s wettest town [even wetter than all those towns up north in the tropics!]) and to the sleepy fishing settlement of Windy Harbour (S34°50.187′ E116°01.538′).  We’re glad we took the locals’ advice: Windy Harbour lies in a protected cove beneath the majestic cliffs of Point D’entrecasteaux, the vistas from the cliffs in the afternoon sun were brilliant and the campsite in amongst all the holiday shacks was a great spot.  Windy Harbour immediately reminded us of some of the small hippy settlements along the Mendocino Coast…  During our afternoon in Windy Harbour we explored beautiful Salmon Beach then along the top of the cliffs to the tip of Point D’entrecasteaux and some of the lookouts in-between.  A very rugged but beautiful area of the country…  On our way back to Northcliffe and the South Western Highway we stopped off at Mount Chudalup, where we spent an hour climbing to its peak for 360° views of D’entrecasteaux National Park and the ocean in the distance.  As we made for the highway we attempted to find Lane Pool Falls in the wilderness area east of Northcliffe, but after the better part of an hour driving in what seemed like circles on a myriad of logging trails we called in quits and made a beeline for Walpole.  We ducked into Fernhook Falls in Frankland River National Park on our way to Walpole, the tea color of the Deep River was more pronounced at the falls than anywhere else we’d seen in the region, the tannins from decomposing plants responsible for the colour.  Even though the water is coloured deep brown, the Deep River is supposedly the most pure river in Western Australia, avoiding agricultural areas for over 95% of its 120 kilometer (75 mile) length. 

Street View: S33°59.247′ E114°59.536′

What a beautiful area of the country!  After a week or so in Fremantle with our brilliant host Sam Harkin we made our way to the Perth airport to pick up a mate of mine with whom I studied in the States and started our journey 300 kilometers south to the beginning of the Margaret River region.  Sergey was on vacation from New York, visiting us in Western Australia for his first trip to the Land Down Under, then to Sydney and stopping off in Hong Kong and Tokyo for work on the way home.  It’s no wonder the Margaret River is such a burgeoning tourist region, we could probably have amused ourselves in the area for a month with wineries, local artists’ studios, fantastic bakeries, surfing, fishing, snorkeling, hiking…  It’s the first time on our trip that Lisa and I have really missed our mountain bikes, the whole peninsula from Dunsborough to Augusta is crisscrossed with hiking trails, all of which are open to mountain bikes.  Maybe one day we’ll have to come back with our bikes! 

We spent the first few days of our time in Margaret River at the northern end of the peninsula near Yallingup.  A few of Sam Harkin’s mates grew up in the area and had given us some suggestions while we were in Fremantle, the first of those a great snorkeling spot in the beautiful secluded waters of Bunker Bay just west of Dunsborough.  I took my spear with me and unfortunately had a meter-long Mulloway wriggle off its tip just as I was about to get it out of the water.  The big one that got away!  It would have been enough fish to feed Lisa and Sergey for week…  The lighthouse and walking trails at Cape Naturaliste at the northern tip of the Margaret River region are set along some absolutely beautiful coastline, we spent some time along one of the walking trails watching Southern Right Whales frolic in the waters a few hundred meters off the rocky shore.  We ran into some divers making a beeline for the water near the beautiful Sugarloaf Rock, rock lobster and abalone season had just started in Western Australia so the locals were anxious for some fresh seafood.  We sampled our first Margaret River wines at Wise Winery near Dunsborough, a majestic setting overlooking the tranquil waters of Geographe Bay and the surrounding forests.  We left Wise with the first of many Margaret River wines, a Sauvignon Blanc Semillon we enjoyed with dinner that night at Yallingup.

After sampling the gourmet fare at the Margaret River Bakery one morning and exploring some of the hiking trails around nearby 10 Mile Brook the weather unfortunately took a turn on us as the skies opened up and continued doing so for the better part of a week.  Inclement weather was a good excuse for us to make a solid day of wine tasting at some of Margaret River’s plethora of estates, in one afternoon I chauffeured Lisa and Sergey to: Cullen Winery, Pierro Winery, Sandalford Winery and Woodlands Estate.  We also stopped off at Bootleg Brewing Company (my choice for the afternoon) as well as the Natural Olive Oil Soap Factory.  The next day we scored a quick break in the weather, enough time for a hike around 10 Mile Brook dam, before visiting Leeuwin Estates, Voyager Estates, the Margaret River Chocolate Company (Lisa’s choice!), Margaret River Nuts and Cereals (you would have loved it Jacque) and a few of the brilliant woodworking galleries dotted through the area.  So much to experience!  At Pierro Winery it was good to catch up with a Saint Marks old collegian, Chris Chen, who’s the winemaker and viticulturist at the award winning establishment.  He gave the three of us a great tour of the winery, good to have a chat after almost 10 years away from university.  Had it not been for the rain and him having to spray his vines late into the night we would have caught up for dinner and a few drinks as well…

The northern end of the Margaret River peninsula is pretty much completely devoid of campgrounds, caravan parks were our only choice so we couldn’t really give Sergey the true Aussie experience.  However, once we reached Prevelly and later at Conto and Chapman Pool we were camping in the bush with a fire each night and had all our campsites frequented by a range of wildlife.  At Conto we had a mother kangaroo with her joey come in to feed while we were sitting by the fire, Kookaburras watching us intently from the surrounding peppermint trees and also had a Bandicoot visit once the sun had gone down (I’d never before seen a Bandicoot in the wild).  Sergey rented a wetsuit for the week he was with us and bought his first mask and snorkel, intent on ventureing into the ocean at every opportunity possible.  In addition to taking a look below the surface at northerly Bunker Bay we also snorkeled at Gnarabup Beach, Conto Spring and Hamelin Bay.  The 300 meter swim out to Mushroom Rock in Hamelin Bay was a little eerie, traversing 10 meter deep waters frequented by Port Jackson Sharks, but it was a treat for us to all see a massive Eagle Ray on the way out.  Sergey turned back with the chills before reaching Mushroom Rock but Lisa and I were rewarded with probably the best cold water snorkeling spot I’ve ever seen, deep crevasses and caves to swim through and an endless array of colorful sponges and algae lining the ledges.  There were plenty of fish to watch too, the two Mulloway that cruised by when we were out there were quickly earmarked by Lisa as the next type of fish she’d like me to spear for her and Sergey’s dinner!

From Hamelin Bay we ventured further south through our first dose of the majestic Karri Eucalypt forests of Western Australia’s south.  The Karri are Australia’s largest trees, growing up to 90 meters in height and thus also making them one of the tallest trees on the planet.  A few small pockets of Karri escaped logging in the early twentieth century, we took a drive through the Boranup Forest one morning and were in awe at the size of some of the towering trees.  The huge eucalypts coupled with the undergrowth of luscious green ferns and myriad of different smells in the forest made it quite a surreal experience.  The photos here definitely don’t do it justice…

From the Boranup Forest it was a quick drive to the most southerly town on the Margaret River peninsula: Augusta.  A sleepy resort and fishing town with yet another good bakery, Sergey took quite a liking to Australian bakeries during his visit, always sampling a sweet and a savory item at each one we visited.  A short drive south of Augusta took us to the lighthouse at Cape Leeuwin, the point at which the Indian and Southern Oceans meet and a good spot to view the rugged coastline extending up to Cape Naturaliste. 

We left the Margaret Region proper to spend a night inland at Chapman Pool, a tranquil spot along the Blackwood River in Blackwood Conservation Park.  Sergey and I ventured into the icy waters of the Blackwood River for a swim during a spell between downpours, a refreshing dip that I wouldn’t have fancied had we been without a campfire to coax blood back to the surface of our bodies!  From Chapman Pool it’s off to the Southern Forests region of Western Australia for us and for Sergey it’s Sydney.  It was fun having a visitor along for the ride for a week with us, the Margaret River is such a beautiful part of the world, I can definitely see us making a return trip one day…