Your Margaret River Region Magazine - Summer 2015/16

01 | SUMMER 2015/2016 | $4.95

magazine Launch issue!

Where to eat, drink and explore in the Margaret River Region this summer.

Lau n c h i s s u e!

WIN a stay for two at

romantic Injidup Spa Retreat

Launch issue!

Where to eat, drink and explore in the Margaret River Region this summer.

OUR SUMMER PICKS OF WHERE TO STAY, WHAT TO EAT, DRINK AND DO FOOD | DRINK | STAY | PLAY | DISCOVER margaretriver.com

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Editor’s Letter |

magazine Published by PREMIUM PUBLISHERS Freemasons Hall, 181 Roberts Road, Subiaco WA 6008 (08) 9273 8933 EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Gabi Mills gabi@premiumpublishers.com.au ART DIRECTOR Cally Browning cally@barecreative.com.au DESIGN & ILLUSTRATION Alyssa Karvinen alyssa@premiumpublishers.com.au

W

elcome to the brand new Your Margaret River Region Magazine. We’ve had such fun putting it together for you to read. Whether you’ve never visited the area before or you return every year, we hope that you’ll find stories to entertain, inform and inspire you during your time in this beautiful part of Western Australia.

You’ll discover new places to take the kids, just like Jessica Gethin, Perth Symphony Orchestra’s conductor did with her young family of ‘gingernuts’. There are new restaurants to enjoy, like Barnyard 1978, producing its own handmade pasta, vineyards to hone your palate, and events like the South West Craft Beer Festival to discover new flavours and friends along the way.

It’s an area rich too in artists and craftspeople, and we spent some time getting to know three extraordinary men of wood - be sure to visit a gallery or two while you’re down south. And if you’re feeling creative while you’re on holiday, why not learn a new skill like cheesemaking or photography – the region is rich in talented individuals, keen to share their experience.

We’re certain you’ll find a place to call home during your time in the Margaret River Region, whether you’re a foodie, in search of romance or have the kids in tow. And if you’re here over the festive season, we’ve done the hard yards for you and discovered where to grab a drink and a feed over this special time of year.

So find a shady spot, pour yourself a cold one and kick back with us, as our pages invite you to make the most of our favourite part of the world - the Margaret River Region.

Gabi

SALES MANAGER Natalie du Preez (0426 752 352) natalie@premiumpublishers.com.au SALES Kevin Farrell (0417 931 829) PHOTOGRAPHIC Elements Margaret River elementsmargaretriver.com.au CONTRIBUTORS Dianne Bortoletto, Norman Burns, Anna Hartley, Nic Jameson, Mia Lacey, Beverly Ligman, Russell Ord, Anthony Pancia, Claire Tonon, Mark Wahlsten.

ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES sales@premiumpublishers.com.au EDITORIAL ENQUIRIES gabi@premiumpublishers.com.au

All rights reserved. No material published in this magazine may be reproduced in whole or part without prior written authority. Every endeavour is made to ensure information contained is correct at time of going to print. For competition Ts and Cs visit ymrr. co/summer. ©2015 YOUR MARGARET RIVER REGION MAGAZINE is published quarterly by Premium Publishers on behalf of the Margaret River Busselton Tourism Association.

Visit premiumpublishers.com.au

Share pics, videos and thoughts during your stay via our social media.

We’ll repost our favourites!

The Margaret River Region

@margaretriver

@MargaretRiver #margaretriver

Stay up to date with the latest news and offerings.

Subscribe to our e-news at ymrr.co/summer

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To make a booking visit avis.com.au or local freecall 1800 679 880

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Contents | issue 1 |

Summer 2015/2016

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30

60 42

8 YOUR CALENDAR Top events this summer in the Margaret River Region Eat & Drink 14 Rich history - places to stay with a past life 18 Barnyard 1978 - make a date for some handmade pasta 20 Stocking up the holiday pantry 22 Where to eat this festive season 26 South West Craft Beer Festival - top tipples to try 30 Where to stay - something for everybody

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34 Top drop - explore the region’s distilleries Wine & Wineries

Arts & Wellbeing

36 Voyager Estate’s innovative approach to wine-tasting

52 Crafty work - learn new skills

38 And Fido came too - our favourite pet-friendly wineries

54 Go with the grain - the art of wood

42 Wine expert Rob Geddes’s top local summer wines

58 Shopping spree - top fashion stores

Nature & Environment

Active & Adventure

44 Getting away from it all - rural retreats where privacy rules

60 Wave rider - surfer Jacob Willcox’s passion

48 Welcome to Country - join the Koomal Dreaming tour

62 Local hero - Sean Blocksidge, tour guide

50 Trip the lighthouse fantastic - the Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse

64 Mastering the ocean - waterwise skills

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COVER IMAGE Elements Margaret River

68

It's your l I S T Is hiking the

Cape to Cape Track on your bucket list?

Or is it finding the region’s top drops?

Maybe it’s learning to surf?

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26 68 Adventure time - join an off-the-beaten-track tour 70 My family getaway - Perth Symphony Orchestra’s Jessica Gethin DIRECTORY | Places to stay, eat, drink and visit - our handy business directory Stay....................................................................................................................................................................................72 Food & Drink...................................................................................................................................................... 76 Activities & Art ...............................................................................................................................................77 Wine & Beer........................................................................................................................................................ 79 Tours................................................................................................................................................................................. 81

For a comprehensive range of tours and things to do visit margaretriver.com/tours or call (08) 9780 5911 margaretriver.com

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Your calendar |

The best summer events in the Margaret River Region | JANUARY

| DECEMBER

Lauren goes solo

See the stars . . .

under the stars

A

s the sun goes down and the stars come out, the Cape Mentelle gardens transform into an outdoor cinema beside the vineyard’s beautiful vines. With cult favourites and box-office hits projected onto the big screen, and the spectacular natural environment as the backdrop, it’s the ideal recipe for the perfect summer evening in Margaret River.

Arrive early to experience the stunning sunsets the area is famous for and enjoy live music every Wednesday and Friday. Relax in a deckchair or beanbed and enjoy gourmet food matched with a glass or bottle of your favourite Cape Mentelle wine.

Kicking off in December, the programme has something for everyone.

And if you can’t get enough of watching movies outside, Happs Wines and Caves House Hotel also screen films during the summer months.

Cape Mentelle, 331 Wallcliffe Road, Margaret River.

Visit capementelle.com.au

Best of the best THOUSANDS OF ATHLETES, spectators and volunteers are expected to descend on Busselton on December 6 for the 11th annual SunSmart IRONMAN Western Australia event.

Over 1,600 athletes competed last year, with the title taken by Frenchman Denis Chevrot in the men’s division and New Zealand’s Britta Martin for the women.

Great weather conditions combined with spectacular views and the incorporation of iconic sites into the race, such as the Busselton Jetty, has seen the event’s popularity grow enormously from its first outing in 2004. Athletes will be competing for 40 qualifying spots for the 2016 IRONMAN World Championship in KailuaKona, Hawaii.

Spectators keen to see these real-life superheroes in action at the Busselton foreshore can check out eu.ironman. com/triathlon/events/asiapac/ironman/ western-australia for more information.

2015 WAS SUPPOSED to be a quiet year for designer turned award-winning Perth artist Lauren Wilhelm, but it was not meant to be.

She opened her new studio space to the public for the Margaret River Region Open Studios event at the beginning of the year, and has committed to a solo exhibition at Jahroc Gallery opening on December 27. As she puts it, “I often need a bit of pressure and adrenalin to get me going and, although I think I should relax, it doesn’t often help with my creative process”.

Her solo exhibition at Jahroc in Margaret River will be her14th solo exhibition since she started painting seriously in 2004, as well as exhibiting in New York City.

Nationally and internationally collected, Lauren’s work often inspires unusual and hard to define feelings in viewers. A sense of nostalgia often mixed with a wry humour, her paintings are sometimes mildly sinister, but it’s difficult to put your finger on why.

“I like to hold a feeling when I’m painting, and sometimes it creates an emotional response in the viewer, I’m told. The work can seem a tad dark but hopefully in a bittersweet way.”

| JANUARY

amaze’n MARGARET RIVER

Having studied at Curtin University in Perth, Lauren won a scholarship to study traditional printmaking techniques in Budapest, Hungary, for six months in the early 90s, a time that she says deeply influenced her and helped her to grow both artistically and emotionally.

“I’m inspired by history and man’s seeming refusal to learn from it, and my paintings offer an obtuse look at hubris whilst still trying to evoke a stillness and sweet melancholia. By referencing the style of the classical ancestral portrait and including an animal which doesn’t have historical symbolism and/or is quite commonplace like a guinea pig or a pigeon, I’m commenting on our frailty – all of us, humans and animals alike.”

Celebrating Busso RUNNING EVERY YEAR since 1964, the Festival of Busselton has offered a wide range of fun and family-friendly activities for locals and visitors alike. Festival time is synonymous with summertime and the 2016 programme, running from January 6 to 27, is jam-packed with arts and crafts, sporting events, or live entertainment events.

The Battle of the Bands, the annual Rotary Float Parade, Tasar World Championships, Aerial Fire Fighting, Flare demonstration, outdoor Deck Chair Theatre, sandcastle competition, a pet parade and the ever popular Teddy Bear’s Picnic will all be vying for your attention at the festival, culminating in the symbolic burning of the Spirit of the Festival sculpture by local artist Mark Everson on the final night.

A portion of the sculpture is preserved from year to year and incorporated into the following event to represent the ongoing spirit of the Busselton Festival.

MARGARET RIVER MAZE, GARDENS, MINI GOLF & CAFE

For full details and to download the 2016 event program, visit festivalofbusselton.com.au

Lauren’s exhibition runs from December 27 to January 16 2016 at Jahroc Gallery, Bussell Highway, Margaret River.Visit laurenwilhelm.com

Tel: 08 9758 7439 Giant Hedge Margaret River Maze, 18 Hole Mini Golf and 5 ha Botanical gardens, 4km south of Margaret River More mazes, games and puzzles amongst the gardens | Unusual WA native plants, attracting abundant birds and wildlife | BBQ’s, picnic ground, playground | Amazen café overlooking Amazen gardens and lake for breakfast and lunches | Wheelchair accessible paths

9978 Bussell Highway, Margaret River findus@amazenmargaretriver.com.au

www.amazenmargaretriver.com.au margaretriver.com

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Calendar | | JANUARY

Big Top, big fun

E

ver fancied yourself a daredevil swinging on a trapeze high above an adoring crowd? Or wondered what goes on behind the scenes among an international circus troupe? If so, the Western Australian Circus Festival is for you.

Now in its 10th year, it takes place on a beautiful property in Karridale during the Australia Day weekend from January 23 to 25, 2016.

The 2016 festival will bring together an array of the most talented world class circus artists ever seen in this part of Australia with theatrical, dangerous, comical and physical shows set to amaze and entertain the crowds. Going from strength to strength, the 2016 event will feature the brand new big top with a capacity of 600, and an awe-inspiring evening show on the outdoor ampitheatre stage.

There’s certainly plenty for everyone, with afternoons full of circus workshops and kids shows.

With locally brewed Lunar Circus Lager from Bootleg Brewery and fine regional wines on offer, the shows continue until

midnight with the renowned and hugely popular late night cabaret finishing the evening with style.

Those wishing to take part in the unique event can even bring their campers and set up camp right next door in the paddock of generous neighbour to The Lunar Circus.

For more information and tickets, visit lunarcircus.com

JBT heads to Leeuwin

E

ach year, Leeuwin Estate stages a series of alfresco concerts on their picturesque grounds as part of the winery’s ongoing association with and sponsorship of the arts. And this year, their annual Family Concert, to be held just ahead of Australia Day, is bringing together the highest grade of home-grown music around: The John Butler Trio and The Waifs.

The John Butler Trio have been touring their energetic roots/rock music almost non-stop this year, playing iconic festivals and concerts around the world to bigger and bigger audiences, while The Waifs have just released their seventh studio album Beautiful You to critical acclaim and received rapturous reviews

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on their recent tour.

Take a picnic and enjoy alfresco music on the lawns at Leeuwin

margaretriver.com

Estate Winery in Margaret River.

Watch this space too for Leeuwin’s hallmark concert in Feburary – lineup

to be announced.

Leeuwin Estate Family Concert, January 23. Visit leeuwinestate.com.au

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Bands abound

at Southbound

et in the beautiful natural surrounds of Brookland Valley Vineyard and overlooking the waters of Wilyabrup Brook, Flutes Restaurant has earned a reputation as one of the region’s finest dining experiences.

Executive Chef Francois Morvan brings an exotic mix of his French training plus a reverence for local seasonal produce to create a continually-evolving menu beautifully matched to their Brookland Valley wines.

Flutes Restaurant is open seven days a week from 11am for morning tea, noon for lunch.

Kitchen closes at 3.30pm.

Will open for dinner for 10 or more people, bookings essential.

(Exclusive hire fee applies)

Y

ou’d have to have been living under a rock and in another country with noisecancelling headphones on for the last decade or so to have missed the musical happening that is Southbound, but for the sake of argument, let’s pretend that’s exactly what you’ve been doing.

In what is set to be the biggest year in its 10-year history, south-west music festival Southbound 2016 will feature an enormous line-up of international and home-grown talent from January 8 to 10, such as Bloc Party, Hilltop Hoods, Weird Al Yankovic, Birds of Tokyo, Django Django, The Wombats and

the excellently named King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard. With options to purchase day or multiple night camping tickets, the Southbound gang have really mastered the art of attracting music lovers to their site, as well as feeding, watering and entertaining them.

This year’s show includes an extra night of entertainment in the form of Friday Night Fever and a large sideshow of talented comedians to keep the belly laughs coming between sets.

Southbound, January 8 to10. For more information and booking details, visit southboundfestival.com.au

Weddings and functions welcome.

4070 Caves Road Wilyabrup 6280 Margaret River Wine Region

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Calendar | | FEBRUARY

IN THE SWIM EVER SINCE ITS inception in the 90s, the Busselton Jetty Swim has grown from a local event to an internationally recognised event attracting in excess of 2,000 competitors - and 2016 marks the event’s 21st birthday.

Like any self-respecting 21-year-old, it will be throwing a huge party in the form of two days’ worth of entertainment, activities and family-friendly fun around the event.

The swim itself, a 3.6km swim around the Busselton Jetty will take place on the morning of Sunday February 14, 2016, including solo competitors, and relay teams of two and four. Running in parallel to the swim will be a bunch of other activities, including the Celebrity Stand-Up Paddle Board Race, which will see various local identities partner up with a member of the Busselton community to participate in a fierce battle for SUP Supremacy. For those not so keen on getting wet, there’s always the SunSmart Beach Classic Games.

As the name suggests, all the classics will be present: egg and spoon relays, three-legged races, sack races, and tug of war among others.

Those intending to participate in the egg and spoon relays in particular are advised to begin their training schedule now.

Check out busseltonjettyswim.org.au for all the event information and timing.

SOUTH WEST

Craft Beer Festival

T

he South West Craft Beer Festival returns to the beautiful grounds of Old Broadwater Farm in 2016 for a full day’s celebration of the region’s best craft breweries.

The festival celebrates the amazing craft beer that is brewed locally in the South West region of Western Australia, combined with gourmet food matches, a range of wine and cider for the non-beer lovers and live tunes from the South West’s best artists. Expect beers on tap plus pub grub with a fresh South West twist, set against a merry-go-round of groovy home-grown beats and wine, sparkling and cider for the non-beer drinkers.

The South West Craft Beer Festival, Old Broadwater Farm in Busselton, Saturday February 13.Tickets are on sale now via Oztix. Read our preview on page 26.

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ANNOUNCING A L P H A BE T I C A L L Y

ALPINE ◊ BIRDS OF TOKYO BLOC PARTY ◊ BØRNS COURTNEY BARNETT DISCLOSURE ◊ DJANGO DJANGO ◊ FOALS GANG OF YOUTHS ◊ GARY CLARK JR HALSEY ◊ HIATUS KAIYOTE HILLTOP HOODS ◊ JARRYD JAMES KILTER ◊ KING GIZZARD LIZARD WIZARD KURT VILE VIOLATORS ◊ LITTLE MAY THE MACCABEES ◊ MAC DEMARCO MEG MAC ◊ OH WONDER ◊ PACES PAUL KELLY & MERRI SOUL SESSIONS RÜFÜS ◊ SAN CISCO ◊ SETH SENTRY SOAK ◊ TA-KU ◊ TORO Y MOI 'WEIRD AL’ YANKOVIC ◊ THE WOMBATS YOUNG FATHERS ◊ AND MORE ART VS SCIENCE ◊ THE DANCING ACCOUNTANT DEATH DISCO DJ'S ◊ ELLIPHANT FUNK CLUB SUPERSTARS ◊ HWLS KOI CHILD ◊ PILERATS DJ'S ◊ AND MORE ADAM ROZENBACHS ◊ BECKY LUCAS NAZEEM HUSSAIN ◊ NICK CODY RANDY ◊ TIEN TRAN AND THE

AND THE

FEATURING. CLAIRY BROWNE, DAN SULTAN, KIRA PIRU, VIKA AND LINDA BULL

(LIVE)

| MARCH

FRIDAY NIGHT FEVER> BRAND NEW OPENING NIGHT PARTY, DISCO INFERNO FANCY DRESS THEME!

CREATE, EXPLORE, EXCITE

EACH YEAR, CREATIVE entrepreneurs, thought-leaders, change-makers and professionals from music, film, advertising, digital and the

visual arts travel to one of the world’s most beautiful locations, Margaret River, for a worldclass conference embedded in a mind-blowing creative festival.

By bringing together creatives from a wide range of areas, the four-day event encourages participants to look beyond their own specialisation and broaden their thinking.You’ll leave inspired, refreshed and ready to create something great.

But it’s not just a conference: you’ll enjoy concerts showcasing the country’s best emerging musical acts, exhibitions with work by local artists, meals in the region’s famous wineries, light installations and countless other happenings.

It’s the perfect way to start your creative year.

From March 16 to 19 Emergence Creative Conference & Festival.Visit emergencecreative.com for more information.

SOUTHBOUND COMEDY

SIR STEWART BOVELL PARK BUSSELTON FRIDAY 8TH - SUNDAY 10TH JANUARY 2016

TIX ON SALE NOW FROM MOSHTIX

FOR MORE INFO GO TO SOUTHBOUNDFESTIVAL.COM.AU

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Eat & Drink |

Past,

present

future New venues in the region are springing up, breathing new life into old buildings and taking architectural recycling to new levels.

THE FIRESTATION BAR, BUSSELTON If you’re parched on a roasting hot day, it makes perfect sense to head to The Firestation to put out that inferno. Built in 1936, the old Busselton Firestation was being used right up until 25 years ago but these days it’s home to something altogether more crafty. With a focus on organic and natural wines from local and Aussie producers, what really makes this place rock is its carefully curated collection of craft beers.

There are four regular taps (Eagle Bay’s Pale Ale, Colonial’s Kolsch and Young Henrys’ Real Ale are notable local inclusions) while the other rotating guest taps keep real ale fans on their toes. Foodies aren’t forgotten either with a thoroughly modern approach to pub grub. Think lamb, haloumi, red onion jam and dukkah pizza, or chipotle pulled pork sliders.

If you’ve got a thirst emergency, this is the

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place to come for a cooling jar or two.

THE FIRESTATION, 68 Queen Street, Busselton.

Call 08 9752 3113 or visit firestation.bar for info on special events and opening hours.

LAUNDRY 43, BUSSELTON The clue is in the name - the once iconic Busselton Dry Cleaners has been converted into a unique bar and eaterie. It’s not hard to imagine the building’s previous incarnation: clothes hanging where the bar now is, the red brick wall lined with steam presses and the kitchen home to large dry cleaning machines rather than hard-working chefs. Now you’re more likely to find a whole different rinse cycle thanks to the witty, modern menu which includes a strong international flavour. There’s falafels with hot eggplant, crispy whiting with a tart Japanese cucumber salad with citrus miso and caramelised

free range pork hock with a refreshing green papaya salad. Cocktails are a big drawcard here too with the Laundry 43 mixologists creating ‘tastebud confounding’ signature cocktails.

Just the place to air your dirty laundry with a bunch of friends, perhaps.

LAUNDRY 43, 43 Prince Street, Busselton. Call 08 9754 1503 or visit laundry43.com.au for events and opening hours.

MARGARET RIVER GUEST HOUSE, MARGARET RIVER Get thee to a nunnery takes on new significance in the unlikely setting of Margaret River.

Shakespeare’s famous line could be taken literally in this case as the guest house, steeped in history, was built for a group of Anglican Sisters of the English Order of St Elizabeth of Hungary in 1928.

Wearing the traditional grey habits that led to

COWARAMUP St Francis calling the nuns ‘little grey sparrows’, the original inhabitants of this gorgeous property moved out in 1957. The original chapel still exists, now renovated, with gothic windows and a door forming part of the house which can be viewed while you enjoy breakfast.

Welcoming guests since 1969, the guest house now offers free wifi throughout with various accommodation options for families and couples.

Take a scrumptious Devonshire tea and, as part of their Great Escape package, enjoy a three-night stay, full-day wine tour (including lunch), breakfast and that indulgent tea, as well as a bottle of Margaret River wine and cheese platter on arrrival.

The nuns would approve of such hospitality.

MARGARET RIVER GUEST HOUSE, 5-7 Valley Road, Margaret River.Tel 08 9757 2349 or visit margaretriverguesthouse.com.au

TM

CANDY & FUDGE

GOURMET FOODS

WINE TASTING

BODY & BATH

GIFTS & GALLERY REJUVENATED Venues given a new lease of life, such as The Pourhouse, The Firestation and the ArtGeo Cultural Complex, are delivering a real buzz to the region.

SAVOUR THE FLAVOUR OF THE SOUTHWEST CORNER OF BOTTRILL STREET & margaretriver.com | SUMMER 2015 15 BUSSELL HIGHWAY, COWARAMUP

Eat & Drink |

NEW LIFE The region’s past is preserved through some very cool places to eat, drink and stay, like The Firestation, left, and, above, the Margaret River Guest House.

ARTGEO CULTURAL COMPLEX, BUSSELTON For such an important building in Busselton’s cultural and historical identity, the ArtGeo complex has a rich heritage related directly to the birth of the town itself. Few places in

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Busselton have played as important a role in the town’s development, acting from its earliest days as the hub for controlling shipping and customs, law and order and government over 120 years.

Built in 1860, the buildings are a rare remnant of this early colonial style, when the work of a pair of WA’s most famous architects - Richard

Roach Jewell and George Temple Polle - began to create buildings of national significance.

As Busselton grew and developed, the complex evolved too until it became a thriving arts centre in 1984.

Now visitors can enjoy a cuppa in the Old Post Office Tearooms where in the past

important correspondence would have been sent far and wide. In the Courthouse Gallery you’ll find beautiful sculptures and artworks for sale where once justice was served, while in the ArtGeo Gallery, contemporary and representational artworks are displayed, the old jarrah floors a beautiful juxtaposition to the dazzling white walls and brand new art now hanging on its walls.

Comprising of old gaol cells, stables, sergeants quarters and a courtroom, it would be hard to imagine a more fascinating cultural complex in Australia; a must-visit for anybody to the region.

THE ARTGEO CULTURAL COMPLEX, 4-7 Queen Street, Busselton. Call 08 9751 4651 or visit artgeo.com.au for current exhibitions, events and opening times.

BUSSELTON GUEST HOUSE, BUSSELTON Known as ‘Beds by the Bay’, the Busselton Guest House is the oldest B&B in the area with a special secret squirrel role in World War II. The buildings were relocated from the decommissioned World War II communications base in the mid-1950s and set up as a Lodging House.

The beautiful vintage building is an authentic slice of this style of architecture, making it the perfect historic base to explore the area. And who knows what coded messages were passed from this unlikely spot during the war, so far from the battlefields of Europe and beyond?

Nowadays you’ll find a fully renovated character residence, set on a huge plot with peppermint trees, spacious lawns and gardens tended by the owners - Michael and Beth Jones.

Tuck into a hearty brekkie (eggs, bacon, sausage - the lot) and if you’re really keen to explore the area in style, why not arrange to be picked up in the couple’s 1960 Chevvy?

But shh . . . you didn’t hear it from us.

BUSSELTON GUEST HOUSE, 125 Adelaide Street, Busselton, 6280.

Call 08 9754 4519 or visit busseltonguesthouse. com.au for information.

life stories Bridgefield Guest House, Margaret River It’s the local landmark that welcomes visitors to the township, sitting at the entrance of Margaret River with its jolly red roof tiles on its turrets, eves and timber panels. The oldest guest house on the Margaret River, it’s a picture-postcard ex-coach house which offers the traditional B&B brekkie and accommodation in a picturepostcard setting.

Visit booking.com/BridgefieldGuestHouse

The Pourhouse, Dunsborough It’s hard to imagine, but The Pourhouse on Dunn Bay Road was the site of the old dive school back in the day. Would-be Jacques Cousteaus would jump into the concrete tank and swim through a tube in the bottom. Nowadays it’s all about craft beer with 12 rotating ales and over 100 bottles from around the world on offer.

Visit facebook.com/thepourhousebarandkitchen

The Beer Farm, Metricup The Beer Farm team are celebrating the news that their licence has been just been granted. The old dairy buildings, modified and fitted out with state of the art brewing equipment, will make a great addition to the Margaret River Region’s microbrewery community.

Watch this space for opening hours.

Visit thebeerfarm.com.au

Dunsborough Rail Carriages and Farm Cottages Spend the night in a lovingly restored historic jarrah rail carriage and let the romance of rail take you away from the stresses of the modern age. Perfect for a couple’s retreat, the carriages are fully equipped with a cute kitchenette, TV, private ensuite and self-contained open plan living area. There are plenty of animals who share the 100-acre farm property too including roos, llamas and chickens.

Visit dunsborough.com

REST, RELAX, RECONNECT Romantic, secluded, self contained chalets with candlelit sky-view spas, Kingsize double beds and tranquil forest outlooks, on 240 acres of natural beauty.

Forest Rise – 231 Yelverton Road, Yelverton | Margaret River Wine Region Phone (08) 9755 7110 or email relax@forestrise.com.au WWW.FORESTRISE.COM.AU

FOREST RISE ECO RETREAT M A R G A R E T

R I V E R margaretriver.com SUMMER 2015 17 Your Private Escape |

Eat & Drink |

It’s pastalicious The team behind Barnyard 1978 couldn’t be more passionate about locally sourced ingredients for their new pasta-focused eaterie. Head chef Jamie Alexander shares his inspiration and vision for the future. | by GABI MILLS

T

here’s a reason why Barnyard 1978 is so named, says Jamie Alexander, the Kiwi head chef who’s made the South West his home now for the past 12 years.

“We’ve got chickens out the back who produce our free range eggs, and in due course we’ll have a kind of farm produce shop,” he says, getting ready for another busy lunchtime service.

For the past few months, Jamie and his team in the Barnyard 1978 kitchen have been perfecting the art of making fresh pasta. Thanks to the big viewing window, customers can also see the alchemy of eggs and flour turning into silky strips of fettuccine or ridged rigatoni tubes coming to life before their eyes.

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“We love our pasta,” says Jamie. “The crowd favourite is the confit duck and spinach rigatoni.”

No explanation needed - that combination certainly hits the spot with this hungry journo.

And if you fall in love with Jamie’s creations, relax: they sell the pasta to take home too.

Every day, Jamie comes up with eight or so varieties, including all-natural flavourings like capsicum, squid ink or spinach. Creative combinations show real class behind the pasta machine - ricotta and cauliflower ravioli, smoked cheddar eggplant tagliatelle served with brazil nut pesto and squid ink campanelle and preserved lemon.

“We get our vegetables from the Busselton Farmers’ market,” Jamie says.

And thanks to those happy little chooks pecking around out the back, you can be sure that each and every piece of pasta couldn’t be more local.

Setting up a new kitchen from scratch was, for Jamie, a real ‘pleasure,’ a task given to him by owners Raminta and Egidijus Rusilas.

Jamie’s golden beetroot cake

“We’re creating a relaxed, family-friendly vibe in the restaurant, serving breakfast and lunch at the moment,” he says.

“There’s a playground out the back and we’ve got a kids’ menu too - cheesy tomato rigatoni, croquettes with salad or a playground pack.”

If pasta’s not your thing, there’s plenty to choose from, including sharing plates stacked with local star ingredients including smoked mussels, squid tentacles in a romesco sauce, or an antipastoinspired collection of meats: cured venison, cacciatora, pancetta terrine and local bread.

“We make all our own desserts too,” says Jamie, “and they’re all gluten free.”

No excuse then not to finish off your feast with chocolate brownie and cream or Jamie’s favourite, a golden beetroot cake.

“We’ll follow the seasons with the menu,” says Jamie, who cites a namesake - Jamie Oliver as his food hero.

“I like the way he has principles and campaigns for important issues, unlike other chefs who just turn up on TV and take the money.”

So watch this space for the Margaret River Region’s very own Jamie - his pasta is worth making the trip to Yallingup alone.

BARNYARD 1978, 12 Canal Rocks Road, Yallingup. Open 7 days, 11am to 5pm. Call 08 9755 2548 or visit barnyard1978.com.au.

It’s easy to create Jamie’s delicious, gluten free treat at home.

Ingredients 230g self raising, gluten-free flour 250g golden beetroot puree 100g white chocolate 125g butter 200g sugar 3 free range eggs Method Cream the eggs and sugar then melt together the butter and chocolate. Fold into the egg mix the butter and chocolate, then the puree and flour. Bake in an oven at 170 degrees for around 35 minutes.

MAKE A DATE Barnyard 1978 is one of the newest restaurants in the south west, with a strong focus on handmade pasta, delicious sharing plates and creative desserts produced by head chef Jamie Alexander (top).

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Eat & Drink |

Fancy pantry You’re on holiday but you gotta eat, right?

Fortunately there are plenty of delicious opportunities to stock up the larder with sensational local produce. | by GABI MILLS TASTY TREATS Top, The Larder is a wonderful place to stock up. Above and left, a visit to Simmo’s is a must-do part of many visitors’ time in the region. Right, Providore is a foodie’s treasure trove.

THE LARDER If foodie heaven had an address, it would be The Larder in Margaret River. Champions of locally produced fare, like venison from a farm just 15km from the field to the fridge, Bettenay’s Nougat and Yallingup Woodfired Bread, The Larder can rightly claim to be one of the region’s premier gourmet retailers.

If you don’t fancy cooking during your break down south, then their ready-made meals are a godsend; I gobbled up a Thai green curry with baby corn and pumpkin but equally could have taken back to my resort blue cheese and honey risotto with toasted hazelnuts or The Larder’s famous spinach and red lentil dahl. Concert-goers drop by on the way to Leeuwin to pick up a gourmet picnic hamper bursting with delectable antipasti, dips and chocolate treats from Gabriel’s.

For the summer season of movies at Cape Mentelle, you can pre-order your hamper and

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SIMMO’S ICE CREAM

collect it at the venue before settling in for a night under the stars, watching a flick. Or how about a breakfast fit for a king? Think free-range eggs, vine-ripened tomatoes with a homemade relish, Yallingup wood-fired bread and butter.

The pantry never tasted so good.

THE LARDER | 2/99 Bussell Highway, Margaret River. Call 08 9758 8990 or visit larder.biz

It’s as hot as an oven out there, so naturally your thoughts turn to ice cream. And in Dunsborough, that can mean only one thing: Simmo’s. The father-and-son team started small with an old Irish recipe and a tiny ice cream machine on Commonage Road. Things have progressed somewhat since those days as Simmo’s now produces over 60 flavours, has bagged loads of awards and was recently voted one of the top 15 ice creameries in the world by USA Today. Turn up at the Simmo’s mother ship near Dunsborough and enjoy a scoop or three in the beautiful shady gardens, with plenty of things for the kids to do - like playing golf and avoiding

having their ice cream cones gobbled up by the resident emu.

Take home a tub of Simmo’s to Go and you’ll have the delicious dilemma of choosing which flavour to pig out on in the comfort of wherever you’re staying during your visit to the region.

We love Apple Pie, Salty Caramel Swirl and, for something a little refreshing, Blood Orange sorbet.

SIMMO’S ICE CREAM | 161 Commonage Road, Dunsborough. Call 08 9755 3745 or visit simmos.com.au

PROVIDORE A purveyor of provisions doesn’t really do one of the Margaret River Region’s foodie gems justice.

Providore is a wonderland for gourmands keen to track down some of the best local produce around and, thanks to the ever-changing selection of food to taste, it’s a real treasure trove for the palate.

They make their own verjuice (a wine-like seasoning so beloved of Maggie Beer), tapenade, dessert sauces and preserved fruits, while they also harvest and press their own estate-grown olive oil and wine.

It’s possible to stock up the entire pantry from morning through to a nightcap (don’t miss out on a snifter of their own chocolate liqueur, Sambarino) from the Providore shelves. Particularly useful for the keen would-be MasterChef are the readyto-go risotto and cake mixes and, even better, you can order Providore produce online - the perfect reminder of your stay in the south west.

PROVIDORE | 448 Tom Cullity Drive, Wilyabrup.

Call 08 9755 6355 or visit providore.com.au

MARGARET RIVER FARMERS’ MARKET The Margaret River Farmers’ Market has taken its place as a star attraction of the region for over 13 years. From humble beginnings, the market has grown to be a Saturday morning fixture with up to 50 stalls, filled to the brim with produce from local shires and surrounding south west farms and small holdings. There’s a breakfast bar and usually music fills the air as shoppers meander between stalls, picking and choosing whatever catches their eye. All the colours of the rainbow can be found at this thriving local hotspot, with flowers, fruit, vegetables, cheese and baked goods all vying for attention. Gottard and Marion Bauer’s Yallingup

Woodfired Bread will sell out quickly so get there early, and then head over to the Cambray sheep cheese counter for a slice of oozy cheese to spread on that freshly baked bread. There’s chocolate from Bahen & Co and organic produce from Burnside Organic Farm.

MARGARET RIVER FARMERS’ MARKET | Margaret River Education Campus, Lot 272, Bussell Highway, every Saturday all year round from 8am to noon, April to November, and from 7.30 to 11.30am from December to March.

Visit margaretriver.com/wine-gourmet/producemarkets/ for information about farmers markets in Vasse, Dunsborough and Busselton too.

TASTING BAR • WINE LOUNGE • RESTAURANT • ART GALLERY • TOURS Open Daily 10AM - 5PM Caves Road (Cnr Tom Cullity Drive), Cowaramup WA 6284 Phone 9756 5000 Restaurant Reservations 9756 5050

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Eat & Drink |

Festive

feasting

Getting away for Christmas and the New Year break can be the ultimate relaxation, but finding a place open for lunch or dinner can induce major stress. Here’s our pick of the region’s best, open and ready to help you celebrate. | By DIANNE BORTOLETTO

CAPE LODGE The award-winning restaurant at boutique hotel Cape Lodge is open for Christmas and New Year’s Eve. Recently and tastefully refurbished in calming hues of white and cream, sit down to a sumptuous six-course Christmas lunch with matched estate wines for $265 per person.

In elegant surrounds with serene views over the dam to the forest beyond, executive chef Michael Elfwing will ensure your taste buds know Christmas has arrived.

New Year’s Eve will be celebrated in style with an evening of superb food, fine wines and great music provided by Sydney outfit Beautifully Mad, blending acoustic jazz, folk and blues.

The six-course dinner with matched estate wines is $295 per person. There are also special accommodation packages for both Christmas and new year stays.

Cape Lodge, Caves Road,Yallingup,WA 6282.

Call 08 9755 6311 or email stay@capelodge.com.au.

Visit capelodge.com.au

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SOUTH WEST CONCIERGE Another option is to enjoy a catered Christmas or New Year celebration in your accommodation. The South West Concierge can arrange a private chef, professional service staff, table linen, decorations, entertainment and all the trimmings to make your Margaret River Region’s festive season something truly special. Whether it’s an eight-course fine dining degustation or a family-friendly seafood feast, Sophie Gooch and her team will take care of it. They’ll even clean up, leaving you with nothing to do except enjoy the company of loved ones.

They can stock your house or rental with your favourite foods and necessary provisions ready for your arrival, saving you time queuing with the masses at the supermarket.

South West Concierge. Call Sophie Gooch on 0477 571 293 or email admin@southwestconcierge.com.au.Visit southwestconcierge.com.au.

MORRIES To see in 2016, go the fro and glitter up for a 70s disco party at Morries, in the centre of Margaret River. The night begins with a five-course dinner prepared by Executive Chef Tony Howell for $149 per person including a glass of bubbly on entry and at midnight; add $40 for matched wines and a cocktail. Alternatively, just come along for the after-dinner party with live music and DJ for

f ish’n’chips with a gourmet twist

The perfect take-away option for the beach or the river.

E njoy some today!!

COOKING UP A STORM Let somebody else do the hard work over the festive season - the region is blessed with some fabulous eateries, like the newly opened The Common (right and below).

www.squidlips.com.au

$25 entry at the door. Head back to Morries in the morning for a boozy Bloody Mary breakfast to help ward off the effects of the night before.

Morries, 2/149 Bussell Hwy, Margaret River WA 6285. Call 08 9758 8280 or email enquiries@ morries.com.au.Visit morries.com.au.

THE COMMON By the beach in Gnarabup, The Common is hosting a family-friendly afternoon on New Year’s Eve with musician Michael Triscari playing roots, reggae and folk and set menu dinner for $80 per adult (kids menu as usual), followed by a live performance of contagious groove, rhythm and soul by Katie J White. After-dinner revellers are welcome for $25 entry at the door.

The Common, 1 Resort Place, Margaret River WA

6285. Call 08 9757 1586 or email functions@ mrhg.com.au.Visit thecommonbistro.com.au.

SETTLERS TAVERN On New Year’s Eve enjoy a normal bistro dinner service up until 8.30pm at Settlers, before the party kicks off with Rock Band 43 Cambridge and local surf blues, pop and soul band V12 Cadillacs.

Tickets are $25. Closed on Christmas Day. Settlers Tavern, 114 Bussell Hwy, Margaret River WA 6285. Call 08 9757 2398 or email info@ settlerstavern.com.Visit settlerstavern.com.

SQUIDLIPS is a must do For lovers of high quality seafood, delicious chips & fresh, healthy salads.

DUNSBOROUGH

Ph: (08) 9759 1799

Dunsborough Centrepoint Shopping Centre Shop 27A, 55 Dunn Bay Rd LAMONT’S, SMITHS BEACH For those who want to dine out on New Year’s Eve but prefer to leave the partying to others, book your table at Lamont’s at Smiths Beach.

MARGARET RIVER

Ph: (08) 9757 9960 Settlers Tavern Arcade 118 Bussell Hwy

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Eat & Drink | On New Year’s Eve, enjoy a five-course degustation dinner with glass of sparking wine for $160 per person, or head to the function room for a fun Family Carnival that includes piñatas, face painting, and interactive food stations for $75 per adult and $40 per child.

Other Side of the Moon Restaurant, Pullman Bunker Bay Resort, 42 Bunker Bay Road, Naturaliste,WA 6281. Call 08 9756 9100 or visit pullmanbunkerbayresort.com.au.

ABBEY BEACH RESORT As the largest resort in the South West, you’d expect Abbey Beach Resort to put on a pretty impressive spread for the festive season – and you wouldn’t be wrong. Set right on the beach in Busselton, the team at Abbey Beach take great pride in spoiling guests. On Christmas Day the popular deluxe lunch buffet, served in the Atrium Restaurant, is the perfect opportunity to showcase the local Margaret River Region wines and produce. Lunch includes a twohour beverage package inclusive of selected local wines, premium and light tap beer and soft drinks. And watch out kids, Santa may be dropping by too. If you’re staying to see in the New Year, there’s a delicious buffet dinner, again in the Atrium, with music and entertainment to welcome the first few hours of 2016.

Abbey Beach Resort, 595 Bussell Highway, Busselton, 6280. Call 1800 017 097 for package pricing or visit abbeybeachresort.com.au.

The usual à la carte menu and wines are available for selection, and for those who wish, you can see in the New Year by raising a glass of one of the region’s best with fellow diners.

Lamont’s Smiths Beach, Smiths Beach Road, Yallingup WA 6282. Call 08 9750 1299 or email smithsbeach@lamonts.com.au.Visit lamonts.com.au/venues/smiths-beach.

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PULLMAN BUNKER BAY RESORT The Other Side of the Moon restaurant at Pullman Bunker Bay Resort is offering a Christmas buffet lunch featuring antipasto, seafood, a carvery station, salad bar, whole salmon station, cheese, dessert and more, a glass of sparkling wine and complimentary soft drinks for $170 per adult and $70 to $90 per child, with children under four years eating for free.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS Above, Abbey Beach Resort is the perfect place to celebrate the festive season this year.

Left, head to Pullman BunkerBay Resort’s restaurant, The Other Side of the Moon, for an extraspecial Christmas buffet lunch.

Nestled in the heart of Margaret River's famous Wilyabrup sub-region you'll discover the awe-inspiring Sandalford Margaret River Estate vineyard.

You can see in the New Year by raising a glass of one of the region’s best with fellow diners

*Mention this ad to

RECEIVE A 10% DISCOUNT off any full price purchase.

With 105 hectares under vine on a 300 hectare property, this is one of the largest family owned vineyards in Margaret River, consistently producing world class, award winning wines.

O t h er i deas AS NEW YEAR’S EVE falls on a Thursday, the region’s wineries are open as usual for tastings, and those with restaurants are open for lunch.

Why not see 2016 in at Caves House Hotel (above) where the historic venue will host a party from 4pm til 1am.

CAVES HOUSE HOTEL, 18 Yallingup Beach Road,Yallingup WA 6282. Call 08 9750 1888 or email reception@ychh.com.au.Visit caveshousehotelyallingup.com.au.

OPEN DAILY FOR WINE TASTING AND SALES FROM 10AM TO 5PM. Some Public Holidays excluded.

777 Metricup Road, Wilyabrup P 08 9755 6213 W www.sandalford.com margaretriver.com

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Hop on board

The South West Craft Beer Festival in February will showcase the cream of the region’s boutique breweries, cider makers and much, much more.

Norman Burns reports.

DOUGH … the stuff… that buys me beer RAY… the guy that sells me beer ME … the one… who drinks the beer FAR … a long run to get beer SO … I’ll have another beer LA … I’ll have another beer TEA … no, thanks, I’m drinking beer That will bring us back to (looks into empty glass) D’OH! ~Homer Simpson

I

’m not sure if Duff Beer qualifies as a craft brew but there’s no denying Homer Simpson’s homage to this most-excellent of beverages is right on the money. And beer lovers will be in seventh heaven in February when the best boutique brewers in the region get to strut their stuff at Old Broadwater Farm, near Busselton, for the South West Craft Beer Festival.

Now in its fifth year, the South West Craft Beer Festival promises to be bigger and better than ever, with more than 60 brews to tempt your tastebuds.

Add in samples of the South West’s finest food, some cool and groovy beats on three stages, and you’ve got a day that ticks all the

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boxes. Brewers will also be vying for the honour of the Boilertronics South West Beer of the Year.

The head brewer of each attending exhibitor (at the time of going to press 16 brewers and cideries, plus a winery, were confirmed starters but many more were expected to be added to the list of exhibitors) will nominate one beer for the contest, the winner getting a $1,000 cash prize - but more importantly, a massive publicity boost and bragging rights with their peers.

The $30 admission (plus booking fee) will include one plastic cup and four tasting tokens (smart festival goers will ensure they have a nondrinking designated driver for the day) and gates will open from 10.30am, with drinks service

from 11am. The event winds up at 7pm.

So whether you’re an ale guy/woman, lager drinker, wheat beer aficianado, have a pale ale preference, look to the dark (ale) side or really love your cider and perry, the South West Beer Festival is going to have something for everyone.

Here, we take a look at just some of the great South West boutique breweries and cideries, and their star products.

BLACK KITE BEVERAGE CO A family-owned-and-run business, the Margaret River-based Black Kite Beverage Co has carved a niche making an alcoholic ginger beer, Zenzero, and an alcoholic lemon, lime and

bitters, Citro Bitter. Says Black Kite: “We make boozy drinks with the best fruit juices, roots and herbs we can get and we try to source as much as we can from local producers.”

Visit blackkite.com.au BOOTLEG BREWERY The Margaret River Region’s Bootleg Brewery has been handcrafting a range of multi awardwinning ales and lagers since 1994. For the festival, it brings, among others, its Raging Bull Dark Ale to the table. And, as its name suggests,

WIN

LOTTA BOTTLE Bootleg Brewery (left) handcrafts its award-winning ales and lagers.

two double passes to the South West Craft Beer Festival, on February 13, 2016.

Valued at $30 each.

To enter, visit ymrr.co. Good luck!

HANDCRAFTED BEERS EATS + WINE ALL DAY GRAZING

OPEN EVERYDAY FOR EVERYONE 11am - 5pm ph:08 97553554

2015 27 | eaglebaybrewing.com.au margaretriver.com

SUMMER

Eat & Drink | this is no shrinking violet of a beer - it weighs in with a 7.1% alcohol content, and the combo of three Australian specialty malts and Tasmanian Pride of Ringwood Hops generates intense flavours of coffee and dark fruit. Like the original Raging Bull, boxer Jake LaMotta (memorably portrayed by Robert De Niro in the movie of the same name), this packs quite a punch.

Visit bootlegbrewery.com.au

MASTER BREWERS Above, the team at the Eagle Bay Brewery create preservative-free beers at their family-run boutique brewery.

BUSH SHACK BREWERY Chilli Beer, Chocolate Beer, the intriguingly named Pharaoh’s Spelt Beer and Dirty Dan’s Dark Delight are just four of the brews on offer from family-owned Yallingup microbrewery, the Bush Shack Brewery. It began as the Wicked Ale Brewery in the 1990s and now Danial and Coralie Wind specialise in creating all-natural, unfiltered brews, as well as producing flavoured wine-based drinks. For something different, try Scream’n Cream’n or Mango Madness.

Visit bushshackbrewery.com.au

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CHEEKY MONKEY BREWERY & CIDERY The Cheeky Monkey Brewery & Cidery has been creating beautiful handcrafted beers and cider since 2012. Cheeky Monkey is taking bold steps and expanding into canning their brews.

So for summer 2015, you’ll be able to take a Cheeky Monkey can of beer or cider with you on picnics and days out – perfect for the esky.

Expect seasonal brews and the hoppy Hagenbeck Belgian IPA, a mid-strength called Travelling Monk, plus ciders and more.

Visit cheekymonkeybrewery.com.au

COLONIAL BREWING CO Based in the heart of the Margaret River Region, the Colonial Brewing Co produces a wide range of superbly crafted beers, from draught to pale ale to witbier (wheat beer) and special “project” brews in which it encourages its brewers to “think outside the box”. The latest of these project brews is the Grapefruit Kristallweizen. A Kristallweizen is the filtered version of the traditional German wheat beer Hefeweizen, where the yeast is removed from the beer giving it a sparkling clarity. Says Colonial: “German wheat beers are renowned for the yeast that is used which creates candied banana, clove and sometimes smoky, aromas. We thought grapefruit would be a nice complement to these flavours, plus we had about 200kg growing on our orchard at the brewery property.” Colonial peeled the grapefruit, dried the skins and added these to the last couple of minutes of the “boil” to extract the zesty flavour of the fruit.

The result, says Colonial, is what should be the “perfect beer” for summer - nice biscuit flavours from the malt, thick, creamy mouth feel from the wheat, candied banana and clove from the yeast and the grapefruit adding refreshing citrus flavours and some bitterness. Sounds delicious.

Visit colonialbrewingco.com.au

Born & Brewed

BUSSELTON

OPEN FROM 10AM TO 6PM. LUNCH SERVED FROM 11.30AM TO 3.30PM WITH PIZZAS AVAILABLE TIL 5PM EVERYDAY.

BREWERY & CIDERY MA R RG A R E T RIVE

DUNSBOROUGH YALLINGUP

Y

AT CHEEKY MONKEY WERE BLESSED WITH AN IDYLLIC LOCATION ON THE FAMOUS CAVES ROAD. IT’S A LOCATION THAT AFFORDS THE KIND OF SPACE THAT LETS KIDS PLAY FREE WHILST YOU RELAX, KICK BACK AND ENJOY A LONG LUNCH.

LH W

MONKEY

THE SOUTH WEST CRAFT BEER FESTIVAL is being held on February 13 2016. Tickets are $30 each, with entry including a beer glass, four tasting tokens and entertainment. Visit swbeerfest.com.au for details

SEL

CHEEKY

MARGARET RIVER ALE CO Owned and operated by Settlers Tavern in Margaret River, the Margaret River Ale Co offers four brews; founder and owner Rob Gough says its Rockin’ Pale Ale, a beer inspired by those produced in northern California and Oregon, is a “must try”. Says Rob: “Distinctive US hops - called Cascade - provide clean and bitter flavour on the palate. Late-added Cascade flowers are spicy and aromatic, with delicious pine and citrus-like aromas. Pale barley malt is the main ingredient behind the fruity, toasted malt flavour, while a touch of lightly roasted darker malt gives this beer its rich golden hue.”

We’re thirsty already.

Visit settlerstavern.com/view/food-wine-beer/ margaret-river-ale-company

BUS

EAGLE BAY BREWING CO Eagle Bay Brewing Co’s modus operandi is beer, pure beer - fresh rainwater, malted barley, yeast and atmosphere. Says Eagle Bay: “No preservatives or nasty stuff in our beers.” The family-run boutique brewery brings its own take on various beer styles - including a light and summery Kolsch (4.7%), an Americanstyle Pale Ale (5.1%) and, something to warm

the cockles of the hearts of many an Englishman, an Extra Special Bitter (5.4%).

Visit eaglebaybrewing.com.au

C AV E S R D

CUSTARD & CO Smack bang in the middle of the south west’s prime apple growing country, Donnybrook’s Custard & Co produces some kick-butt ciders (a Vintage Dry Apple Cider, Scrumpy Apple Cider and Original Apple Cider).

Custard is proud to push the envelope with its products. “Using just whole local fruit we make beverages in the true style with the help of our own wild yeast strain and some bonkers thinking.” they say. “We are one of the only breweries to be proud, wild yeast, open fermenters letting the ferments naturally brew, so they can take two or eight weeks.

Sometimes Mr Custard is seen hugging the tanks to make them go quicker.”

Visit custardco.com.au

COWARAMUP

GRACETOWN

THERE’S A CHEEKY SIDE IN ALL OF US,

let yours run wild!

PREVELLY

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ROSABROOK MARGARET RIVER

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4 2 5 9 C A V E S R O A D , M A R G A R E T R I V E R , W A , 6 2 8 5 | P H O N E : 9 7 5 5 5 5 5 5 | W W W. C H E E K Y M O N K E Y B R E W E R Y. C O M . A U

Eat & Drink |

A place to call one’s own

Dianne Bortoletto chooses her top places to stay if you’ve got kids in tow, are a foodie or wear your heart on your sleeve.

T

here’s something about the Margaret River Region that leaves an indelible imprint on the hearts of all who spend time in this very special part of south west Australia. The ancient natural surrounds, beautiful scenery, sense of space and feeling of calm are melded with activities and attractions for those who love action, adventure, family fun, treating their taste buds, romance, peace and quiet, beach, forest, native bush, quirky shopping, keeping busy, doing nothing, artisan products, artist studios, not to mention blissful luxury spa pampering, mean that there really is something for everyone.

I’ve put together my (personal) list of the best places to stay for families, foodies and those looking for a romantic getaway.

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FAMILY FIRST 1. Mandalay Holiday Resort & Tourist Park Since 1964, Mandalay Holiday Resort and Tourist Park has welcomed families from far and wide, attracted to the resort’s kid-friendly facilities. Owners Clive and Margaret Johnson are proud to offer a stay which ticks the boxes for all the family. However families with youngsters in tow will particularly love the heated pool with its shallow beach, rainbowcoloured waterslides, a giant jumping pillow, three adventure playgrounds and the games room where they can play pool and table tennis.

It’s also possible to hire bikes to cycle the

4km to Busselton, right along the beach. Nearby attractions like Busselton Jetty, wineries, and beaches will keep boredom at bay too. There’s a variety of accommodation on offer too, from two- and three-bedroom chalets to cabins and well-maintained camping facilities.

If you’ve opted for a tent and swag holiday, then campers are well-catered for with a camper’s kitchen, undercover BBQs, laundromat with dryers and a useful shop selling ice, bait and tackle if you fancy trying your luck at catching your supper. Memories, say Clive and Margaret, are made at Mandalay - and who are we to argue? .

WHERE: Mandalay Holiday Resort & Tourist Park, 652 Geographe Bay Road, Broadwater. Call 1800 248 231or email info@mandalayresort.com.au.Visit mandalayresort.com.au

FOODIES REJOICE 1. Cape Lodge Located on its own vineyard in the heart of the Margaret River Wine Region, driving into Cape Lodge is a drive into a world of understated elegance. It’s an excellent choice of accommodation for those who appreciate fine food and ticks all the boxes for romance too. This boutique hotel is a member of Luxury Lodges of Australia.

2. Margarets Beach Resort Just 10 kilometres from the town of Margaret River and just 500 metres from pristine Gnarabup Beach is Margarets Beach Resort, an idyllic seaside spot. The four-star apartment-style accommodation is a great base for memorable family holidays with easy access to the region’s world-class wineries, ancient caves, national parks, nature walk trails, surf breaks and other outstanding attractions and tours.

The resort facilities include an outdoor swimming pool, children’s playground, Foxtel, free DVD hire, bike hire and free wifi in all apartments.

Margarets Beach Resort has a range of accommodation options - one-bedroom spa apartments, two-bedroom apartments and townhouses with and without spas, as well as studio-style apartments. There is also a fourbedroom beach house which sleeps up to eight people for larger families or groups. The fully equipped apartments make self-catering easy, or opt out and have breakfast at the nearby local favourite White Elephant Beach Café or dinner onsite at newly opened The Common restaurant.

TIP: Ask for an apartment with ocean views from the master bedroom – there’s nothing better than waking up to a view of Surfers Point.

WHERE: Margarets Beach Resort, 1 Resort Place, Gnarabup Beach, Margaret River,Western Australia, 6285. Call 08 9757 1227 or email stay@margaretsbeachresort.com.au.Visit margaretsbeachresort.com.au

3. Margaret River Holiday Cottages Whether you are looking for a base from which to explore or need time to relax and unwind, Margaret River Holiday Cottages are a good choice for comfortable, clean and affordable accommodation in central and peaceful surroundings.

Situated on the edge of the town, the cottages are set on four hectares of parkland adjoining

a natural reserve that has a number of walk trails, perfect for wildflower spotting in spring.

Further yonder, you’ll capture vistas of adjoining wineries. There’s a viewing seat where you can sit and watch the kangaroos and birdlife. Enjoy the peace and tranquillity of the country in a beautiful setting on the edge of town.

There’s a central playground for the kids, an indoor pool and games area, and space for them to run around and tire themselves out.

There’s a range of accommodation options to suit couples and families of up to nine people, or better yet, get together with friends and enjoy a group holiday but have the convenience of your own cottage. The cottages are cosy and simple and make a great affordable option.

WHERE: Margaret River Holiday Cottages, 185 Boodjidup Road, Margaret River,WA 6285. Call 08 9757 2185 or email stay@mrholidaycottages.com.au.

Visit mrholidaycottages.com.au

STUNNING SETTING Top, family fun at Mandalay Resort, Busselton. Above, Cape Lodge is one of the most beautiful places to stay in the region, and home too to some top tucker. Opposite, Injidup Spa couldn’t be more romantic - a real paradise for lovers.

It’s only minutes away from fabulous beaches and is close to renowned wineries including Vasse Felix, Moss Wood, Pierro and Cullen.

Set on 13 hectares that includes two-and-a-half hectares of vines, lakes and dams, Cape Lodge has 22 secluded rooms, a quaint two-bedroom cottage and a magnificent five-bedroom private luxury residence that has accommodated musician Sting and a who’s-who of chefs from around the world. The restaurant is a drawcard and an experience no foodie should miss. It has been voted in the world’s top ten for food in Condé Nast Traveller’s Gold List for good reason.

The menu changes daily and the superbly crafted dishes can be matched with premium vintage margaretriver.com

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Eat & Drink | wines from the extensive temperature-controlled wine cellar stocked, incredibly, with 14,000 bottles.

Cape Lodge has also opened a Gourmet Retreat and hands-on Cooking School, led by executive chef Michael Elfwing, especially designed for culinary enthusiasts.

WHERE: Cape Lodge, 3341 Caves Road,Yallingup Western Australia. Call 08 9755 6311 or email stay@capelodge.com.au.Visit capelodge.com.au

2. Cullen Wines Homestead Organic food and wine fans will love dining in the restaurant at Cullen Wines, one of the oldest wineries in the region.You can stay there too, in

GREEN AND PLEASANT LAND Book into one of the region’s many rural properties, like Cullen Wines Homestead or Willy Bay Resort, above right, and you’ll wake up with nature all around you.

the adjacent historic homestead, a short walk away.

Located in the heartland of wine country, Cullen Wines Homestead is a 15-minute drive to Gracetown’s surf beaches, 20 minutes from Margaret River town and 30 minutes from Dunsborough.

The homestead, which was built in 1976 by winery founders Diana and Kevin Cullen, is constructed from local granite rock, has a stunning open fireplace and sweeping panoramic views of the countryside and vineyards.

The main homestead has three bedrooms, one bathroom and sleeps up to five guests.

There is also a studio that may be booked in addition to the homestead, which has an additional three bedrooms, one bathroom and sleeps up to seven guests.

The unique accommodation provides an insight into what it was like to live in the Margaret River Region during the pioneering days of this world famous wine region. It’s wellappointed for corporate or family use, including your furry family member (pets by arrangement) and has a tennis court, barbecue and wifi.

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WHERE: Cullen Wines Homestead, 4323 Caves Rd,Wilyabrup WA 6280. Call 08 9755 5277 or email accounts@cullenwines.com.au.Visit cullenwines. com.au/at-the-winery/accommodation/

DIY HOLIDAYS Where there’s good wine, there’s good food and the Margaret River region is a case point. The fertile soil and environmental conditions that create the exceptional fruit for wine-making are also perfect for growing outstanding produce.

Enjoy the region’s bounty by shopping at the farmers’ markets (held every Saturday morning), speciality gourmet stores and stopping at farm gates as you explore. For foodies that don’t mind cooking, self-catering accommodation allows you to really experience and understand why Margaret River is a food-lovers’ paradise. If you’d rather leave cooking to the professionals, then putting together a gourmet platter couldn’t be easier in this part of the world.

Cruise around during the day, perhaps stop for lunch at a winery restaurant or great café and stay

in at night and chill out as you graze on platters of cheese, sliced fruits, local cured salami and venison chorizo, pate, dips, artisan wood-fired bread, crisp crackers, and sticks of locally-grown celery, carrots and capsicum. Pair it with fantastic Margaret River wines, the chardonnays or cabernets are particularly renowned.

Rent a stunning executive house, a petfriendly family house, a central townhouse, cute cottage, beachside chalet, an apartment or serviced hotel apartment – the choice of accommodation ranges from opulent to original, luxury to quirky, high-end to budget and everything in between.

Check out margaretriver.com for a huge choice of self-catering accommodation – whether it’s just for you, the two of you, or your whole tribe.

A good choice for serviced hotel apartments is Darby Park Apartments in the heart of Margaret River town, strolling distance from the main strip’s cafés, restaurants, bars and pubs.

WHERE: Darby Park Apartments, Corner of Bussell Highway and Tunbridge Street, Margaret River, 6285.

Call 08 9757 2033 or email relax@darbypark.com. au.Visit darbypark.com.au

HEARTS AND FLOWERS 1. Injidup Spa Retreat Injidup Spa Retreat is Western Australia’s bestkept secret. Located in the heart of the Margaret River Region, this intimate coastal retreat promises tranquillity, fabulous ocean views and indulgent spa treatments in one of the world’s most naturally beautiful settings. It’s a perfect

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setting for a romantic getaway for two.

The pace is unhurried, the beach uncrowded and the surrounding Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park offers walking trails on the Cape to Cape Track and cultural heritage A member of Small Luxury Hotels of the World, Injidup Spa Retreat has a reputation of exceptional comfort and pampering. It has received rave reviews from Gourmet Traveller, PRIMOLife and The Daily Telegraph.

The two-bedroom villas all have their own

Besides the stunning surrounds and levels of comfort, the main drawcard is the day spa offering wellness therapies such as tension release and pregnancy massage, pure radiance and ultimate age-defying facials, and purifying body mask and Himalayan crystal salt glow.

Within the spa’s cool, calm interior are two single-therapy rooms and another designed just for couples. There are also morning and afternoon meditation and yoga sessions. And, breathe out.You’re guaranteed to float out of

two nights for two at an Injidup Spa Retreat Villa, valued at $1,300.

To enter, visit ymrr.co/summer.

Good luck!

plunge pool, decked terrace and private barbecue overlooking the magnificent Injidup Bay. Inside, the decor is French-influenced with crisp tones offset with an eclectic mix of furnishings and objects d’art.

there feeling so much better.

WHERE: Injidup Spa Retreat, Clairault Road, Injidup Bay,Yallingup,Western Australia, 6282. Call 08 9750 1300 or email reservations@injidupsparetreat.com.au.

Visit injidupsparetreat.com.au

2. Willy Bay Resort Turn up the romance at one of the region’s newest accommodation offerings. Leave the stresses and hassle and bustle of city life behind you as you enter Willy Bay Resort, a AAA rated 4.5 star (selfcatering) luxury retreat set amidst 30 hectares of beautiful natural bush and parkland. With their chalets offering lake, vineyard and forest views, the property is situated beside thousands of hectares of state forest.

Located mid-way between Busselton and Margaret River, in the heart of the renowned Margaret River Wine Region, Willy Bay Resort is surrounded by world class wineries and local producers of gourmet delights.

The resort offers a total of 24 rooms - ten 2-bedroom rammed-earth chalets, twelve beautifully appointed 1-bedroom studios and two 2-bedroom chalets, spaciously designed to suit your whole family. They take pride in offering visitors a quiet, private getaway, and their chalets have everything you’ll need to be self-sufficient during your stay. All chalets are fully equipped with gourmet Europeanstyled kitchens, travertine marble flooring,wide screen HD LCD TV with complimentary Foxtel and free view channels, reverse cycle air conditioner, personal outdoor BBQ on your patio. Linen and towels provided along with complimentary tea and coffee. Wifi is available in all chalets.

Willy Bay Resort is the perfect base to enjoy the peace and tranquility of the region or to venture out to sample the delights the region offers.

WHERE: Willy Bay Resort, 266 Metricup Road, Metricup,Western Australia, 6280. Call 08 9755 7575 or email reservations@willybayresort.com.au.Visit willybayresort.com.au

Celebrating 42 years of Australian Jewellery Handmade in the South West

Workshop Showroom: 51 Marrinup Dve. Yallingup (Just off Caves Road) 08 9756 6336

Gallery Collective:

Art to Wear Since 1973

johnmillerdesign.com

101 Busssell Hwy Margaret River CBD (Opposite Visitor Centre) 08 97579494

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Eat & Drink | SPIRITED AWAY The region is making a name for itself as a vibrant home to spirits, like gin from West Winds and whisky from The Grove.

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Still life

First wine, then craft beer. Now the Margaret River Region’s distilleries are putting West Australian-made spirits on the national, and international, stage.

By NORMAN BURNS.

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istilled spirit: An alcoholic beverage (such as brandy, whisky, rum, or arrack) that is obtained by distillation from wine or other fermented fruit or plant juice or from a starchy material (such as various grains) that has first been brewed.

Well, that’s the cold, hard scientific definition of a distilled spirit, but I am sure those behind The Grove Experience, The West Winds Gin and The Great Southern Distilling Company - three WA distilleries at the vanguard of the state’s spirit boom - would also argue that a tonne of imagination, dedication and plain ol’ love goes into making their products special.

Wilyabrup’s The Grove Experience produces whisky (a limited edition, $1,000-a-bottle single malt), an American-style whisky and more, and the Margaret River Region’s The West Winds Gin, well, gin - but with a unique twist, adding native plants such as lemon myrtle, bush tomato and wattle seed into the (secret) mix.

The Great Southern Distilling Company began in Albany and has just opened a second distillery in Margaret River. Its Limeburners whisky has already collected a slew of awards and the company was in the running in late November for two prestigious gongs at the International Wine and Spirits Competition (IWSC) Annual Awards in London - Asia Pacific Spirits Producer of the Year and overall Distiller of the Year Award.

So, if you’re more a fan of the top shelf than the wine rack, there’s a great reason to check out the Margaret River region’s distilling scene.

THE GROVE EXPERIENCE The story behind the story goes like this; the Hughes family ran The Grove as a winery but, with their interest waning, looked to diversify.

Coincidentally, their neighbours used to give them a load of lemons and when someone suggested they make Limoncello out of the fruit a penny dropped. Their success with Limoncello fired up the Hughes’ interest in creating other liqueurs and eventually spirits, the final piece in the puzzle completed with the arrival of native-Alaskan-turned-WA-resident and expert distiller James Reed. Co-owner Val Hughes says

Reed is a great asset as The Grove Experience now produces boutique batches of ‘bourbonstyle whiskey’, rum, spiced rum, gin, absinthe, flavoured vodkas - and its pièce de résistance, that $1,000 a bottle whisky. Just 90 were made, all are presented in a collector’s case, and savvy whisky aficionados are snapping them up.

been short-changed, those swarthy seagoing types would add gunpowder and set it alight.

If the spirit burned, it was the real McCoy. So next time you’re teeing up an afterwork G&T, look for the WA brand with a difference.

The Grove Experience, 491 Metricup Rd,Wilyabrup.

Ph (08) 9755 7458, or visit thegroveexperience.com.au

THE GREAT SOUTHERN DISTILLING COMPANY

THE WEST WINDS GIN Launched in 2011 with two offerings - The Sabre (40% with toasted Australian wattleseed) and The Cutlass (50% and incorporating kutjera, or native bush tomato), The West Winds Gin has gone from strength to strength, winning awards in San Francisco, New York and Melbourne, the use of unique Australian botanicals proving a real talking - or should that be drinking - point.

West Winds has since added The Broadside (58%) and what founding partner Paul White says is a ‘navy strength’ drop. That is, the spirit that used to be supplied to Britain’s Royal Navy was supposed to be above 57%. To ensure they hadn’t

A warm reception is just the beginning..

Visit thewestwindsgin.com

With its flagship brand, Limeburners Single Malt Whisky, winning international awards for eight years running, Albany’s Great Southern Distilling Company could rightly claim to be the state’s leading boutique distillery. And now the Margaret River Region gets a taste of what’s been wowing ’em in Albany with the opening of a new distillery right in the heart of town. The distillery, on the corner of Carters Road and the Bussell Highway, features a 200-seat tavern, cellar door tasting and sales, distillery and private function space.

Says Great Southern Distilling Company founder Cameron Syme: “This is a fantastic achievement, and I congratulate the team who has worked with me on delivering this exciting project. I thank the builder, John Bett and his team, who have collaborated with us and built a fantastic venue which Margaret River can be proud of.”

“I’m really excited about what we will be able to do at our distilling ‘centre of excellence’ in the Margaret River Region. We chose this location specifically for some key products based on local produce and here will focus on gin and mixed grain whisky.”

Visit distillery.com.au or limeburners.com.au

Wyndham Resort & Spa Dunsborough Toll Free: 1800 200 007 dunsborough.reservations@wyn.com www.wyndhamAP.com Non-Club apartments subject to availibility

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Wine & Wineries |

Voyage

ofdiscovery

Arriving at a winery can be daunting - how do you get the most out of your tasting experience?

Claire Tonon, Voyager Estate’s sommelier has some tips.

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f you’re visiting the Margaret River Region for the first time, you’ll be blown away by the sheer number of wineries and bewildered by the amount of wines available to try. In fact, for somebody new to the area, it can be quite overwhelming.

So how do you know which wines are good?

How do you describe what you like? Why does one wine taste like a tropical fruit salad and the next a lemon meringue pie? Which wine should you drink for dinner and which should you take home to cellar? How do you tell the difference?

With a few pointers under your belt, you’ll be able to find a wine that’s perfect for any taste, budget and occasion.

It basically comes down to three simple steps – look, smell and taste.

Just looking at a wine can give you some important hints about its style, character and age.

Young, light, early-drinking styles will usually have a lighter intensity; they’re clearer and more transparent than full-bodied wines.

Young whites will often have a greenish tinge and, as they slowly evolve in the bottle, will

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fermentation and oak.

Tertiary characteristics are generally seen in older wines as they are the result of the many changes that occur in the wine as it ages – anything from honey to spice, cedar to cigar box, jam, chocolate and mushroom.

If you smell mainly primary aromas the wine’s telling you that it’s young, probably made for early drinking. If you can identify a complex array of aromas from each of the three categories, you’re more likely tasting a fine wine intended for ageing.

If most of the aromas are in the tertiary category, the wine has already matured and is

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develop golden then tawny colour. Similarly, reds tend toward pinkish-purple in youth and move through ruby, garnet and finally, as an old wine, turn brown.

The next step is to swirl, then smell.

Swirling’s not just for wine snobs, it’s genuinely necessary to release the aromas which are going to make it easier for you to identify a wine’s character and development.

Wine aromas are divided into three categories. Primary characteristics come from the grapes and are usually fresh fruit, floral and herb notes. Secondary characteristics derive from winemaking so include the effects of yeasts,

probably in its perfect drinking window.

Since our senses of smell and taste are intrinsically linked, most of what we taste should confirm what your eyes and nose have already established. In addition, tasting allows you to feel sweetness from sugars and warmth from alcohol.

It’s through taste that we recognise mouthwatering acidity and the drying tannins, both elements which are fundamental to a wine’s ability to age.

If these elements are all in balance, then the wine you’re tasting is quite possibly ready to drink now. If there’s a slight imbalance in favour of acidity and tannin, it’s possible you’re drinking a wine intended for long-term cellaring.

Sparked your interest? Got more questions?

Then try our Wine Essentials Tasting at Voyager Estate’s private tasting room or the Heroes of Margaret River guided tasting.

Visit voyagerestate.com.au for more details.

a Voyager Estate Wine Essentials package for two adults.

Spend the morning at picturesque Voyager Estate, participate in the Wine Essentials private room tasting, and finish with a two course lunch at the Voyager Estate Restaurant (RRP $180). To enter, visit ymrr.co/summer. Good luck!

YELVERTON BROOK & Coannscetruvaartyion ECO SPA RETREAT

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oliday with friendly wildlife in a 100ac conservation sanctuary in the beautiful Margaret River Region.

Escape with your sweetheart, family or friends to our beautiful spa & wildlife conservation sanctuary.

This award-winning retreat offers beautiful accommodation & scenery. Languish in large private hydrotherapy massage “Spas under the stars” to soothe away life’s stresses. Perhaps book a private in-house chef service or day spa treatments. Choose either a 1 or 2 bedroom spa chalet Visit wineries, jewelled caves, white sandy beaches, towering karri forests or just enjoy our meandering walking trails & picnic sites. Special food is provided for the friendly wildlife, that visit your doorstep!

Relax and let us pamper you - Check our independant reviews on www.tripadvisor.com margaretriver.com

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To learn more call, email or book online now for your next vacation www.yelvertonbrook.com.au Ph: (08) 9755 7579 e: retreat@yelvertonbrook.com.au

Wine & Wineries |

And Fido came too

They’re our fur children, our companions for their lifetime so of course we want them to come on holiday too. Mia Lacey shares her best spots in the region for a pooch vacay.

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hey’re our precious pets and where we go, they go. Thank goodness, the popular idea of travelling with pets is becoming an increasingly accepted norm here in Australia, with more accommodation and attractions now catering for four-legged travellers.

The diverse and well known attractions of the Margaret River Region are irresistible to pet owners.

While great tracts of this desirable destination are national parks and therefore dogs – with the exception of approved assistance dogs – are generally not welcome, visitors can identify parks with places where dogs on a leash may be taken by checking the ‘Dogs Allowed’ box on the Parkfinder page of the DPaW website.

Alternatively, if you can bear to be parted from your precious pet for a few hours in the knowledge that they will be secure, there is some excellent pet-friendly accommodation available, even some with dog runs to accommodate your pooch.

And, happily, many of the region’s foremost wineries and attractions will also welcome your pet – with understandable provisos.

For recreational vehicle travellers in caravans and campervans, holiday parks in the region are highly aware of the need to provide pet-friendly site options and do so, although usually with the exception of long weekends and school holidays.

In another life, my dog Oskar was an affable 32kg German wire-haired pointer. Today his namesake, Travelling Oskar, carries easily in a backpack and also gets on well with all breeds. Soft toys tend to be less . . . territorial.

So when Travelling Oskar and I visited, we found it very easy to navigate to dog-friendly places. Most accommodation and wineries do ask that you call in advance and they will want to know your breed of dog.

There are dog-walking beaches throughout the Margaret River Region – however do check the signs before letting your pooch off the leash.

The following are just some ideas from the region’s many pet friendly attractions, wineries and accommodation. Like us, you’ll be welcomed warmly.

WINERIES AND BREWERIES CAPE NATURALISTE VINEYARD | Yallingup Monty the Jack Russell and Max the rescue dog are well known to this vineyard’s regulars, and kindly offered free Smackos to Travelling Oskar when we visited. He even ended up on the Polaroid picture board where all the doggie visitors go.You’re very welcome to bring your pets here and even to have a picnic with them on the terrace – with some great Cape Naturaliste wine, of course.

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DOG DAYS There are plenty of places to stay where our furry friends can come on holiday too.

CHEEKY MONKEY BREWERY AND CIDERY | Wilyabrup

TASSELL PARK WINES | Cowaramup

There’s oodles of room outside on the tables under the market umbrellas and in the sunshine to enjoy a bevvy with your doglet (and they often have a dog in residence that’s a cuddly handsome puppy too). The food is great at this lovely modern brewery and the service is fast and welcoming.

The dogs here – Dusty and Molly – earn their living as meet-and-greet hostesses. We enjoyed a casual and relaxed atmosphere here and it was easy to see how welcome dogs are throughout the wine-tasting event and indeed our very pleasant stay. Owner Ian Tassell introduced me to the Wine Dogs book series – lovely to see

the Margaret River Reegion’s vineyard hounds represented on its pages.

Also recommended: Lenton Brae Estate (when Travelling Oskar met Betty, the English Pointer here, they liked each other on first sight), House of Cards, Howling Wolves Wines (Oskar said it was like re-joining the pack), Hay Shed Hill (Becky the resident Labradoodle could tell some tales) and the

CAPEL VALE HAS BEEN CRAFTING INTENSELY FRUIT DRIVEN, POWERFUL YET ELEGANT WINES FROM THE COOL REGIONS OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA SINCE 1974.

FAMILY OWNED, Capel vale has established mature vineyards in Geographe, Pemberton, Mount Barker and Margaret River and produces wines that reflect the distinct climate and soils of each region.

Let our friendly staff guide you through a selection of our award winning wines available for tasting and sale at our cellar door.

Our Capel Vale ‘Match Restaurant’ overlooks the beautiful original vineyard. The philosophy behind the restaurant is to match food with wine. The menu comprises of match plates where each item on the match plate matches the characteristics in the wine.

Match plates will take you on an individual journey with each wine.

BOOK TODAY on (08) 9727 1986 or email cellardoor@capelvale.com CAPEL VALE WINERY & MATCH RESTAURANT

118 Mallokup Road, Capel W.A. 6271 Match Restaurant open for lunch service Thursday to Monday 11:30am to 2:30pm, Cellar Door open 7 days from 10am to 4pm. James Halliday Wine Companion 2016 – Top 5 Star Winery. margaretriver.com | SUMMER 2015 For more information visit www.capelvale.com

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Wine & Wineries |

delightfully named Swallows Welcome, where Fruitycake, the hairy Jack Russell who loves dogs and people, will try to get in your car and leave with you.

DINING OPTIONS CLANCY’S FISH PUB | Dunsborough Generally, restaurants and cafes here, like elsewhere in Australia, will accommodate responsible owners and their pets in outdoor or patio areas. The locals have their favourites, and if you keep your eyes open you will see residents and their pooches out and about. Going where the locals go is always a good idea. We loved the positive ‘dog policy’ on prominent display at Clancy’s Fish Pub at Dunsborough where dogs have their own side entrance to the outdoor terrace.

THE STUDIO BISTRO | Yallingup Wanting a hit of art and culture to go with our food, we stopped at the Studio Gallery & Bistro

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at Yallingup. Being relatively new to this part of the world, I am always really interested in connecting to my new ‘place’ by the pathways that excellent local art provides and this was a delightful eye opening experience for me. The bistro is consistently popular here and was fully booked out – no surprise at all when checking

PETS COME TOO Above, the Margaret River Pet Retreat and right, the Margaret River Hideaway.

Inset, Mia makes a new friend.

Your doglet may never want to leave such luxury

or 3.30 and 5pm, and the 40-hectare property is situated just off Bussell Highway between Margaret River and Busselton.Your doglet may never want to leave such luxury.

SILVERSPRINGS COTTAGES out the menu and the meals coming out! There’s a wide patio and garden suitable for dogs and your dog is welcome here.

Remember when entering eateries to keep your canines leashed at all times and, while some do provide water bowls, responsible owners usually have their own.

ACCOMMODATION MARGARET RIVER PET RETREAT Ten luxury suites, climate controlled, piped music, custom meals – I’m describing Margaret River Pet Retreat: the place where pooches come for a holiday while you are having yours.

And for visitors to the Margaret River Region, the retreat offers doggie day care so you can tour with peace of mind knowing that your precious pup is safe and happy. All guests must have current vaccinations and flea treatment. The Pet Retreat’s thoughtful owners also include pet pick-up and drop-off between 8.30 and 10am

One of the area’s best-kept secrets, these lovely cottages (with Eco Tent for events), are set in the heart of the Margaret River Region. Close to loads of wineries, caves, surf beaches and national parks, but best of all they’re pet friendly and all pets stay free.

Set on a beautiful property with valley views, bush setting and vineyards, the cottages are selfcontained with two-and-three-bedrooms and a bedroom studio, with garden and barbeque area, at very reasonable rates. There are free inhouse movies, massages and in-house chef by appointment.

Nougat

- 32 flavours -Viewing Window - Free Samples

Wines

- Estate Grown - Wine Tastings - 2 Nougat Cream Liqueurs

OPEN DAILY 10AM - 5PM Corner Tom Cullity Drive & Miamup Rd, Cowaramup www.margaretrivernougat.com.au margaretriver.com

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Summer

lovin’

Rob Geddes selects his top summer drops grown right here on the vines of the Margaret River Wine Region.

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f you’re lucky enough to find yourself in the Margaret River Region and wine is your tipple, you’ll be spoilt for choice. It’s home to some of the most sophisticated Australian winemakers’ making wines in one of the great grape gardens of the world.

More than many other great wine-making regions, Margaret River is already well into the next generation of wine-making thinking. The region leads with “the blend is your friend” and the real depth and excitement is inside bottles called semillon sauvignon blanc or cabernet merlot. Multi varietal wines work well here, offering the most complexity.

The sassy sauvignon blanc racy fruit wed to the sterner and more serious semillon is a marriage made in heaven. Cabernet is the regional red wine engine and the coach work draws on many complimentary varieties with malbec, merlot, cabernet franc and petit verdot all adding to its regal beauty. Chardonnay has its shoulders above the crowd too offering world class interest made by well-travelled winemakers understanding the full opportunity.

With this rich variety you’re in for a feast.

ROB GEDDES is professional wine reviewer, author and app creator.

His Australian Wine Vintages book is also an app from iTunes.

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1. WOODLANDS 2015 CHARDONNAY Drink by 2022, $25 The chardonnay shows the Watson family has great skills in white wines as well as their proven reds. Has the goods, fine French barrel ferment aromas set up the wild yeast ferment savoury edged aromas with smoothly complex pear fruits and wild honey oak. It is on the edge of too much but then the white fruits hold on in youth with minerality and a beautiful balance. A wine with flavour dimensions, great mouth feel and shape that really comes together in the mouth. Burgundian like seamless white fruits and great weight. The tobacco oak flicks in and out of view while the creamy lees elements unite the fruit, oak and texture into a long rich palate with a firm tight finish. Visit woodlandswines.com.au

2. LEEUWIN 2012 ART SERIES CHARDONNAY Drink by 2027, $94 The analogy of the swan on a pond comes to mind tasting this wine.

Aromatically it’s seamless, not a ripple with tight youthful complexity. In the mouth, the moving parts flutter into view, balanced fruit weight, flavour complexity, lees and oak length. In youth held in coiled anticipation for the key of time to unlock. Plenty more flavour expansion of white and yellow fruits to come in time from the carefully balanced, intense, concentrated stone fruits and fine oak.

Visit leeuwinestate.com.au 3. CLOUDBURST 2014 CHARDONNAY Drink by 2020, $250 Cloudburst comes from a tiny close planted vineyard between Wallcliffe, Wilyabrup and Ellen Brook in Margaret River. Wild yeast gives appealing malt and shortbread citrus elements to the aromas. The refined palate shows savoury distinction adding to the citrus and stone fruit complexity. A floral top note is added to the closely wed fruits and tannins. The mouth feel is firm textured, with pear skin type pithy tannins. It’s long and definitive please note however there’s no cellar door.

Visit cloudburstwine.com

4. VASSE FELIX BLANC III Drink by 2017, $39 Wild honey and warm white butter-like oak adds a weave into the citrus aromas. The palate is tertiary, mature but gentle. It displays rich complexity that is smooth and very long, and the yellow wine gums and honey suckle flavours linger forever.

Visit vassefelix.com.au

5. CAPE MENTELLE 2015 ROSE Drink by 2017, $29 All the glacé icy raspberry and red cherry sorbet fruits are here. The palate is fresh and long, delicate watermelon and strawberry leaf make this an ideal choice for sipping the night away.

Visit capementelle.com.au

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6. MOSS WOOD 2014 MOSS WOOD VINEYARD SEMILLON Drink by 2026, $38 Semillon with youthful personality, and very fresh light youthful aromas of lemon and fresh summer straw. The palate has a balanced vibrant lemony evolving complexity displaying good length with bright acidity and even weight and texture. Everything for a great cellaring proposition.

Visit mosswood.com.au

7. DOMAINE NATURALISTE REBUS 2013 CABERNET SAUVIGNON Drink By 2021, $35 Blackcurrant, violet floral lift, blackberry, balanced oregano dried herbs in spicy oak aromas. In the mouth, vibrant blueberries in a medium body that is soft and approachable now. The blackcurrant fruit has good length and silky tannin structure with plenty of lingering raspberry flavour. Fine grained tannins give it a clean, refreshing, food-friendly finish.

Visit domainenaturaliste.com.au

8. DEEP WOODS 2014 HILLSIDE CHARDONNAY Drink by 2018, $24.99 Aromas of apricot and grapefruit with lively zesty intensity, low in oak and bright in fruit and confidence. The palate is full, rich not heavy, but complex with strands of oak, fruit and acidity weaving through the flavours and textures. Plenty of braided complexity with fruit doing the talking and grapefruit on the finish.

Visit deepwoods.com.au

9. FRASER GALLOP 2014 SEMILLON SAUVIGNON BLANC Drink by 2019, $23 You will love the complexity here, with its lychee gooseberry ginger barrel-fermented sauvignon blanc making this charming and gently exotic. The fresh fruits, nectarine and ripe fuji apple are mouth-filling long and very evenly balanced making for a delicious wine with more than simple blended fruit complexity thanks to the barrel ferment.

Great value. Cutting edge quality at the price.

Visit frasergallopestate.com.au

10. VOYAGER 2011 PROJECT U12 NORTH BLOCK CABERNET MERLOT Drink By 2033, $90 The Wallcliffe fruit provides a very appealing personality to the very fine aromas of cooking fruits, compote of dark berry, blackcurrant, butterscotch and vanilla oak. Plenty of sweet ripe fruits, cocoa powder and almost Pauillac in structure. Dark cassis fruits, butterscotch, vanilla oak and fine grained tannins add a seamless complexity to the finish.

Visit voyagerestate.com.au

BARNYARD1978

pasta factory, casual classy restaurant & cellar door‌ With a viewing window allowing visitors to watch signature pasta in the making, with pasta and wine tastings to please your palate.

We welcome you to indulge in the flavours of our sharing plates stacked with local star ingredients and to explore our 5 SUMMER STORIES pop up store, which strives to honour farmers and artisans without whose knowledge and craftsmanship our tables would be barren.

barnyard1978.com.au | 9755 2548 12 Canal Rocks Rd, Yallingup

OPEN DAILY

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Nature & Environment |

Retreat, relax, revive As any visitor to the area knows, the Margaret River Region is a special place the perfect spot in fact to indulge in a little ‘me’ time.

By ANNA HARTLEY.

SECLUSION AND LUXURY Escaping the rat race never looked so appealing.

Forest Rise Eco Retreat is luxury eco-accredited accommodation with the motto of ‘rest, revival and reconnection’ – and you’ll be glad to know, it’s exactly what it says on the tin. Isn’t that satisfying?

The team at Forest Rise Eco Retreat have won a ton of awards in their category, and it’s not hard to see why. Guests can reserve either self-

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contained chalets or an entire homestead on this 97-hectare lakeside forest property. King beds, spas, and wood fires come as standard, as well as spa bathrooms with skylights so guests can enjoy the night sky in the privacy of the chalet. Those staying on the property can also unwind with a range of spa and massage treatments provided by local Hara Mobile Massage.

Forest Rise are well connected to the Margaret River Region’s food and wine community, and the ‘Key Rewards’ card is designed to help visitors discover some of the region’s best offerings. Packages such as the ‘Romance Package’ see them partnering up with Knee Deep Winery and Brookwood Estate, and guests that choose to stay put can take advantage of the personal chef service, gourmet hampers made to order from acclaimed Margaret River catering service The Larder.

With all that the Margaret River region has to

offer just minutes away, Forest Rise is the perfect choice for those looking for a high-end, relaxing retreat close to all that the region has to offer.

Forest Rise Eco Retreat, 231 Yelverton Road, Yelverton. Call 08 9755 7110 or visit forestrise.com.au

SECRET SANCTUARY Being eco-friendly isn’t just an empty catchphrase at Yelverton Brook Eco Spa Retreat & Conservation Sanctuary. As the name suggests, it is located within a 40-hectare conservation sanctuary, and the chalets are literally surrounded by native wildlife, including kangaroos, ringtailed possums, and the critically endangered woylie.

Indeed, for more than 10 years owners Joy and Simon have been running a woylie breeding program with the assistance of DPaW and Perth Zoo, helping to add to the local population of this adorable yet threatened creature and guests are invited to make donations to improve the

property’s predator-proof fence.

When it comes to human care, products are bought locally and organically whenever possible, and visitors are encouraged to be mindful about their energy consumption.

While this might sound a little like an eco-warrior boot camp, the reality couldn’t be further from the truth.

Old-fashioned country hospitality and charming private cottages make a stay at Yelverton Brook a stress-free break. Each chalet has its own outdoor hydrotherapy massage spa, best enjoyed under the stars (which you can actually see, being well away from the light pollution of the big smoke), and guests can enjoy beauty and massage treatments in the privacy of their own cottages.

Guests are actively encouraged to feed and pet the local animals that invariably come

snuffling around, or go for walks and picnics in the many trails and quiet spots the untouched bushland provides.

The peaceful, natural atmosphere explains why Yelverton Brook is popular with honeymooners, but for those who aren’t quite at that stage yet, the team even offer to arrange an elopement aboard yachts sailing on Geographe Bay. If a wedding could be as stress-free and friendly as a stay at one of their chalets, we can understand why guests might be tempted to jump aboard and say ‘I do’.

Yelverton Brook Eco Spa Retreat and Conservation Sanctuary, 118 Roy Road, Metricup.

Call 08 9755 7579 or visit yelvertonbrook.com.au

STAYING INN There’s a mantra you’ll see when you arrive at Inn The Tuarts which sums up the type of place RURAL IDYLL It’s hard to imagine a more peaceful spot to relax and unwind from the rat race than the Margaret River Region’s countryside retreats.

this delightful B&B is - ‘arrive a stranger, leave as friends’. Just outside Busselton, this is the kind of welcoming yet private country inn that we all hope we’ll stumble upon during a road-trip or long holiday.

Located within the beautiful Ludlow Tuart Forest, this four-star accommodation - ‘more a mini resort than a B&B’ - is perfectly suited for a quiet couples’ getaway, or a larger gathering of adult friends and family.

An outdoor pavillion, indoor pool, pool table, heated jacuzzi and BBQ hotplates are all available for guests to make themselves feel at home, and a long menu of massage and beauty treatments are also on offer to help ease away the stresses of the day.

Run by Peter and Suzanne Keynes, their family has a long-standing connection to the area, particularly in relation to the woodland of the area. Peter’s grandfather - Dick Perry - was a pioneering forester, and received the Order of Australia for his work in this area.

Inn The Tuarts is a child-free venue (unless you book the whole lodge), with those 12 and older welcome, so guests can ensure they aren’t going to be woken up at 6am by somebody’s little darling careening down the hallway.

No two rooms or studios are exactly alike.

Each one is uniquely decorated, with wooden bed frames and timber floors, and named after local historical figures or places.

A gourmet two-course breakfast is served in the common dining room, prepared by the in-house chef, as are the ready-to-go meals that can be pre-ordered and enjoyed in the rooms,

Nature & Environment |

perfect for guests arriving late or simply not in the mood to go out for dinner.

The perfect excuse to stay inn, you might say.

Inn The Tuarts Bed & Breakfast, 19 Rushleigh, Reinscourt, Busselton. Call 08 9754 1444 or visit innthetuarts.com.au

TREE CHANGE Privacy is the key at Harmony Forest Villas. The property offers eight self-contained cabins dotted about between the thick karri forest, placed in such a way as to ensure seclusion for every visitor. With large windows, a fully-equipped kitchen and dining area, the two-bedroom cottages are the perfect place to kick back and switch off from the pressures of the urban grind.

Each of the property’s cabins are hidden within a grove of karri trees, obscuring the rest of the world from sight.

The cabins are designed to take advantage of this ultra privacy, with every single bedroom looking directly into the forest. It’s possible to check in and enjoy an entirely self-contained break for the duration of your stay with a barbecue and iPod-compatible entertainment system encouraging you to stay put and enjoy the brilliant bush setting.

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Your only visitors will be of the furry or feathered kind; kangaroos and possums as well as local wild birds are your neighbours.

Wine buffs will also enjoy the fact that Harmony Forest Villas has its own vineyard, producing a highly regarded quality sauvignon blanc bottled by Devil’s Lair Wines under the label Dancing With The Devil available at the property. The vineyard itself was one of the first in the region to introduce grazing sheep as a way of keeping weeds down and naturally fertilising the root system, and guests will frequently spot Shaun and his friends wandering about among the vines.

So if relaxation and calm is top of your list, Harmony Forest Villas is singing from the same song sheet.

Harmony Forest Villas, 248 Sebbes Road, Forest Grove. Call 08 9245 2571 or visit harmonyforest. com.au

RIVER DEEP, OCEAN WIDE If you find yourself in Augusta, just 50kms from Margaret River, head to Seine Bay Apartments.

You’ll find a seriously stunning getaway, with the apartments providing the perfect base to explore this unspoilt part of the South West.

Luxurious, modern, eco-friendly and spacious two and three-bedroom apartments have the added bonus of magnificent bay and ocean views. Be mesmerised by the daily natural lightshow as the ocean’s timeless rhythm provides the backdrop for a sundowner or two on the balcony.

Take the opportunity to explore Augusta’s Blackwood River, with its vast pristine beaches and towering karri forests close by. Take a river cruise on the Miss Flinders or book a night or two on a houseboat - it’ll give you the chance to enjoy a completely different perspective, spotting flora and fauna from the river itself.

Augusta is known as the jewel of the South West - and for good reason. It boasts rugged coastlines, rocky headlands, astonishing white beaches that feel as if nobody has ever stepped foot on them and the wilderness of the Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park.

Why not try bushwalking, wind or kite surfing or kayaking - the friendly staff at the Augusta Tourism Centre in the main town street can provide you with plenty of ideas to maximise your holiday stay.

If the heat gets too much, head to the stunning Boranup Forest where ancient limestone caves provide cooling relief on even the hottest of summer days.

Augusta itself is the perfect example of a charming country town, situated at the mouth of Blackwood River.You’ll feel like time slows down, stress disappears and you’ll wonder whether in fact you’ll ever want to leave. That’s the Augusta effect - just give in to it and relax.

Seine Bay Apartments, 53 Blackwood Avenue, Augusta. Call 08 9758 0761 or visit augustaapartments.com.au. Bookings can be made through the Augusta Hotel Reception.

COUNTRY COMFORTS Inn The Tuarts is a delightful destination, surrounded by beautiful trees.

Left, the natural beauty of Augusta, and below, Seine Bay Apartments are the perfect base to explore Augusta and its surrounds.

GALLERIES Margaret River

Jahroc Galleries situated in the hear t of Margaret River is the largest contemporar y galler y in the South West showcasing a diverse range of Fine Furniture, Fine Ar t, Jeweller y, Glass, Ceramic and Sculpture. It is home to award winning furniture designers/ makers JahRoc Furniture who use local Jarrah & Marri timbers to hand craft their bespoke designer furniture. Visit Jahroc Galleries and f ind out why all that do, leave inspired.

Open daily 10am-5pm 83 Bussell Highway, Margaret River Ph. (08) 9758 7200 E. margaretriver.com info@jahroc.com.au | SUMMER 2015 47

www.jahroc.com.au

Nature & Environment |

Kith

& kin

Mia Lacey spends time getting to know the ancient heart of the region thanks to Koomal Dreaming tour leader, Josh Whiteland.

M

aking the south west of Australia my home since moving here from the tropics has been a mission for me.

I explain it to people with that old expression ‘kith and kin’.Your kin is your familiar family and friends. I have that here.

What I am missing is my kith.

Kith is what is familiar to you in your connection with the natural world around you. The closest I can get to centering it is by comparing it to the connection Aboriginal Australians have to country.Your kith usually begins in childhood.

Mine was discovering cicada shells on trees, watching the moon rise through a coconut

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tree and falling asleep to the calls of a curlew.

I’ve been seeking my South West Australian kith since arriving and I felt I connected with it solidly for the first time during an afternoon spent with Josh Whiteland.

As I follow Josh up the trail to a sacred site before summer’s heat really hit, the bush on both sides pulses with colour. Pink myrtle jostles with yellow hibbertia, while cowslip and donkey orchids push their heads skywards. It’s Djilba in the Noongar calendar and the land is fecund, lush.

“The kangaroos are fat,” says Josh, smiling.

Josh and his family have been here for generations. Together with his wife Jessica, he operates Koomal Dreaming and gives visitors to the Margaret River Region a window to look inside his culture. Koomal, which means brushtail possum, is Josh’s traditional name and was bestowed upon him by his Wadandi/ Wardandi elders.

He seems knitted into the landscape as he walks me up the lichen-mottled face of Big Rock. Earlier, he was excited as he described the highlight of his week – finding a new cave

and visiting a local waterfall. He talks a lot about enhancing the five senses. “People today have become unconscious of living; of the connection between all things.

“The roots are here,” he says, tapping his foot on the solid rock.

Spending time with Josh opens up a portal to the Dreaming – the time before the white people walked this land. Pointing to a marri tree (pictured below), he runs through its traditional uses.

“We call this the blood tree – see the colour of the sap? And this is pink myrtle – you make

an infusion with it – it’s good for digestion.”

I feel myself stirred with a connection, thinking of the lemon myrtle the Aboriginal rainforest people used for the same purpose in my other home; Cairns.

I ask Josh about the Noongar Rainbow Serpent, knowing this to be a Dreaming story replicated all around Australia. “Oh, you mean our Wagyl,” Josh says.

Standing on Big Rock, he gestures outwards, explaining the boundaries of his homelands.

“Quedjinup, where we are now, is an ancient look-out point across our boundary lines. See how the bay wraps around here towards Preston River? Then follow the escarpment south across the low-lying plain to Nannup, which is near the Blackwood River that separates the traditional groups from the Cape to Cape region. Back in the day, if you looked across this land from here on a clear morning you’d know if anyone was in your traditional area because you’d see smoke from their fire, “ Josh explains.

Noongar boodja – country – covers the entire south-western portion of WA. For over 50,000 years, the Noongar lived harmoniously with the land, grazing from it if you will, travelling to trade with other families in different regions.

In this way, precious items from the coast were exchanged with their forest-dwelling neighbours, who in turn traded theirs with their kin in the arid places that are now WA’s wheatbelt.

The South West Boojarah (Margaret River) region takes in the Wadandi/Wardandi and Bibulmun/Piblemen Noongar language groups and includes the towns of Capel, Margaret River, Witchcliffe, Augusta, Windy Harbour, Northcliffe, Pemberton, Manjimup, Bridgetown and Nannup.

In the Nyitting, or the Dreaming, a magic man named Wooditch created the Margaret River, which the local Noongar people know as Wooditchup.

Sites of cultural significance in the Margaret River Region include caves that are home to ceremonial sites, rock art, paintings and artefacts. Major caves include the Nannup Caves, Ngilgi Cave and Devil’s Lair Cave, the site of one of the earliest known indigenous settlements in Australia.

As the traditional owners, the Wardandi are the custodians of the Cape to Cape Margaret River Region and its many caves. The Wardandi believe the caves to be their passage to the after life.

Josh’s people lived by six seasons, not four. After Djilba, the October/November season is Kambarang, followed

by Birak, Bunuru, Djeran and Makuru. Traditionally, hunting and gathering groups would stay only two months i.e. one season in each place, allowing the land 10 months to regenerate after they moved on.

As he says goodbye to me, Josh tells me my name, Mia, means home.

I’m starting to see it – to feel it: my South Western kith. I’m off in search for a full moon shining through the marri trees.

And I’m very grateful to you, Josh.

Visit koomaldreaming.com.au to book a tour with Josh. A new app – Welcome to Country – available via the iTunes store for free, informs you of traditional tribal groups in the area with a welcome from the tribe’s Elder via video clip.Visit welcometocountry.mobi margaretriver.com

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Trip the lighthouse fantastic For nearly 120 years, the Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse has stood majestically as a sentinel to help protect shipping off WA’s treacherous South West coast. Still a working lighthouse today, it’s the perfect day trip destination for all the family.

Main image ELEMENTS MARGARET RIVER

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Lighthouse tall and grand Standing on that cold headland Shine your light across the sea For a wayward sailor girl like me ~ The Waifs, Lighthouse, 2003

L

ighthouses are so much more than a testament to man’s engineering ingenuity; perched defiantly against the elements, they invoke powerful emotional responses, featuring in films, books, poetry and song – such as these beautiful lyrics from WA band The Waifs.

Albany sisters Donna and Vikki Simpson, who formed The Waifs, would no doubt have been inspired by the magnificent lighthouses in the South West, sentinels of safety and each with a unique story.

Standing proudly at the juncture of two great oceans, the Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse was first mooted 1881 but it took another 15 years

(due to lots of wrangling on where exactly the lighthouse should be located) for the project to get off the ground. Also, until gold was discovered near Kalgoorlie, WA didn’t have the money for such a big construction project (and the Eastern States were not interested in pitching in either). But the lighthouse was a must to protect shipping heading to Albany, at the time Western Australia’s major port, and the then premier, Sir John Forrest, pushed for the project to proceed.

And so, on December 1, 1896, the Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse was switched on for the first time. The light was generated by a kerosene wick lamp, at the time the world’s largest, revolving in a mercury bath and controlled by a clockwork mechanism. With an intensity of 250,000 candela it could be seen for 40km.

By the 1920s, the light was upgraded and could generate a beam of 780,000 candelas. The kerosene burner gave way to an electric light in

fast facts

AUGUSTA

SO YOU’VE CHECKED out the lighthouse, and it’s back in the car to carry on your tour of the beautiful SouthWest. Within a short distance of Augusta, and in the town itself, are numerous attractions.

Leaving the lighthouse, you have a lot of choose. Two excellent routes are: 1982, the 1000watt halogen lamp beaming out 1,000,000 candela. And though the technology had changed over the years, the lighthouse was still manned.

But in September 1992, the romantic era of manned lighthouses ended and Cape Leeuwin was fully automated. Operated, like other lighthouses, by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority, Cape Leeuwin remains a vital beacon to guide shipping and warn of the dangers of coming too close to the rugged coastline, its unceasing light flashing every 7.5 seconds.

Today the lighthouse, which at 39m is the tallest on the Australian mainland, is open to the public.

Just 9km from the town of Augusta (and 50km from Margaret River), the beautiful headland at Cape Leeuwin is also the perfect location to gaze in awe at the power of the sea, where the Indian and Great Southern oceans converge.

You may even see pods of dolphins or whales.

Visitors can opt for either a guided tour (run every 40 minutes from 9am) or a self-guided precinct audio tour.You’ll learn tales of triumph and tragedy (after all it was a shipwreck coast) and about the area’s stunning flora and fauna.

Climbing the lighthouse’s 186 steps is quite a feat (children under four are not permitted on the tours because of this) and gives you an idea of just how fit the lighthouse keepers must have been.

Three of the four original lighthouse keepers’ cottages remain, one used today as a ticketing office and café.

Whether you’re there on a balmy South West summer’s day or visiting with the winter southerlies blasting in, the Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse experience is one not to be missed.

For details on Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse tours, visit margaretriver.com or phone (08) 9757 7411.

Caves Road via Jewel Cave and the beautiful Boranup Forest, which will take you right back up to Dunsborough or Bussell Highway via the Augusta Boat Harbour and Augusta Hotel which will take you back through Margaret River to Busselton.

The $36.5m Augusta Boat Harbour was opened in November 2014 and took three years to build. It is the only established boating facility along the 430km coastline between Busselton and Albany, and covers 2.8 hectares of sheltered water and five hectares of land.

If you’ve brought your boat to the South West, the facility has a four-lane launching facility with floating finger jetties and 40 pens for commercial and recreational vessels (although it is recommended you check well in advance for any pen vacancies).

Even if your feet are firmly rooted on dry land it’s a great, relaxing place to have a picnic and watch the comings and goings from the harbour.

The Augusta Hotel sits on a prime riverfront location high on the banks of Hardy Inlet, where the Blackwood River meets the Southern Ocean, and offers a superb range of top quality pub grub.

And after all that you might need another holiday to NATURE’S CATHEDRAL recover . . .

Jewel Cave is a stunning place to explore.

Now Open 10am-7pm 7days a week

Experience the True Spirit of Margaret River Award-winning whiskies, vodkas, gins, liqueurs, absinthe, brandy beer, cider, wine & food

17 Carters Rd, Margaret River

08 9757 9351

www.distillery.com.au

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Arts & Wellbeing |

Honing your craft Just because you’re on holiday doesn’t mean you should look the other way when the creative muse calls.

Here’s our collection of places to learn new skills

VASSE VIRGIN DIY WORKSHOPS (Images by Photogerson)

Vasse Virgin creates natural hand-made skin care developed to suit all skin types.They handcraft skin and body care using a traditional cold process method, Australian Extra Virgin Olive Oil and only the finest quality natural ingredients, to produce luxurious products that your body will savour.

This makes them the perfect place to learn how to make beautiful, all-natural skincare products, with workshops held in their brand new, purpose-built classroom.

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Lip Balm Join in with a quick and easy workshop to learn how simple it is to craft your own natural beeswax lip balms. Using organic honey, you can opt to keep the mixture au natural or choose a flavour from our range of essential oils.Why not try aniseed, grapefruit or lavender? Lip Balm classes run for approximately 45 minutes at $70 per person, and are held at 11am in the Factory.

Room Aroma Discover the secrets of aromatherapy in this informative class where workshop leaders will help to create your own personalised room aroma. Whether it’s intended to invigorate, relax you, calm, or inspire you they’ll help you to mix the perfect blend. Room Aroma classes run for approximately an hour at $120 per person, and are held from 2pm in the Factory.

Vasse Virgin, 135 Puzey Road,Wilyabrup. All workshops include complete set of ingredients, equipment and personal safety gear.Workshops run every day apart from Sundays and public holidays. Bookings for workshops are essential.Visit vassevirgin.com.au or call 08 9755 6111.

HANDS ON Try pottery, photography or brush up on your culinary skills this summer.

THROW A POT Myles Happ loves talking to people and, while he’s explaining exactly what it is he is doing, he’s turning a lump of clay into a smooth-looking functional object.Visitors often look on in awe, and then naturally want to have go themselves.

Myles - head of Happs Pottery - has been a potter for over 20 years and happily shares his studio for lessons to groups. During the session, he will talk guests through the process of making pottery and teach basic techniques then leave everyone to get messy. In fact, he believes that it’s more fun getting messier with lots of people.

People then have a go at throwing or building during a set period of time. And what do you go home with? As little clay as possible but a hand-made work of art, as visitors wash up their muddy arms, elbows and hands to go home, leaving Myles to clean up the real mess. $120 per two hour session.

Happs Pottery, 575 Commonage Road, Dunsborough. Contact Myles directly but bear in mind he needs plenty of notice.Visit happspottery.com.au or call Myles on 0401 533 336.

PICTURE PERFECT Improve your photography while on location in the spectacular Margaret River Region with two of the region’s best shooters: United Nations photographer Martine Perret and Walkley Award-winning photojournalist and Nikon Ambassador, David Dare Parker.

Martine spent the past decade in the field working for the UN as a photographer in East Timor, Burundi and, most recently, in South Sudan while as a photojournalist, David has been published in TIME Magazine, Australian Geographic and The New York Times. In 2003 he was sent to Iraq as the Official War Photographer for the Australian War Memorial.

He’s also worked in the movie industry as a unit stills photographer, with credits that include Cloudstreet, Drift, Underbelly Razor, Badness, Son of a Gun and Kill Me Three Times.

Whether you’re a beginner or have more advanced skills, all levels are catered for in a relaxed, enjoyable workshop to improve your photographic prowess.You’ll improve your skills in landscape photography and portraiture, learn how to better understand light and composition,

STREATER GALLERY IS A MUST SEE

pick up tips on the art of visual storytelling and learn about what’s in David and Martine’s bags as they discuss the tools of the trade and their approach to using them.

Just bring a camera and lens, memory cards, fully charged batteries and tripod. Also don’t forget to bring along your camera manual if you have one. Pack a water bottle, snacks, hat, sunscreen and sturdy shoes. Workshops start on location with refreshments during meet and greet.

For more information visit 34degreessouth.com/ workshops. Cost per four-hour morning sessions is $225 per person, starting at 7am with a minimum of four people for workshop to take place. Cost per two and a half hour sessions is $150 per person, starting at 7am with a minimum two people for workshop to take place.

YALLINGUP CHEESE COMPANY One of the great pleasures of wandering from winery to winery is anticipating a glass of the good stuff with a slice or two of cheese once you’re back home. How about, then, making your own cheese right in the heart of Yallingup?

Alana Langworthy, cheesemaker at Yallingup Cheese Company, runs popular workshops, teaching visitors all manner of technique. Classes run for two to three hours depending on the cheese being made.

“On arrival, participants are given a brief lesson about cheese production basics and hygiene,” says Alana.

“They are then let loose in the commercial cheesery where they get hands on making cheese to take home that day.”

Classes are interactive and include all equipment, ingredients, tuition plus a cheese and wine tasting.

“We make fresh curd and white mould-ripened cheeses using locally-sourced organic Jersey milk,” says Alana. So think camembert, mozzarella, brie, vache curd and mascarpone and feta.

In fact it’s the organic Jersey milk which makes the cheese so superior.

“We are supplied by a single herd in Jindong and their milk quality is second to none,” she says.

“As our cheeses are small batch, you really can see the variations in the milk across the seasons.”

Being a cheesemaker has its perks, says Alana, not least of which is being able to conjure up the most delicious, natural cheese whenever she chooses. It’s one of the oldest artisan pursuits in the world, and Alana completed practical and written studies in cheese manufacturing here and in France before opening up her fromagerie last year as an adjunct to small wine producer of the year, Windows Estate.

“I have been in training for nearly 10 years and there is always something new to learn,” she says.

If you’re stuck for inspiration about how to enjoy your newly crafted cheese, Alana has a few suggestions.

“I love the pairing of Windows Estate bubbles with our camembert.”

“The C02 in the wine really cuts through the richness of the camembert paste. I have also been known to devour a whole St Julian with a bottle of Deep Woods Shiraz Et Al.” No surprise there - Alana’s husband is the head winemaker at Deep Woods.

Yallingup Cheese Company, Windows Estate, 4 Quininup Road Yallingup.To make a booking, email Alana Langworthy at alana@yallingupcheese.com.au or call 08 9755 2809.Visit yallingupcheese.com.au.

Phone 08 9755 1211 105 Blythe Road, Yallingup Siding streatergallery@bigpond.com www.streaterfinefurniture.com John Streater has been a pioneer in the West Australian art industry for over thirty years. His bespoke furniture is showcased alongside other internationally recognised artists at his gallery in Yallingup Siding.

Open: 10am to 4pm. Closed Fridays Winter Trading hours may vary.

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Arts & Wellbeing |

Go with the grain The Margaret River Region is blessed with some of the finest natural wood in the world. No surprise then that craftsmen have sought out this beautiful timber to craft extraordinary works of art.

creating beautiful bespoke furniture. John’s first piece, now his signature piece, was the Cone table which was sold to a couple from Canada, where it still resides today.

John challenges himself to invent, create, and design magnificent furniture which is collected by prominent people worldwide.

John Streater FINE FURNITURE

J

ohn Streater was born in 1955 in a small country town in New South Wales, the eldest of six children. After completing school he worked at the local meat works as a boner for several years then put himself through TAFE to become a plasterer. John and his partner Pam headed out to travel Australia, arriving in Yallingup in 1981 with very little money. The pair made ends meet for a while until John was asked by the local cabinet maker if he would like to work with timber. He jumped at the chance, and having learned the basic skills of furniture making, went on to teach

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MASTER AT WORK John Streater (left and above) is an expert at working with the magnificent timber of the south west.

himself traditional joinery methods and create his own exposed dovetail join.

The pair bought a small acreage in Yallingup Siding in 1984, and John built their home from local granite which he collected every afternoon after work from a local farming property owned

by Laurie and Dot Hayley in Yallingup. He also made all the jarrah windows and doors. Four years later, after this extraordinary labour of love, the couple moved in to their stunning home.

Building a workshop was next on the list, and once again, John rolled up his sleeves, and built the structure which would become the hub for

YMRR What kind of of timber do you love to work with? What makes it special?

JS All WA native timbers like jarrah, marri, sheoak, tuart and blackbutt – they all have wonderful depth and character.

YMRR What techniques do you use to bring out the special properties of the timber?

JS I engineer my furniture with traditional joinery which has stood the test of time, techniques like dovetails, mortise and tennon joints, slot dovetails and of course my unique exposed dovetail. I use one of the world’s most sophisticated lacquers which has a very high scratch-resistant level, is heat-resistant and within reason, water and alcohol resistant for up to eight hours. I apply numerous numbers of coats to achieve a flawless finish, producing something that will outlast us all by hundreds and hundreds of years.

YMRR What makes the timber of the Margaret River region particularly beautiful for your type of work?

JS It stands alone on the world stage and is unique to the south west of our state.

YMRR What are you working on at the moment and what has been the most memorable piece you’ve worked on to date?

JS I’m currently working on a commission piece for a client in Sydney - a feature grade jarrah hall table. Perhaps my most memorable piece is a blackbutt root burl tallboy, entertainment unit and jewellery box all in one. The timber

which was retrieved from the Vasse Newtown subdivision is extremely rare for its particular characteristics, notable for its elephant grain feature. The depth of grain is almost three dimensional.

YMRR How would you describe a typical John Streater piece?

JS I have an international reputation for my completely original designs, construction and finishing methods. All of my work is guaranteed with a signature carved leaf.

YMRR Have you ever found the perfect piece of timber?

JS Yes, the perfect piece of timber was the blackbutt root burl - it was exceptional. I have also been fortunate enough to have flawless feature grade jarrah and marri.

John Streater Fine Furniture, 105 Blythe Road, Yallingup.Visit streaterfinefurniture.com.au

Cowaramup in 2014, displaying designs which vary from contemporary to almost classic, all with a high standard of craftsmanship and finish.

YMRR What kind of of timber do you love to work with? What makes it special?

AVDO Over the past 20 years as a fine furniture maker, it has become apparent when observing the reactions of customers from all over the globe that the South West region contains some of the most beautiful and unique timbers of the world. I therefore create my designs using timbers such as jarrah, marri, sheoak and blackbutt. Most of the timber I use comes from salvaged trees collected from farms and private properties. This is a much more creative and sustainable way to utilise a resource that formerly would have become firewood.

The timber from the South West is particularly suited for furniture-making because

Adrian Van Den Ouweland

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drian Van Den Ouweland has been working as a designer/maker of fine furniture for the past two decades, supplying local and Perth galleries with his sought-after work. He opened a new workshop with a gallery - Treeton Fine Wood Studio - in

of its outstanding properties. Once seasoned, it is very stable and strong. It will often also have special character and beautiful clear grain patterns and an assortment of variations in colour. Jarrah is particularly special because of the intensity of its colour and no tree species like this grows in the northern hemisphere.

My favourite timber would have to be blackbutt, especially if it is from a big old tree.

Blackbutt is becoming more precious because it is mainly found along rivers and creek lines no longer allowed to be cleared. Mature trees develop a beautiful beige coloured timber and it is great to machine and work with hand tools because of its slightly oily character.

YMRR What techniques do you use to bring out the

special properties of the timber?

AVDO Because of my passion of working with these special timbers, I have developed certain techniques that bring out their best features Firstly, I set aside timber I recognise as having something unique about it to be cut into veneer.

I have a special veneering bandsaw to do this allowing me to produce 2mm thick veneers which are a lot thicker than the commercial variety. Once pressed in a vacuum bag and the correct choice of glue, these stable veneers last a lifetime.

It is also a sustainable way to make a single piece of wood stretch that much further and create myriad patterns by the various ways the veneers can be laid.

Next, the more standard timber is kept together in log lots making it easier to match timber so the end product appears uniform in grain and colour, eliminating the need for staining which hides the natural grain and colour.

Finally, and most likely the most important aspect of any piece of my furniture, is its finish.

This is because it enhances the grain and colour that I have selected and allows my customers to be able to ‘feel’ the final piece. I generally choose a few coats of two-pack lacquer on cabinets and even more again on tables to achieve this finish.

YMRR What makes the timber of the Margaret River region particularly beautiful for your type of work?

AVDO The timbers of the Margaret River Region are particularly suited to furnituremaking because of their stability, strength and fantastic grain patterns, unique colours and machining characteristics. All these features reflect the natural beauty and magnificent tourist attractions of the region. As a furniture maker and part of this tourism industry, I feel it is very important for the visiting tourist to have an opportunity to admire and hopefully purchase a product that is not only produced here but grown here.

YMRR What are you working on at the moment and what has been the most memorable piece you’ve worked on to date?

AVDO At the moment, as we approach the busy Christmas period, I am focusing on quite a few smaller items that I stock. Presently, I am working on a batch of ‘Chefs end grain boards’ that have been hugely popular over the past 15 years of making them. They are no longer the challenge they used to be to make, but are a resourceful way to make use of quality offcuts.

My most memorable piece to date, even though there have been quite a few outstanding ones, would be the cabinet ‘draws behind doors’ I made for the Splinter exhibition hosted by FORM in Perth in 2003. This cabinet featured many different techniques and some very margaretriver.com

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Arts & Wellbeing | beautiful timbers. For example, I employed sliding dovetail joints to the rails joining the legs, had wedged mortise and tenon joints to the doors and pinstriped tapered legs veneered with beautiful fiddle back jarrah. Last, but certainly not least, I used veneered marri crutch wood panels in the doors. To the best of my knowledge, this was the only piece of furniture to sell during the time of the exhibition.

YMRR How would you describe a typical Adrian van den Ouweland piece?

AVDO In trying to describe something that is ‘typical’ of my work, I find this challenging to determine, as I don’t tend to stick to any one style. If I allow myself to have full design freedom then I am able to create a piece consisting of simple lines and gentle curves culminating in an elegant and functional piece.

Door panels and drawer fonts are always a focal point of my work and create the face of a cabinet. In summary, then, you could say I have a contemporary yet classical edge to my work.

YMRR Have you ever found the perfect piece of timber?

AVDO I have found many pieces of what could be termed ‘perfect timber’ but then you have to also discover a purpose for the beautiful product.

These are often pieces of wood that dictate an outcome in their own right. I believe it is more challenging to find the perfect piece of wood if the design and dimension are already determined however even if they are, it is possible to find a good outcome in the form of some beautiful timber sections. So a perfect piece of wood could be described as one that can be allowed to show off its unique self.

Visit Treeton Fine Wood Studio, 42 Jersey Street, Cowaramup. Call 0419 195 472 or email ouweland@ bigpond.com.Visit treetonfinewoodstudio.com.au.

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Gary Bennett at JAHROC GALLERIES

UNIQUE DESIGNS Gary Bennett’s Jahroc creations are collected by art lovers around the world.

successfully around the world and won many awards over the years. With a global client base, Gary’s work turns up all around the world.

“One day I’d like to take a tour around the planet to visit our creations,” he says. “There would be so many exotic locations that have a piece of our Margaret River design in them, I think that would be a real blast.”

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orn in Busselton, Gary Bennett’s childhood was a little nomadic, thanks to the fact his father was headmaster.

“We moved around a lot with his various postings around the state,” says Gary.

“I did my apprenticeship as a carpenter/joiner in Subiaco and have been surfing the coast down here around Margs since the mid-70s.

“I travelled around Australia working and surfing through the early 80s mixed with some great Indonesian surf trips. I started taking furniture design seriously and established Jahroc in 1987.”

Initially, Gary exhibited his work at Gunyulgup Gallery in Yallingup and within a few years found myself showing his designs in Hollywood.

“David Paris joined me in the business in 1988 and we formed a strong partnership that has lasted 27 years so far,” he says.

The pair have exhibited their work

YMRR Tell us about the kind of timber you love to work with.What makes it special?

Gary Bennett: I love working with our native hardwoods. We are very lucky to have timbers such as jarrah, marri, sheoak, blackbutt and karri at our fingertips here in Margs. The durability of these timbers is very high but what is really special are the thoroughly unique grain patterns that they yield. I think it’s because of the harsh conditions they have to survive in this ancient land of extremes where we live. From fire and heatwaves, to floods and gale force winds they have to endure the trees must twist, turn and recover, which creates masses of spectacular grain patterns and shapes ideal for the creation of artistic furniture.

YMRR What techniques do you use to bring out the special properties of the timber?

GB I use design as a key tool to make the most of the special shapes and grain patterns. I either work with the shape and grain of the timber as a lead for the design or when I have a specific

design in mind I search our stockpile to find a suitable piece to complement the design. When working in my home studio I like to use oil finishes to bring out the spectacular colour and grain by hand sanding to grits as fine as 4,000.

This technique is a lot of work but it produces a really beautiful lustre that is difficult to obtain with lacquers and gives the finished piece a wonderful natural feel.

YMRR What makes the timber of the Margaret River region particularly beautiful for your type of work?

GB I think it’s the environment in which the timbers grow. Margaret River and the region between the Capes is such a diverse area from the rich karri loam soils of the heavily wooded forests to the sandy, limestone soil of the coastal heath which seem to produce a range of colours and shapes in the timbers, which are astounding.

I consider myself very lucky to have materials like this to work with as it makes my job of creating artworks from timber much easier.

Nature does a lot of the work for me. There always seems to be a tree coming down in a storm or taken down as part of development or road clearing etc, which means we pretty much only use salvaged timber. This is great as conservation of our environment is very

important to us.

YMRR What are you working on at the moment and what has been the most memorable piece you’ve worked on to date?

GB I am currently working on a groovy bar that I am making from a spectacular jarrah burl that we cut from a heavily burnt “dead” log. It incorporates some stainless steel on a geometric fiddle back jarrah base which will juxtapose against the organic shape of the burl. When complete, it will become a contemporary feature piece to sit around and enjoy some of the big beautiful reds that our Margaret River winemakers create down here. The most memorable piece is a tough one. Over 28 years we have made so many great pieces of furniture from such amazing pieces of timber that I don’t think I could pin it down to one. I love the Surf inspired pieces, the West Kimberley/Abrolhos projects were also great as were Silhouettes and the Cape to Cape Margaret River project (see our “Jahroc Collaborations” book). We have also designed and made some fantastic commissions such as the Sue’s Chaise, the Roo Silhouette rocker and I recently finished some really great commissions for a very special bar area that included a 2.8m Malibu-style timber

surf board light over a pool table, bar stools and some funky surf-inspired guitar stands and racks.

Commissions can be very challenging, but also hugely rewarding.

YMRR How would you describe a typical Gary Bennett piece?

GB I’m not really sure how to describe my work except to say I love simple clean lines that flow and balance to complement the timbers I’m working with. I don’t like to interrupt the grain patterns and shapes too much by overdoing inlay work as I prefer to let nature do most of the talking. I also like to mix materials such as stone, wood, steel and glass.

YMRR Have you ever found the perfect piece of timber?

GB I find the perfect piece pretty much every time I design and make something. Nature never ceases to amaze me in what it can produce.

Sometimes it takes a bit longer to find the right piece, but that’s one of the challenges that makes being a furniture designer/ maker so rewarding When I get it right it sends a chill up my spine and that’s what keeps me going. I love that chill/ thrill and I’m always chasing it.

Find Gary’s designs at Jahroc Galleries, 83 Bussell Highway, Margaret River. Call 08 9758 7200 or email info@jahroc.com.au.Visit jahroc.com.au.

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Arts & Wellbeing |

SHOPPING LIST

Bev and Nic from popular Perth fashion and lifestyle blog The Style Trust grew up down south, so we’ve asked them to share their fashion stores, just in time for summer.

FASHION FOR ALL There’s a great choice of looks in Margaret River, from surf vibes to boho chic. Inset, Nic and Bev.

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t has to be said that we love our shopping.Yep, if it was an Olympic sport, we’re pretty sure we’d be gold medallists. And as two born and bred down south chicks, we’ve spent a fair amount of time mooching around the Margaret River Rgion checking out the best it has to offer. So to help you navigate the top shops around.

Bev’s faves Hillzeez Down South Surf Shop I grew up with a whole load of surfers and it was considered ‘mintox’ to have the latest Hot Tuna or Mambo t-shirt at high school. It’s a down south institution with the latest in everything Billabong, including some beautiful new tropical print bikinis, as well as cool sunnies, great maxi and mini dresses and T-shirts and boardies for the boys. Gnarly.

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1/65 Queen St, Busselton (08) 9757 9003 or 107 Bussell Highway, Margaret River (08) 9752 3565.

Boutique Eco If you love your fashion with a side of environmentally friendly you’ll love Boutique Eco, which is overflowing with natural fashion, beauty products and homewares. The store also sells jewellery and the popular Damselfly candle range and has amazing Merino possum products and bamboo underwear that are so soft you’ll literally feel like you’re not wearing any.

Shop 2/ 101 Bussell Highway, Margaret River (08) 9758 8868 or 904 Commonage Road, Dunsborough (08) 9759 1933

Fusion Blue Fusion Blue has long been a favourite of ours.

Owner Elle Jennings has beautiful Bohemian

style and has been designing and selling her own label Zephyr in-store since 2009. The store has an easy breezy, everybody’s welcome feel to it and also stocks gorgeous homewares and jewellery.

As an added treat you’ll find Zest Flowers tucked away at the back of the store run by the delightful Bridget who treats floristry as an art.

Shop 3, 237 Naturaliste Terrace, Dunsborough.

(08) 9755 3018.

Marigold Designs Get your down south vibe on with the beautiful pieces stocked at Marigold Designs boutique.

There’s floaty maxi dresses, gypsy-inspired clutches, jewellery, scarves and all manner of fabulous things you might just have to take home with you. When in Rome . . . right?

Shop 3 Town Square, 137 Bussell Highway, Margaret River. (08) 9758 8083

THE TOP STYLE TRUST’S TIP When you’ve finished shopping, we highly recommend a glass of the local good oil at Morries to compare purchases and take a load off. After all, shopping is cardio, so you deserve a wine.

Find Morries at 2/149 Bussell Hwy, Margaret River (08) 9758 8280

CONCERTS RESTAURANT

Follow Bev and Nic’s adventures at thestyletrust.net

Nic’s faves Stellar and the Chief Stellar and The Chief is a slice of boheme eclectic heaven with labels such as Rude Riders, Lisa Brown, Brixton and Spell. Owner Talei Manners has been a professional stylist for more than 10 years and is designer of the fabulous Te for Two accessories range. Not only will you find a fabulous outfit, but Talei still offers her styling services in-store, so looking and feeling great is a breeze. 115 Bussell Highway, Margaret River, (08) 9758 8500

ART GALLERY CELLAR DOOR www.leeuwinestate.com.au

Supanova I really dislike shoe shopping . . .said either of us, NEVER. Appealing to my love of leather and originality, Supanova has supplied me with almost every style from on-trend gladiators to hot new heels. With that mix of down south relaxed vibe and city wearability, Supanova ticks all my boxes from beach to bar. In fact, I almost never leave with out a shoebox in hand. True story.

Shop 3, 31/33 Dunn Bay Road, Dunsborough (08) 9759 1166

The Bra Emporium Is it just us or does no one find the time to actually go underwear shopping properly? If you’re in Margaret River pop in to The Bra Emporium and the girls will fit you properly with a great selection of underwear from everyday bralettes by Bassoni to sweet sleepwear by Papinelle. They also sell divine locally made candles by Trust Bella.

Shop 2/137 Bussell Highway, Margaret River. (08) 9757 9949

Sugarman Anyone who knows me knows I love a bit of street and man style, so I was really happy to find Sugarman on a recent trip to Margs. Tucked a street back from the main shopping strip, Sugarman has a plethora of cool street labels including Status Anxiety and Mr Simple and also sells quirky antiques, original art and coffee. What’s not to love?

Sugarman, Shop 1, 30 Fearn Avenue, Margaret River (08) 9758 7753. margaretriver.com

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Active & venture |

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SUN Local surfer Jacob Willcox can’t wait for summer to arrive when he gets to do what he loves the most – surfing Margaret River’s legendary breaks.

By ANTHONY PANCIA/ELEMENTS MARGARET RIVER.

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t comes bearing the most welcome of combinations; cool clear nights, dewy fresh mornings and long pleasant evenings watching the sun set.

Though each season has its plusses, summer, especially in Margaret River, is where it’s at.

The vibe around town picks up a notch, people wave and, according to one of the town’s best up and coming surfers, Jacob Willcox, “everything just seems easier.”

“I love it,’’ Jacob says while casting an eye over the town’s main street as the beautiful late afternoon starts to filter through.

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“The days are longer, you can have a barbie on the beach and everyone just seems to be in a good mood. I think it has a lot to do with the sun being out after winter and spring.”

Jacob came to international attention after a shock win over 11-time world champion Kelly Slater at an event in Portugal in 2013. The then 16-year-old took the win and resulting media attention in his stride and was back in class at Margaret River Senior High School the following week.

School’s a thing of the past now for the 18-year-old, but the arrival of summer also

sparks many a memory of the countless hours logged surfing before and after school a short bike ride from home.

The pushie might have been replaced with a car, but the ritual of being out in the water as the sun rises and sets is still the same.

“Summer opens up a lot more breaks than winter, mainly because the waves are generally not as big.You find yourself heading to all those beach breaks that work so well when it’s smaller and I’m lucky that there’s a couple of those right around the corner from home,” he says.

“I tend to stick to places like Gas Bay and

Summer opens a lot more breaks than winter, mainly because the waves are generally not as big

Rivermouth, places that are fun in the morning and even more fun in the afternoon once the wind kicks in. They’re great waves with a lot of punch so they’re perfect for practicing airs.”

Indeed, over the years the Rivermouth in particular has moulded the surfing style of the towns’ best surfers, from Dino Adrian, Chris Ross and Rohan Annesley to modern day wonders like Creed McTaggart, Jack Robinson and Sean Manners.

But as nearby Gnarabup developed in size and population, attention shifted to Gas Bay. According to Jacob though, not for any other

reason than it was close to home.

“All of a sudden there seemed to be a whole bunch of kids surfing Gas,” says Jacob.

“I think it had a lot to do with the fact we could all just run down the hill and our parents knew where we were. We’d surf till it was dark then just walk home, have dinner, go to sleep then wake up and do it all over again the next day.”

That constant immersion saw Jacob develop his fast flowing style and he was set to have a decent shot at a competitive career before breaking several bones in his lower right leg.

Exactly how the injury occurred is now a source of some comedic value to Jacob, though at the time it was anything but.

“Let’s just say I was running for a bus,’’ laughs Jacob of the injury’s origin.

“But it was a pretty bad one. I scored a spiral fracture in my fibula and displaced two bones which tore all the fibres and tissues between them. I had some screws and metal plates put in to hold everything back in place while it healed.

I’ve had some of the screws removed but the plate is still there. It feels fine but it restricts the movement a bit.”

The injury saw Jacob dry docked for close to

three months. Enough time for him to regather the enthusiasm of those early years, a funny preposition given he is still just 18.

“I can’t tell you how stoked I was to get back in the water,” he says.

“If anything good came of the injury, it reinforced how good we have it here. It was pretty painful watching all my mates surfing the whole time but it was probably the first time I’ve really sat back and looked at the place and the beaches that I call home.”

As the sun starts to set, Jacob finds himself taking a moment to soak in the warm evening breeze.

Truth be told, he’d probably rather be sitting in the water with his mates out at Gas Bay enjoying the last moments of daylight before making his way up over the hill to home like he’s done thousands of times before.

But for now, the setting sun comes with a timely reminder, he’s just turned 18 and is officially a professional surfer.

“I hadn’t thought about that actually,” says Jacob.

“This is the first summer I can get out and about. I’ll finally get to see what all the fuss is about.” margaretriver.com

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Active & Adventure |

Local hero

Sean Blocksidge In 2010, he won Western Australian Guide of the Year, he’s been rated the #1 Thing To Do in Australia on Trip Advisor, and once took Jeremy Clarkson on an adventure tour and lived to tell the tale. Yet the journey for Perthborn Sean Blocksidge, owner of the Margaret River Discovery Company, hasn’t always been a smooth one. By ANNA HARTLEY | Images by FRANCES ANDRIJCH

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fter years of living and travelling all over the world, Sean saw what he thought was a huge opportunity in the Margaret River Region to create a tourism business along gourmet, ecological lines.

So in 2008, he chucked in his job, and invested everything in his new business. How did it go?

“Shocking. A disaster,” says Sean.

“It was the beginning of the Global Financial Crisis, and it was so bad by September of that first year, I was done, I’d lost everything.”

Thankfully Sean clung on for a while longer, and his fortunes changed practically overnight.

“I went to number one on Trip Advisor and that was it; the next morning off it went and I’ve never looked back. We’ve held that number one position ever since”.

Sean’s Trip Advisor account is chock full of

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glowing five-star reviews, yet Sean says wordof-mouth has also been an extremely important part of growing his business, as has social media, something that he came to mostly by accident.

After exhausting his marketing budget on so-called traditional marketing, he began investigating other ways to promote his business.

Despite his lack of training or experience in the field, he has grown his community to over 10,000 followers on Instagram, 5,000 on Facebook and 1,500 on Twitter.

He’s made such a good job of it that he was recently invited to present on the topic at the inaugural News Corp Australia Tourism Innovation Conference in Cairns.

It’s clear that what customers appreciate about Sean and his tours is his no-nonsense, fun personality, a breath of fresh air in an industry that is dominated by shiny, off-the-peg tours

aimed at large groups of people.

Indeed Sean’s motto is “tours for people who don’t do tours”, which, he laughingly explains, came from an unlikely “Charles and Camilla” couple he took on tour a few years ago.

“We were about to go canoeing and hiking and four-wheel-driving. He was in a tweed

FAMILY FRIENDY, FINE DINING Sean has other ideas, however.

“When you get one or two, they are amazed, and they tell their friends, who tell their friends.”

While the recently dropping Australian dollar has seen an increase in the international market, Sean is still convinced that there is plenty for even locals to discover, remarking that the most overlooked attraction in the Margaret River Region is the Margaret River itself.

“I always say to my guests when we go canoeing ‘we’ve just done something that I think about half the population here haven’t done’ I do it every day and I never see anybody. I find that astounding.”

Another forgotten gem is the Cape To Cape walking track.

“We’ve got one of the world’s best walking trails right on our doorstep, but how often do people actually get out on that and overnight camp on it? Most people just think ‘wine-winewine’ and of course that is the number one attraction for sure but there is just so much more to do than just the wine.”

Sean was always keen to be part of a country town community, and upon arrival in Margaret River about 13 years ago, he joined the local Volunteer Fire and Rescue Brigade.

“One of the amazing things is being out in a fire for eight to 10 hours with some of these old timers, and the more you go, the more they trust you, the more they share their stories. That’s been invaluable for me,” he says.

“I’ve been told some really special locations.”

While this is helpful for his job as a tour guide, it’s clear that he isn’t in it for the rewards, saying that an essential part of living in a small country town is contributing back into that community.

“We have very high volunteer rates down here,” he says, asserting that being a volunteer firefighter is definitely not all fun and games.

He describes the 2011 Margaret River bushfires, initially a controlled burn that jumped containment lines in which dozens of houses were lost and tens of thousands of hectares of forest and bushland were blackened, as being one of the scariest experiences of his life.

“Even the most hardened of firefighters got a fright out of that one. It was devastating. The upside was that it did bring the community together, but there was no fun and joy in that experience.”

Thankfully, the area was able to bounce back, and tourism in the Margaret River Region is as strong as ever.

Sean Blocksidge and Margaret River Discovery Tours are helping to make sure of that.

Visit margaretriverdiscovery.com.au

OPEN 7 DAYS, LUNCH @ DINNER 10am to 4pm Tues to Thurs jacket and cravat, she was in a summer dress 10am to late Fri to Mon and heels and a flower brooch and I thought to myself, ‘Oh my God, they are slightly overdressed for what we’re about to do’. On top of that, she’d only told him about the tour an hour before, and you could see the steam coming out of his ears.

He was furious!

“But at the end of the day he turned to me and said ‘oh Sean! what a marvellous day it has been! This really is the tour for someone who didn’t want to do a tour!’.”

The catchy phrase caught Sean’s ear, and now graces all of his marketing material.

“That really describes the kind of people who do my tour. They wouldn’t dream of doing a big bus tour. There’s nothing wrong with a big bus tour, most people love that stuff, but that’s just not what my clients are choosing to do.”

While he initially imagined that most of his visitors would be international, these days Sean estimates that well over 80% of his visitors are Australian, with Queenslanders making up the bulk of that group. Sean can’t quite explain this phenomenon, but theorises that “they guzzle so much Margaret River wine over there, they’ve gotta come and discover the source”.

The Perth region also attracts a lot of customers, especially the expat oil, gas and mining population, but he says it is difficult to get Perth-born people on tour, as they tend to assume they already know everything about the region.

OPEN 7 DAYS for breakfast and lunch from 9am Diner Friday Saturday till late.

Bookings essential.

ROMANTIC, RUSTIC WEDDINGS

Come and feel the Love

facebook.com/rivendellrestaurant

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YALLINGUP PH: 08 9755 2899

Active & Adventure |

Water guru Joe Knight of One Ocean International knows the ocean like no other, running watermanship courses during the summer months in the Margaret River Region.

Russell Ord finds out how the courses help people understand the dangers and beauty of the big blue. | Images by ELEMENTS MARGARET RIVER

Russell Ord Can you give me a quick run down on who you are and what you do for a living?

Joe Knight I run an ocean awareness organisation, which is basically broken down into three key areas of education watermanship training, free diving training, and ocean education.

RO Where have you been recently and what have you been up to during the Margaret River winter months?

JK It’s been a great winter; I was on a big high after Margaret River in June and was very keen to keep the momentum

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going with the increase of my own training, and to really challenge myself as a waterman.

An opportunity presented itself to sail a yacht with a great mate from Tahiti to New Zealand, so I took it. Over the past three months I have had some once-in-a-lifetime experiences and really increased my own knowledge of watermanship. At the moment I am in Tonga exploring this amazing archipelago.

KNIGHT IN A WETSUIT Above, Joe Knight running one of his watermanship courses.

course has finished?

JK That’s a great question. The most concerning aspect of the course for students prior to the program is the apnea (breath hold) component.

It’s the deep free-dives, high heart rate breathhold exercises, or the long, relaxed breath-hold sessions. Over 90% of students arrive on the program with some nerves about all this apnea, only because it’s the fear of the unknown. After the program, the fear is gone. The students really enjoy the apnea, and 98% of all students that passed through the programs in Margaret River last summer obtained apnea times of three minutes and over. It’s one of the many joys of teaching – seeing the genuine stoke on their faces and their self-confidence rise to new levels.

RO How are the courses looking for this summer?

There’s been a lot of talk around town on just how good they were last year, so what can people expect next season?

JK The courses are lining up amazingly for this summer and filling up quickly. Last year was such a great experience so that’s definitely motivated me to bring some really special stuff to the table this summer. Students will be exposed to more advanced training practices as they are improving

every year. They will have more interactions with local wildlife than last summer and there will also be the world’s first Waterman Instructor Program running, where invited candidates will be put through an intensive program to become the world’s first professional waterman trainers.

RO In your opinion what is the biggest concern or fear that students have prior to a One Ocean International course, and how much difference can you see once the

RO Before you left last year you picked up a new camera and water housing, have you found time to take a few shots on your travels?

JK I picked up a Sony A6000 and a Nauticam housing and let me tell you, it has not left my hand since I arrived in the South Pacific. I’ve included a few of my favourite shots of the trip so far.

RO Have any of the students that passed through your programs in Margaret River used the training in real situations?

JK I got a few calls from some students after margaretriver.com

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My watermanship course experience

by CHRIS CROOKE

those big swells came through in May and June. They wanted to share their experiences of putting the training into use in the ‘real thing’, and it was an absolute joy to hear their amazing stories of being exposed to some very heavy situations and dealing with them cleanly and safely. Guys finding themselves in intense

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situations off breaks like Margaret River Main Break, Bombie and The Right and using proper breathing, swimming and freediving techniques to turn the experience from a frightening and dangerous one, to a confidence boosting experience.

The biggest swell in seven years hit the West Coast and I’d been getting ready for it.

I paddled out on my eight-foot gun at Boat Ramps.

“Man, I got my first big one and fell off and then my leg rope snapped, I had to swim in all the way from out the back because no jet skis could pick me up as they could not see me through the turbulence on the inside. It was like a 1.5km swim through rips and 15-footers.

“Anyway, I got back to shore and tried looking for my big red board, and I saw it floating back out to sea so I just swam back out and got it. The paddle back in was just insane. I went and met

BUILD CONFIDENCE Joe Knight’s courses teach skills that can prove lifesaving in the ocean.

my mate at a coffee shop as he just finished work and he was really keen to get out there, he got me really pumped so I grabbed a new leggy and paddled back out.

“I got to the first section and there were 15 or so guys waiting for the eight-twelve footers, so we just paddled straight out the back. We got out there and there were four guys waiting in the lineup, all wearing emergency vests.

“We just sat there for a while assessing the situation and then my mate got a bomb. A huge set came through and one of the guys takes off on like a 20-footer and he surfed amazingly, words can’t explain what I saw! It was just incredible. I waited out there for about two hours but couldn’t get into one, so I paddled in a bit and then I got a 14-footer. I was so stoked! I got another two waves after that and just felt so confident. It was so good to be among it, and I was so happy.

The biggest swell in seven years hit the West Coast and I’d been getting ready for it

“Safe to say I scored the biggest waves of my life! Thanks so much for the training, it made me so much more comfortable out there.”

For more details on One Ocean International, visit oneoceaninternational. org; One Ocean International – Facebook; Instagram – @oneoceaninternational

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If you’ve got a few spare hours, why not join an eco-tour or go fat biking? This is the coast with something for everybody.

Off the beaten

track

ECO-FRIENDLY ADVENTURE

Make the most of summer’s bright sunny days and calm azure waters and join the South West Eco Discoveries team. The focus of their seasonal summer tour is on the marine environment with guides providing a wellinformed commentary about the unique environment of the Leeuwin–Naturaliste National Park. It’s an area packed with reptiles, mammals and birds that can be spotted on any given day, so don’t forget to bring your cameras - and binoculars.

You’ll soon understand just why the cape is a globally recognised biodiversity hotspot; the place is literally teeming with life.

During the tour look, out for animals in large aggregations such as mobs of Western Grey Kangaroos or pods of bottlenose dolphins, commonly seen surfing along the brilliant white beaches. It’s such a privilege to be able to witness

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animals like this in their natural environment, without disturbing their natural behaviour.

The team of two brothers, Ryan and Michael, have years of experience between them, and during the tour, your friendly driver and additional guide will take you to the region’s best scenic points, taking you on short mini walks along the way, giving you time to soak up the special feel of the area. The morning and afternoon nature-based national park tours include unique scenery, whales and wildflowers in season, and opportunities for wildlife viewing, all in only three-and-a-half hours, allowing you to enjoy the rest of the day at your leisure.

They’re also available for private charters for up to 12 people.

South West Eco Discoveries conduct three-and a-half-hour tours twice daily, seven days a week.

“We will show you the best parts of Cape Naturaliste in an all-inclusive nature

experience,” says Ryan.

“Our personalised tours include both a local driver and guide, allowing for comprehensive commentary and walk options, locally made light snacks, hot and cold drinks, binoculars, unique kids’ activity packs and our live underwater camera feed if conditions are suitable. Pick-ups and drop-offs are available from selected points in Busselton and Dunsborough.”

Visit southwestecodiscoveries.com.au.

ROCKY ROAD If you’re after something a bit different to your average Margaret River tour, Cam O’Beirne’s your man. He’s the brains behind one of the most energetic tour companies around - Capes to Coast.

Whether it be riding a fat bike on the beach or forest, jumping off rocks into the Indian Ocean, snorkelling in the Ngari Marine Park or getting up close to the local wildlife, Cam can curate the perfect tour for you.

Come for a full day and experience everything, or pick and choose a shorter trip.

“With personal assistance, and high-end services and gear, I cater for a maximum of six people, so you will receive personalised attention

and a great experience,” says Cam. The Coast + Rock Adventure is an adventure designed to get you wet and wild. Pull on a wetsuit, lifejacket and helmet and follow Cam as he takes you on a coasteering adventure.

You’ll traverse rock outcrops by swimming, scrambling and exploring to a constant backdrop of waves and cliffs.You need to be able to swim and be fit enough to haul yourself out of the sea, but the rewards for all that effort will be phenomenal.

If you fancy something a little less intense, how about an encounter with stingrays? Head to the towering stands of karri in the Boranup Forest before dipping down to a sheltered bay where you’ll be able to pat and maybe even feed the giant stingrays that visit the area.

It’s an unforgettable, trip-defining moment and not to be missed.

Visit capestocoast.com.au for more information.

FISH TALES

on their tour guide’s face.

They’ll happily take out the more experienced angler or someone who is keen for a challenge in one of their top of the range Hobie Mirage Drive kayaks.

The coast around the Margaret River region is recognised as one of the finest for inshore pelagic fishing in the world teeming with yellowfin tuna, mahi mahi (dolphinfish), wahoo, cobia, Spanish mackerel, giant trevally and many others.

The kayaks don’t even require a paddle as you move by pedalling your feet - allowing your hands to be free to cast and catch a beauty.

If deep sea fishing is a bit beyond your skillset, you can try out a kayaking fishing experience in Dunsborough Bay - perfect for a family bonding session - where you’ll experience the beauty of the ocean at close hand.

You can take your catch home, or catch and release - your guide will help you stay within the fishing laws and regulations at all times.

Visit yellowfintours.com.au for more information.

You might have thought about taking a deep sea fishing trip in the past but how about one where DIRTY WEEKEND you’re fishing from a sea kayak?

Surf N’ Dirt Adventure Tours specialise in living The experienced, family-run team at every day to the max, and their Great Escape Yellowfin Tours say that the mere mention of a tour is the perfect example of this. The highly MR MRBTA Summer Half Ad Paths_Layout 12/11/15 5:41 PM Page 1 outstanding and memorable full day deep seaMag kayak fishing tour ‘spreads1a wide smile’ personalised,

tour has an adrenalin fuelled twist.

“This is definitely not your standard Margaret River wine tour in a minivan or coach that follows a predictable route,” they say.

They also throw in adventure activity in the morning before spending the afternoon sampling the finest wines, micro-brews and gourmet produce that the Margaret River region has to offer.

“We find that there’s nothing like earning the right to indulge after an amazing surf session, exhilarating mountain bike ride or relaxing kayak adventure.

“We guarantee that your head will still be buzzing and your body tingling with excitement as we enter our first winery of the day.”

Limited to only seven guests, this tour is for those that want to escape the crowds, take some local off-road tracks into spectacular surroundings and enjoy an exciting and memorable adventure activity, before lapping up the tastings at a selection of the finest boutique wineries, breweries and local gourmet producers that the region is famous for.

Each tour is personally customised to suit your needs - so think big/exciting/challenging and you get the picture.

Visit surfndirtadventuretours.com.au for more information.

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My family getaway

with Jessica Gethin, Perth Symphony Orchestra conductor and music director

T

here’s nothing quite like escaping.

Loading up the Kluger high with our two ginger poppets, scooters, sandpit toys and a pretty decent selection of wine, we drove three hours south from our home in Perth to the gorgeous red earth that is our south west.

After a hectic year of travel, concerts and study, we were after a well-overdue break; one that came laptop and work stress-free, simply time to recharge and reconnect with each other.

We made our home in one of the two bedroom beachfront apartments at Abbey Beach Resort, the kids quickly settling into their rooms while we put our feet up on the balcony, opened a Leeuwin Estate Art Series and, well, just sat.

Bliss!

For some reason, the two-year-old didn’t get the memo about sleeping in on holidays so our mornings started early and loud.

Bouncing with enthusiasm, we decided to get out and about to the beach, exploring the breathtaking coastline, walking on the sand collecting shells, building sandcastles and snacking on second (sometimes third!) breakfasts.

Eager to burn off some more energy, we

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went on a mission to find a new playground.

A big thumbs up then to the brilliant nature playground in Yallingup, a wonderful layout made from wood, pipes, rock climbing and ropes.

You can even ‘surf ’ in the sand, which Mr Six thought was just fabulous.

We spent the afternoon walking the Busselton Jetty, which is well developed with picnic areas, shaded playground and, of course, the historic jetty which for a small fee you can journey the 1.7km length of the famous jetty train and even visit the underwater observatory.

Then it was home for the kids to have a swim while we popped on some John Butler accompanied by a rosé, before thinking about the only thing we allow ourselves to plan on holiday . . . what to eat next.

In terms of food and wine in Margaret River, options are plentiful, however some are definitely more suited for families. With lots of breweries and wineries to choose from, Cheeky Monkey is a family favourite, boasting a great selection of food and bev (pulled pork burger and mushroom pizza hit the spot!) well laid out with an enclosed playground for the kids to run off some energy.

At the bar they even sell Kids Australian activity packs for $2 filled with stickers, pencils and colouring sheets which let my husband and I sneak in an extra pale ale without any trouble.

Bootleg Brewery is also pretty popular for families with kids, with a playground and plenty of space for the kids to run. For those camping or in cabin accommodation a good casual meal option is to drop into Spinnakers, which is part of the Bayview Geographe Resort on Bussell Highway.

They have a bouncy castle set up close enough for you to have a pre-dinner drink on the café deck and themed nights where the parents can eat while the kids watch movies and participate in supervised arts and crafts sessions.

Both the kids adore animals so we chose to spend the next morning at the Wonky Windmill Farm and Eco Park. They got to bottle feed

past this for many years and often jogged along that exact strip when preparing as conductor for the Leeuwin Concerts, yet never knew what lay beyond the road.

While you are there, one of my very favourite places to recharge is just down the road – the delightful Margaret River Bakery. An arty, unique, eclectic spot of heaven tucked off the main road, with an antique collection of tea cups to rival the Queen’s, mixed with the most amazing looking bites to eat and comfy couches on the deck make this the perfect spot for a bit of ‘me’ time, if you can get it – check out their Facebook page pics of food. Total drool material.

Of course it wouldn’t be a family trip down south without a compulsory stop at Simmo’s in Dunsborough for an ice cream, and visit with their resident Edward Emu. It’s a great place to kick a footy around and even play a round of mini golf, although watch out for Edward, he’s

FAMILY FUN Jessica Gethin and tribe had a ball in the South West, taking in local beaches, wineries and even feeding the animals.

lambs, handle guinea pigs and rabbits and hand feed ponies and goats with a paper bag received as part of your entry fee.

The farm is fairly well laid out and not huge, so ideal for little kids. They also offer tours of the orchard throughout the day. They have a small lunch menu, complete with locally-made pickle and relish, and scones with jam made on location eaten on the cosy deck. It felt like having lunch at your favourite aunt’s place.

We planned our car trips around little stops, counting the many colourful street cows in Cowaramup, allowing Dad to sneak an amazing curry pie from Cowaramup Bakery, and taste-testing the sample chocolate buds at the Margaret River Chocolate Factory which coincided nicely with Mum’s much-needed coffee time. So much to do that is so simple yet

fun for the kids.

A few times we set out to the beach at Dunsborough, armed with scooters and snacks.

It’s a great stretch of coastline, the kids especially loved walking out to the sandbar, they felt like they were standing in the middle of the ocean!

The week coming to a fast close, we were pretty chuffed to discover a little hideaway that we had driven past many times before over the years. As we drove into the Margaret River town centre, we stopped briefly at the tourist stop where ‘Kate the train’ lives.

Behind this lies a playground, café and bridge which leads over the river to an old historical mill and school classroom that have been maintained for tourists and schools to visit.

The kids peered through the windows and ran around the old rusted machinery. I’ve driven

famous for his ice cream disappearing trick – I wonder if he’s a Dad, they seem to do that too.

One of our last stops is also in Quindalup, halfway between Busselton and Dunsborough on Caves Rd.We love to pop in to see to the fabulous Norma at her Saturday morning cake market for a homemade sausage roll (seriously the best in the west) and takeaway cakes at the stunning heritage property Hardwood’s Cottage. Nothing beats a quiet car thanks to Norma’s cooking.

It truly is such an amazing part of our state, and even though we have stayed and explored it as adults we really enjoyed seeing things through the kids’ eyes. Rather than battle with flights, airport waits, currency exchanges, travel and passports we explored and enjoyed our home state. Beautiful beaches, pearly shells to collect, scrumptious produce and some of the best wine in Australia paired with plenty of kids’ activities, bush walks, local history, impeccable weather and incredible rich scenery to breathe in.

Sometimes the simple things in life are the best. margaretriver.com

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Stay

DIRECTORY

ABBEY BEACH RESORT LUXURY HOTEL AND APARTMENT ACCOMMODATION IN A RESORT SETTING, LOCATED ON THE BEACH IN BUSSELTON Enjoy fully serviced, self contained apartments and studios, each with a private double spa and balcony.

Abbey Beach Resort is a 4.5 star leisure resort with countless facilities and amenities. The Resort has an atrium restaurant, pool side café, several bars, a

25 metre indoor heated swimming pool, 2 outdoor pools, tennis and squash courts, spa, gym and sauna for your enjoyment.

Stroll to the beach, tour wineries, art galleries and many other local attractions.

For a holiday or short break you are assured of comfort and style at Abbey Beach Resort

595 Bussell Highway, Busselton WA Freecall 1800 017 097 • Ph 61 8 9755 4600 • info@abbeybeach.com.au www.abbeybeach.com.au

AUGUSTA HOTEL & HAMELIN BAY HOLIDAY PARK

BAY VILLAGE RESORT & SPA DUNSBOROUGH

ENJOY ACCOMMODATION SET ON THE BLACKWOOD RIVER, OR ON THE BEACH IN HAMELIN BAY

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION…

Set on the Blackwood River, The Augusta Hotel offers accommodation including 4 star self-contained apartments, rooms, cottages and backpacker facilities. The Hotel offers spectacular views of the Blackwood River and Southern Ocean and features a fully licensed restaurant, featuring fresh produce and TAB facilities.

Hamelin Bay Holiday Park offers unique beachside accommodation in a National Park and beachside setting. Set on a beautiful bay and taking in the picturesque South West coastline between Cape Naturaliste and Cape Leeuwin, the Holiday Park is 15kms north of Augusta and 30kms south of Margaret River. Choose from well appointed camp sites, caravan sites, cottages and cabins.

PO Box 74, Blackwood Avenue, Augusta WA Ph 08 9758 1944 • info@augustahotel.com.au www.augustahotel.com.au

PO Box 4, Hamelin Bay West Road Karridale WA Ph 08 9758 5540 • bookings@hamelinbayholidaypark. com.au • www.hamelinbayholidaypark.com.au

BIG 4 PEPPERMINT PARK

MULTI AWARD WINNING FAMILY HOLIDAY PARK Centrally located between Busselton, Dunsborough and Margaret River. Set amongst 8 hectares of natural bushland it’s only a short stroll away from the pristine beach of Geographe Bay. Close to the Wineries, Restaurants, Art Galleries, Fishing, Golf and lots more…. Self-contained one and two bedroom cabins, Studio apartments and budget family accommodation, Wheelchair friendly camping and 1 bedroom cabin, Ensuites sites and Big rig friendly sites, Powered and un-powered sites, Spacious fully-equipped modern Campers Kitchen, New Entertainment Hub – Kids club and special group gatherings.

97 Caves Rd, Abbey WA 6280 ph 08 9755 4241 • pepipark@iinet.net.au www.peppermintpark.com.au

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Just a 2 minute walk to the pristine waters of the Bay, Dunsborough town centre shopping, arts, crafts, galleries and golf, Bay Village Resort & Spa is a 3 hour drive south from Perth and provides a range of accommodation styles. Superb spa apartments, (mostly fully self-contained), cosy cottages & chalets and executive style villas ensure there is an accommodation style to suit everyone, from couples, families, corporate travellers or groups.

An exquisite day spa, heated indoor pool, pool spa and outdoor decking area, sauna, restaurant, bar, barbeques, children’s playground, FREE in-room movies and FREE WIFI, complement the resort’s unique location.

26 Dunn Bay Road, Dunsborough WA Ph 1300 138258 • info@bayvil.com www.bayvil.com

CAVES HOUSE HOTEL

DUNSBOROUGH INN BACKPACKERS

THE ICONIC WATERING HOLE FOR LOCALS & VISITORS ALIKE SINCE 1938

SUPERIOR BUDGET ACCOMMODATION SITUATED RIGHT IN THE HUB OF TOWN

Originally built by the Government of Western Australia, Caves House Hotel has provided accommodation for visitors to the newly opened caves nearby. Rebuilt in 1939 the building retains its art deco styling and has 4.5acres of beautifully manicured gardens to explore.

Caves House provides a great venue for food, drink, music & accommodation. So come and explore some of south west WA’s history today!

For those on a budget, the self-catering aspect of the complex and it’s proximity to the supermarket can be a great money saver. Dunsborough Inn Backpackers provides a variety of accommodation ranging from self-contained units to our non dormitory hostel style rooms. Our large communal kitchen/dining room and spacious recreation areas provide an environment for guests to relax and exchange experiences of the day or just to meet new people.

18 Yallingup Beach Road, Yallingup Ph 08 9750 1888 www.caveshousehotelyallingup.com.au

50 Dunn Bay Road, Dunsborough WA Ph 08 9756 7277 • bookings@dunsboroughinn.com.au www.dunsboroughinn.com.au

DIRECTORY

Stay

DUNSBOROUGH CENTRAL MOTEL

PREMIUM PUBLISHERS

Page turners for brands

DUNSBOROUGH CENTRAL MOTEL IS NESTLED IN A TRANQUIL GARDEN SETTING IN THE HEART OF TOWN Dunsborough Central Motel is ideally located on the doorstep of world renowned beaches, dive sites, premium wineries, art galleries, wildflowers, caves and the incredible coastal scenery of Cape Naturaliste. Just a 600 metre stroll to the beach or a short drive to surf beaches, the Dunsborough Central Motel is adjacent

to restaurants & cafes, wine bars, supermarket shopping centre, beauticians, banks and a very well informed Visitor Centre.

Simply relax in style by our outdoor pool and BBQ area, indulge in the Bali Style Gazebo Spa, or just kick back with a good book and a glass of wine in the privacy of your well

01 | SUMMER 2015/2016

magazine FREE ~ take me home |

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Where to eat, drink and explore in the Margaret River Region this summer.

50 Dunn Bay Road, Dunsborough WA Ph 08 9756 7711 • reservations@dunsboroughmotel.com.au www.dunsboroughmotel.com.au

Laun ch issue!

Launch issue!

WIN a stay for two at

romantic Injidup Spa Retreat

Where to eat, drink and explore in the Margaret River Region this summer.

OUR SUMMER PICKS OF WHERE TO STAY, WHAT TO EAT, AND WHAT TO DO FOOD | DRINK | STAY | PLAY | DISCOVER margaretriver.com

DUNSBOROUGH BEACH COTTAGES

| SUMMER 2015 1

LEGACY & PROMISE

50 YEARS OF SOCIAL WORK AND SOCIAL POLICY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA LEGACY & PROMISE

ABSOLUTE BEACHFRONT ON THE SHORES OF GEOGRAPHE BAY Dunsborough Beach Cottages is situated on the pristine waters of Geographe Bay just 2.5 hours south of Perth. We offer beautifully appointed self-contained 2 & 3 bedroom resort style cottages, including our adults only beachfront cottages.

From here you can walk to the Dunsborough town centre or within a short distance you can experience a range of award

winning wineries, galleries and restaurants, making Dunsborough Beach Cottages the ideal choice for families, couples or anyone looking to enjoy a beachfront escape in the Margaret River region.

Be sure to visit our website for the latest offers and rates.

Ph 08 9756 8885 or freecall 1800 816 885 e dbcottages@netserv.net.au • www.dunsborough-beach.com.au

●

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LEGACY & PROMISE

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by TAMARA HUNTER

PREMIUM PUBLISHERS 181 Roberts Road, Subiaco WA 6008.

Ph 08 9273 8933.

Visit premiumpublishers.com.au

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Stay

DIRECTORY

Relaxing Beachfront Holiday!

Located on the shores of Geographe Bay in the Margaret River Region, Forte Cape View offers the best of both worlds with beautifully appointed, fully self contained accommodation, some with spa.

Ask about our ocean views accommodation.

• Four star beach front destination • Two & three bedroom, two bathroom accommodation • Childrens playground and BBQ area • Outdoor pool, indoor pool, gym and sauna

12 Little Colin Street, Busselton bookings@capeviewapartments.com.au

GRANGE ON FARRELLY

JACARANDA GUESTHOUSE

MARGARETS FOREST

AFFORDABLE, TOWN CENTRE, QUIET LOCATION

JETTY, SHOPS AND RESTAURANTS, ALL AT YOUR FINGERTIPS!

STAY IN THE HEART OF THE ICONIC MARGARET RIVER TOWN CENTRE

Air conditioned accommodation. Four minutes walk to the main street, and walking distance to all town centre facilities. Halfsize tennis court, outdoor pool, BBQ facilities, native gardens.

Licensed restaurant on site for breakfast and dinner. Our clean, comfortable, affordable rooms are the perfect base from which to explore the region.

Book now, then relax and enjoy your holiday.

18 Farrelly Street, Margaret River Ph 08 9757 3177 grange@highway1.com.au www.grangeonfarrelly.com.au

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Call us on 08 9755 4388 www.capeviewapartments.com.au

SUMMER 2015

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Grange

Fantastically located, is nestled amongst beautiful English style gardens where you can just relax or enjoy a bbq.

Busselton’s famous jetty, beach, shops, cafe and restaurants are all within a 5 minute walk away. Has 7 guestrooms, all with own ensuite, r/c airconditioning and free wi-fi.

Continental breakfast is included in the price.

Margarets Forest is situated where the towering forest meets the gourmet town of Margaret river. These four-star fully-equipped apartments are walking distance to the river, bushwalking trails and the cafe strip.

Features include: Twin spas | Private barbecues | Fully equipped laundry and kitchen | Private balcony & courtyard | Free onsite parking | Air conditioning

30 West Street, Busselton, WA Ph 08 9751 5973 • jacarandaguesthouse1@westnet.com.au www.jacarandaguesthouse.com

96 Bussell Highway, Margaret River, WA Ph 08 9758 7188 stay@margaretsforest.com.au www.margaretsforest.com.au

The

On Farrelly

MARGARET RIVER MOTEL

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Stay

OUR WORLD IS YOUR PLAYGROUND

DIRECTORY

Directory

PULLMANBUNKERBAYRESORT.COM.AU

REGENCY BEACH CLUB DUNSBOROUGH REGENCY BEACH CLUB PROVIDES THE FINEST IN SELF CONTAINED, LUXURY BEACHFRONT ACCOMMODATION, IN DUNSBOROUGH. Enjoy the added benefits of resort style facilities including a heated swimming pool and tennis court. Our holiday houses all offer superb decor, air conditioning, luxury kitchens, laundry facilities, outdoor dining & BBQ areas and balconies. The spacious living areas are equipped with TV’s, DVD and docking/stereo systems and also 7 foxtel channels.

The Margaret River Region

Visitor Guide 2015

We accommodate from 1 bedroom/1 bathroom up to 5 bedroom/5 bathroom holiday houses, many have Spa Baths. With so many houses there is sure to be a holiday house to perfectly suited to anyone.

Prices start from $350 per night with midweek and winter specials also available.

REPEAT ADVERT

ISEMENT

77 Gifford Road, Dunsborough, WA Ph 08 9759 1117 enquiry@regencybeachclub.com Below is your most recent advertisement from either the 2014 AMRTAwww.regencybeachclub.com visitor guide or adapted from the 2013 GBTA visitor guide.

SEINE BAY APARTMENTS

Seine Bay Apartments

Spacious & Comfortable Cabins + Caravan Sites

SUPERB ACCOMMODATION PRISTINE AUGUSTA

Superb Accommodation in pristine Augusta

• AAA AAArated rated&&excellent excellentTripAdvisor TripAdvisorreviews reviews bedroom - 2bathroom bathroom & 3 bedroom - 3 bathroom bathroom • 22bedroom-2 bedroom-3 Spacious, self-contained, self-contained, stunning • Spacious, stunningdesign design Allapartments apartments with baybay views • All withmagnificent magnificent views RCAir AirConditioning, conditioning, flat • RC flatscreen screenTV TV DVD DVD CD CD Timber decks, decks, private private balconies, • Timber balconies, lock-up lock-upgarages garages Central location, close to shops, cafes & iconic Augusta Hotel Hotel • Central location, close to shops, cafes & iconic Augusta Near to Blackwood River, beaches, caves, karri forest, wineries, • Near to Blackwood River, beaches, caves, karri forest, coastal bushwalks & the Leeuwin Lighthouse wineries, coastal bushwalks & the Leeuwin Lighthouse

www.riverviewtouristpark.com

9757 2270 | 1300 666 105

Blackwood Tel: 08 9758Avenue, 0761 Augusta Ph 08 9758 0761 Augusta Blackwood Avenue, enquiry@augustaapartments.com.au enquiry@augustaapartments.com.au www.augustaapartments.com.au

Don’t miss out next time Call Natalie by February 10 2016 on (08) 9273 8933 or email sales@premiumpublishers.com.au to book your space in the autumn issue of Your Margaret River Magazine.

PREMIUM PUBLISHERS

www.augustaapartments.com.au

This is a 1 Unit Advert. By returning this form you are booking an advert in the Visitor Guide and we will invoice you for $500 inc gst margaretriver.com | SUMMER 2015 75 Colour scheme of title bar is subject to change.

Stay

Food & Drink

DIRECTORY

TAUNTON FARM HOLIDAY PARK & HISTORIC FUNCTION CENTRE

CENTRAL TO THE CAPE TO CAPE REGION Offering friendly service in a relaxing, peaceful, rural environment.

Farm-style cottages, caravan & camping Barn-style campers kitchen.

Farm animals & feeding, kids playground & bouncy pillow.

Weelchair access.

Multiple Tourism Award Winner.

Only 10 minutes north of Margaret River – off Bussell Highway, Cowaramup.

Function Centre for 200 plus.

Fully equipped catering kitchen & amenities.

Any unique function at affordable rates with accommodation onsite.

Inspections are always welcome.

Ph 08 9755 5334 • Freecall: 1800 248 777 enquiries@tauntonfarm.com.au www.tauntonfarm.com.au

WYADUP BROOK COTTAGES

FUN ON THE FARM, BUBBLING BROOK, WONDERFUL WILDFLOWERS AND CHEEKY CHICKENS Enjoy a piece of paradise from the comfort of a home away from home. 6 Cottages in a bushland farm setting on 250 acres in the heart of Yallingup.

• Close to the Cape to Cape Track and Incredible Injidup Bay • 5 minutes drive to beaches, wineries, galleries and shops • 1,2 & 3 bedroom fully self contained cottages • All towels, linen and bedding provided 33 Wyadup Road, Yallingup Tel 08 97552294 • wyadup@iinet.net.au www.wyadupbrook.com.au

BARNYARD 1978

BETTENAY’S MARGARET RIVER NOUGAT CO.

CAFE BORANUP

PASTA FACTORY, CASUAL CLASSY RESTAURANT & CELLAR DOOR…

Select From Over 32 Nougat Flavours and 2 Nougat Cream Liqueurs

COUNTRY ATMOSPHERE IN THE FOREST

With a viewing window allowing visitors to watch signature pasta in the making, with pasta and wine tastings to please your palate.

We welcome you to indulge in the flavours of our sharing plates stacked with local star ingredients and to explore our 5 SUMMER STORIES pop up store, which strives to honour farmers and artisans without whose knowledge and craftsmanship our tables would be barren.

OPEN DAILY. 12 Canal Rocks Rd, Yallingup WA Ph 08 9755 2548 www.barnyard1978.com.au

Visit our tasting room and watch our chef hand craft nougat in front of your eyes. Multiple gold medal winning nougat, free tastings and a selection of estate wines and nougat cream liqueurs to sample.

We look forward to welcoming you.

The Bettenay Family Corner Tom Cullity Drive & Miamup Rd, Cowaramup www.margaretrivernougat.com.au

EAGLE BAY OLIVES

10am-4pm Weekdays. 8am-4pm Weekends.

Great coffee. Home baked scones and cakes.

Augusta Abalone and Whiting.

Variety of vegetarian and GF options.

Breakfast and Lunch Menu www.cafeboranup.com Next to Boranup Gallery.

7981 Caves Road Forest Grove WA 6286 Ph 08 9757 7279 www.cafeboranup.com

GABRIEL CHOCOLATE

A GOURMET EXPERIENCE WITH A FOCUS ON OLIVE OIL AND OLIVES Premium extra virgin olive oil.

A wide selection of table olives, naturally processed.

Tapenades, pesto, dukkah, dressings and jams, all preservative free.

Unique giftware including olive wood boards and kitchen utensils.

Picnic boxes to enjoy in our shady gardens.

Open 10.30am to 5.00pm, Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

Open daily December & January.

Closed Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day. Check our Facebook page for the latest news.

521 Cape Naturaliste Road, Eagle Bay WA Ph (08) 9755 3188 eaglebayolives.com.au

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VISIT WA’S FIRST “BEAN TO BAR” CHOCOLATE MAKER Discover the vast array of naturally occurring chocolate flavours – everything from cherry, citrus through to rum raisin – in the singleorigin, multiple award winning chocolate bars.

We turn the world’s best raw cocoa beans into heavenly chocolate.

Daily behind the scenes tours, sample fresh chocolate, enjoy decadent hot chocolate, coffee and our handmade ice-cream, chocolate cookies and cakes.

Open 10am to 5pm daily. Daily tours.

Cnr Caves & Quininup Rds, Yallingup Ph 08 9756 6689 www.gabrielchocolate.com.au

WA's Own Icecream

Activities & Art

Directory WA's Own Icecream

THE MARGARET RIVER REGION’S

BEST OCEAN VIEW

PLEASE NO DOGS

FIND US ON FACEBOOK!

EV ERY SATURDAY

APRIL-NOVEMBER 8AM-12PM DECEMBER-MARCH 7.30AM-11.30AM MARGARET RIVER EDUCATION CAMPUS

LOT 272 BUSSELL HWY

E N Q U I R E S : K AT R I N A L O M B A R D O 9 7 5 7 9 0 9 5 K AT @M A R G A R E T R I V E R FA R M E R S M A R K E T. C O M . AU T H I N K S E A S O N A L , T H I N K F R E S H , T H I N K L O CA L !

OPEN 7 DAYS - 08 9756 9100 pullmanbunkerbayresort.com.au

THE DECK MARINA BAR & RESTAURANT

With over 60 flavours of delicious icecream made on the premise, sundaes, hot waffles and coffee.

There is something for the whole family!

Kids can go crazy in the adventure playground or challenge the whole family to 18 holes of mini golf.

Enjoy a BBQ or picnic in the shady landscaped gardens.

SIT BACK, RELAX AND ENJOY OPEN 7 DAYS The Deck Marina Bar and Restaurant is the ideal waterfront location where one can soak up the beauty of Port Geographe Marina. With a combination of outside dining on the sundrenched terrace or inside by the double sided fireplace, it is the perfect place to relax.

Port Geographe Tavern Pty Ltd T/as The Deck Marina Bar & Restaurant

161 Commonage Road Dunsborough

On the waterfront. Port Geographe Marina 21 Spinnaker Boulevard, Busselton cu@thedeckmarina.com.au Ph 9751 2960 www.thedeckmarina.com.au

08 9755 3745

www.simmos.com.au ARTGEO CULTURAL COMPLEX

caves Discover an ancient wonderland at Ngilgi, Mammoth, Lake and Jewel Cave.

To book drop into your nearest visitor centre or call: (08) 9757 7411

WHERE ART AND HERITAGE MEET Expand your mind in ArtGeo Gallery. Visit the Courthouse and step back in time. See artists at work in the Stables Studios.

Take a break in the Old Post Office Tea Rooms.

4 – 7 Queen Street, Busselton • 9751 4651 • artgeo@artgeo.com.au www.artgeo.com.au

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DIRECTORY

Food & Drink

Activities & Art

DIRECTORY

ARTS MARGARET RIVER

MARGARET RIVER CULTURAL AND EVENTS CENTRE The major arts and entertainment venue in the region.

Providing live theatre, music, community concerts, art exhibitions, workshops and the largest regional Readers and Writers Festival in WA. Weekly cinema screenings

including children’s matinees during the school holidays.

FREE family concerts in Cowaramup every Sunday evening in February.

Visit our website for information and ticket purchases.

9758 7316 (Mon-Fri 10am to 4pm) 51 Wallcliffe Rd, Margaret River www.artsmargaretriver.com

THE DIVE SHED

76 Peel Terrace - Ph: 9754 2166 - Fax: 9751 2092 www.busseltonmuseum.org.au

MARGARET RIVER ANTIQUES

Australia’s First Commercial Silk Farm ANTIQUES, ART, SCULPTURE, JEWELLERY & GARAGENALIA THE ADVENTURE BEGINS Try scuba diving – no experience required.

Learn to dive, sunset cruises, dive charters, equipment hire, sales and servicing.

The Dive Shed, 21 Queen Street Busselton Ph 08 9754 1615 • diveshed@compwest.net.au www.diveshed.com.au

MARGARET RIVER SURF SCHOOL

Located in the heart of Margaret River, presenting a diverse collection of antiques, art, sculpture, jewellery & garagenalia.

Comprising of the Georgian, Victorian, Edwardian, Art Deco and Retro/Vintage periods.

James & Katie continue their commitment to discovering the unusual, beautiful and rare items of our past. View for yourself some of the finest antiques available in the South West of WA. And now for the ultimate antiques experience stay overnight in the luxury of ‘The Studio Guest Suite’ furnished in fine antiques, plush fabrics and renowned Australian Art works.

43 TownView Terrace, Margaret River WA Ph 08 9758 8004 www.margaretriverantiques.com

SKYDIVE GERONIMO

Open 10am to 4pm (Closed Mon,Tues & Christmas Day)

Silkworms │ Silk Products

Mulberry Jams & Wine Mulberry Leaf Teas Tours, Displays & Demos Silk Art & Supplies

THERE’S NO BETTER WAY TO TRULY EXPERIENCE THE SOUTH WEST

TANDEM SKYDIVE AND LAND ON THE BEACH!

There’s no better way to truly experience the South West than to jump in a surf lesson with the Margaret River Surf School!

Operating for over 20 years, we cater for anyone willing to give it a crack. All ages from beginners to advanced, there is a lesson to suit you! Get the passion, feel the thrill with lessons starting at $50, all equipment supplied. Hire equipment also available.

Tandem Skydive from 10, 14 or 15,000ft over the spectacular Busselton and Margaret River regions!

Enjoy a breathtaking flight to altitude, taking in views of Geographe Bay, the famous Busselton Jetty, Cape Naturaliste and the wineries beyond. Then it’s time for the door to open, and ready? set? GO! Feel the rush of free falling when you and your Instructor plummet toward the earth at 200km/hour, before safely landing on the beaches of the beautiful Busselton foreshore alongside the Jetty.

We are open all year round, so contact us today!

0401 616 200 margaretriversurfschool@hotmail.com www.margaretriversurfschool.com

Ph 1300 449 669 skydive@skydivegeronimo.com.au www.skydivegeronimo.com.au

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We grow mulberries and silkworms to produce Australian silk. Our product is sent to Cambodia to be hand-reeled, dyed and woven in household and village-level enterprises.

Located in the heart of the Margaret River Wine Region 307 Harmans Mill Road Look for the red flags!

(08) 9755 6401 info@margaretriversilkroad.com

Wine & Beer

Directory

DIRECTORY

Activities & Art

Book now for autumn OPEN 7 DAYS GREAT SUMMER SPECIALS COUPLE’S SUITES MASSAGE & FACIALS RELAX LOUNGE

Call Natalie on dummy 0426 752 352 or email sales@premiumpublishers.com.au to book your space in the Autumn issue of Your Margaret River Region Magazine.

PREMIUM PUBLISHERS

pullmanbunkerbayresort.com.au BOOKINGS 08 9756 9160

Cape GraCe

CELLAR DOOR ONLY SINGLE VINEYARD WINES LIMITED PRODUCTION BASKET PRESSED REDS

JAMES HALLIDAY 281 Fifty One Road, Cowaramup T: 08 9755 5669 | Open Daily

www.capegracewines.com.au

LH WY

Born & Brewed

MA R RG A R E T RIVE

THERE’S A CHEEKY SIDE IN ALL OF US,

let yours run wild!

SEL

BREWERY & CIDERY

BUSSELTON

BUS

MONKEY

DUNSBOROUGH YALLINGUP

C AV E S R D

CHEEKY

AT CHEEKY MONKEY WERE BLESSED WITH AN IDYLLIC LOCATION ON THE FAMOUS CAVES ROAD. IT’S A LOCATION THAT AFFORDS THE KIND OF SPACE THAT LETS KIDS PLAY FREE WHILST YOU RELAX, KICK BACK AND ENJOY A LONG LUNCH. OPEN FROM 10AM TO 6PM. LUNCH SERVED FROM 11.30AM TO 3.30PM WITH PIZZAS AVAILABLE TIL 5PM EVERYDAY.

GRACETOWN

PREVELLY

COWARAMUP

ROSABROOK MARGARET RIVER

4259 CAVES ROAD, MARGARET RIVER, WA, 6285 | PHONE: 97 555 555 | WWW.CHEEKYMONKEYBREWERY.COM.AU

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Wine & Beer

DIRECTORY

Howard Park & MadFish Wines Taste one of the widest ranges of wines in Margaret River, with up to 30 open each day. Bring a picnic and enjoy a glass of wine on our manicured lawns.

543 Miamup Road, Cowaramup 6284 Open 10am – 5pm daily 08 9756 5200 www.burchfamilywines.com.au

An exclusive wine tasting experience Tastings by appointment only.

Enjoy spectacular views of our boutique vineyard while sampling award-winning wines with viticulturist Tim Quinlan.

Contact Tim on +61 438 930 527 or tim@gracefarm.com.au to book. gracefarm.com.au

ASK a LOCAl! Killerby Cellar Store featuring premium Margaret River wines & local produce.

Visit Killerby’s Cellar Store (adjoining Cheeky Monkey brewery) for a friendly, informative wine tasting.

The store features a range of local and interesting gourmet produce including

Margaret River cheese, truffle products, chocolates, Hobo & Hatch scarves and jewellery, lifestyle books, wine accessories and much more. Mention this ad to receive 10% discount.

4259 Caves Road, Wilyabrup WA 6280 Tel. 08 9755 5983 www.killerby.com.au

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Drop in to one of our four accredited visitor centres in Busselton, Dunsborough, Margaret River and Augusta for friendly, expert advice.

Tours

DIRECTORY

Directory CAPE TO CAPE TOURS

CAPE TO CAPE WINE TOURS

GREAT RATES & SERVICE at Bunbury, Busselton & Collie Oneway Rentals (to Perth) available Call 1800 679 880

LUXURY MARGARET RIVER PRIVATE WINE TOURS Choose from premium sedans, people movers, stretch limos, mini buses 12 to 24 seater and limobuses.

Sample amazing foods, wines and breath taking scenery in comfort and style.

We take you where want to go or we can help you prepare an itinerary.

Half day and full day tours available.

Private Wine Tours, Scenic Tours, Weddings, Airport transfers.

To make a booking visit avis.com.au

Ph 0427 717 057 • bookings@capetocapewinetours.com.au www.capetocapewinetours.com.au

Wine tours & Charters

2015-A00073

Best value winery tour in the Margaret River region

INCLUDED

HALF + FULL DAY

9757 2270 or 0419 916 792

88pp

..

www.cheerstours.com

$

this for .

y

FULL DAY 30 TOUR D am m

.

(full day tour only)

All

10

Wine Tastings Brewery Visit Chocolate & Cheese Factory Venison Farm Local Knowledge Gourmet Lunch

to 5.30p

ail

Wine & Scenic Tours

• Pick-up and drop off to your accommodation • Pre booked wine tastings at 5 award winning boutique Margaret River wineries • Delicious platter lunch and beer taste at unique micro brewery • Top quality chocolate sampling

• Local cheese and produce tasting

PLUS

• Complimentary bottled water • Personal wine tasting record and pen • Mystery raffle • Email group photograph

Simon & Nicole White M: 0428 179 729

PO Box 1089 Busselton, WA 6280 E: cellardortours@bigpond.com W: cellardortours.com.au

MARGIES BIG DAY OUT BEER & WINE TOUR

EXPERIENCE THE BEST… OF WHAT THIS WORLD FAMOUS REGION HAS TO OFFER! Visit 7 venues including 3 wineries, 2 breweries and the Cheese & Chocolate Companies.

Enjoy a lunch of delicious local produce at a Margaret River Brewery. Make friends, have a laugh and relax whilst your friendly Tour Guide takes you on an amazing day out in the Margaret River Region.

Pick up and drop off to your accommodation included.

CALL US TODAY!

Ph 0416 180 493 margaretrivertourswa.com.au

Margaret River WA

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Tours

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MARGARET RIVER SUNSET

KANGAROO SAFARI

TOUR HIGHLIGHTS EXPERIENCE KANGAROOS IN THE WILD ENJOY BILLY TEA AND HOME BAKED CAKE A UNIQUELY AUSTRALIAN EXPERIENCE FOR ALL AGES AND NATIONALITIES ADULTS $50

CHILDREN $35

EAT + DRINK + EXPLORE MARGARET RIVER

FULL DAY EAT + DRINK + EXPLORE TOUR ONLY $105 Wine tastings at 4 award winning wineries.

NING MOR NOON E FT R OURS or A DAY T HALF AILABLE AV

Enjoy lunch at a local brewery along with your complimentary glass of wine or beer.

 Chocolate Factory  Olive Oil Tasting  Cheese Factory  Barrel Tasting

OWNED AND OPERATED BY THE McLEOD FAMILY PART OF THE MARGARET RIVER COMMUNITY SINCE 1902

 Coffee Tasting  Pickup/Drop-off

BOOK TODAY toursmargaretriver.com.au

MARGARET RIVER TOURS

08 9757 2747

SOUTH WEST ECO DISCOVERIES

. affordable . quality .

MARGARET RIVER’S ORIGINAL & BEST WINERY TOURS...

Half Day and Full Day Gourmet Wine & Dine.

Visiting 6 wineries daily, including Voyager, Watershed, Leeuwin, McHenry Hohnen, Vasse Felix, Pierro, Stella Bella & Cape Mentelle.

Full Day tours feature lunch at Voyager or Watershed.

All tours enjoy complementary vineyard platter as well as tastings of small goods, cheese & chocolate.

Margaret River Food & Wine Tours phone: 0417 948 933 email: vintagetours@bigpond.com www.winetoursmargaretriver.com.au

Ph 0419 917 166 info@margaretrivertours.com www.margaretrivertours.com

4 Wineries (one sells beer) 9.45am to 1pm or 1.30pm to 5pm

Your itinerary or ours 4 - 7 - 13 - 24 Seater Vehicles Perth Airport to the Margaret River Wine Region and return

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Join brothers Ryan and Mic on a journey of discovery on this jam-packed half day eco tour. We offer a unique guided insight into the history, geography, marine environment, flora and fauna of beautiful Geographe Bay and stunning Cape Naturaliste. Each tour includes interesting ‘mini walks’, a live underwater video feed (conditions permitting), light refreshments and caters for all ages. Tours depart at 9am and 2pm daily. Pickups are available from accommodation in Busselton and Dunsborough.

We are also available for private charter for 1-12 people. info@southwestecodiscoveries.com.au southwestecodiscoveries.com.au

5 Wineries (one sells beer) 1 Brewery Olive Oil/Chocolate/Cheese Lunch with 100ml comp beer Bottle water supplied Bottle of wine for lucky winner

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SIT BACK AND ENJOY WHILE YOU DISCOVER OUR BEAUTIFUL REGION

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KNOWN FOR:

tasty pinks and

fine

champagnes

Visit a Nina’s showroom to taste the best of the South West.

See stunning and unique jewellery crafted with love, featuring the beautiful pink and champagne diamonds from Argyle.

B U N B U R Y 125 Victoria Street, 08 9721 7999 • D U N S B O R O U G H Centrepoint Shopping Centre, 08 9759 1366

www .ninas.co

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