With a wealth of knowledge of both white settlement and aboriginal ancestry, Sean, our Margaret River Adventure Discovery tour guide took us to a beautiful spot on the river where the local aborigine tribe would meet and camp. It was easy to see why this spot was chosen, it was pretty, tranquil and in the heat of summer, lovely and cool. The water tumbled gently over large rocks, which had been worn smooth through the millenium by flooding waters, with potholes in the rock dug by swirling pebbles as the water washed through the valley.
Sitting on the sandy beach below the rock wall, dipping our toes in the cool water, Sean, had brought with him, some local home baked bread, which smelled delicious and was nice and crusty and he gave us a taste of three different types of honey from the local trees. One which stood out for me, was the honey from Agonis Flexuosa, the peppermint willow and you could actually taste the mint in the honey.
Lunch at Fraser Gallop Winery at Wilyabrup is at the heart of the Margaret River Wine Region At the time of our visit the Winery Estate, did not have an open cellar door. Sean had made a special agreement with them, for him to share this wonderful Estate with his tourists. I fell in love with their Cabernet Sauvignon and Parterre Chardonnay and joined their mailing list and I believe that their cellar door is now open to the public. If you are in the area don’t miss this experience.
Sean had organised a tasting lunch, featuring local produce of smoked trout, cheese, bread, and fruit, served on a beautiful polished mahogany table, in the barrel room. Each course was served with a glass of a wine to complement the food. I was so hungry and the food so good, I forgot to take a photo. You will just have to take my word for it.
The afternoon was spent four-wheel in Sean’s Landrover 4wd driving through sand hills and bush and we ended up above the Wilyabrup Sea Cliffs overlooking the Indian Ocean. The track at times disappears into vast areas of deep sand and we are priviledged to see birds and grass trees as well as reptiles and kangaroos. It is almost the end of the spring wild flower season, but there are little pockets of colour amongst the exposed rocks and dried out drift wood.
We are not lucky enough to spot whales today.
