Arriving in Margaret river after a 2.5 hour journey we was already hitting 7pm so to avoid paying a night in a campsite we turned down the nearest quietest country road and found a small track next to a field to kip in. Around 9pm the storms once again hit and as Joey shook throughout the night we was also awoken by a herd of escaped cows mooing away. Morning eventually came and we awoke to find ourselves surrounded by fallen trees and branches. The worst september storm to hit Perth in 17 years! Luckily a local stopped us to tell us another route back to the highway as the road was blocked by a huge tree which had blown down.
We had decided our first stop was to be Augusta, however arriving in the rain and the wind it was not really a place to be walking around in bad weather conditions, also it didn't help that the whole town had a power outage due to the storms. Sunshine was definitely needed so we skipped Augusta after a quick drive around and headed to Margaret River and the Big Valley campsite. Pitching our tent we set off to explore the town and to find a supermarket for some BBQ meats for tea. Margaret river is a lovely town, again filled with a few shops that sell abit of everything for the tourists that pass through. First stop was the Fudge company shop. We discovered that if you visit any shop that sells food in Margeret river then you can most likely get free tasters! Being on a budget this is highly usefull as instead of buying a $5 bar of fudge, we can eat $5 worth in tasting samples. After exploring a few more shops and stopping at the Internet cafe we headed to the local Berry Farm to try some home made Jams, Chutneys and Relishes! Lovely blueberry jams, an Indian and Tomato spicy relish and some Mustard Piccililies we tasted everything on offer and set off back to the campsite in preparation for the main tasting tour the day after. We arrived back to the campsite to another power outage and realised it was going to be another long wet and stormy night. To top it off a college camping trip had descended on the campsite so twenty teenagers took over all the facilities and undercover spaces!
The day after had arrived and we set off on our tour of the Margeret river wine region. For $72 we would be escorted around 3 local wineries, an Olive oil and dip tasting shop, a Venison farm, a Chocolate factory, a Cheese shop and a Liquor factory.
First stop was the Watershed winery, one of the largest producers of wine in Margaret river with over 500kms of vines! I instantly fell in love with the White Sauvignon Blank Semillon and Jonathan took to a Shiraz! After a spot of lunch with a free glass of SBS we set off to the next winery. Around 12 bottles to taste in each winery we was feeling a little sozzled by the end of the day! A nice fizzy White wine was the favourite in the winery Evans and Tate and some lovely Chardoneys and Merlots were tried at the last smallest winery Knotting Hill. This was all complimented by some extremely lovely Venison Chorizo and Pate, free chocolate, free cheese and lots of nice bits of bread/crackers with some flavoured oils and tapenades. The last stop was at the Liquor factory to try some White and Red Ports and also a yummy Strawberry liquor, a Turkish delight liquor and a lemon Limoncello liquor! A fab day out and our first bargain found in Australia. Armed with some cheese and venison steaks we set off back to the campsite to put them on the BBQ and to open our cartons of wine.
Cheers Ma' dears, Hiccup, Hayls and Jonathan