Less than six weeks since our last jaunt down south, Roy pointed the Volvo XC40 in the direction of Yallingup, Margaret River for another three-day getaway… squeaking in just before the Easter holidays, which would kick off on Friday the 8th.
Being three hours south of Perth, the Margaret River climate is a reliable two-to-three degrees cooler than our home in Iluka Beach, Joondalup. Here, we’d been gently flirting with autumn – an occasional shower of rain, one or two stormy nights – but the mellow season seemed to have come to Yallingup.
Click here for my Yallingup post about Peccavi Wines dating back to July 2020, and here for the one about Roy and me glamping in Lynn and Kim’s garden in February 2021. (Seems they can’t get rid of us.)
Chilling with our Yallingup Friends
A chill descended immediately the sun went down on our first day. So well done to our hardy friends, Kim and Lynn, for braving alfresco drinks and snacks in the grounds of our Airbnb accommodation. Mind you, Lynn is English and Kim’s a local who seldom wears anything but T-shirt and shorts, no matter the weather. And with a judicious flow of G&Ts, Vasse Felix red and the Dimple, no one was feeling any pain. (Not until the next morning, anyway.)
In France, you’d call this an apéro dinatoise. That basically means pre-dinner drinks (l’apéro) substantial enough to morph into your actual dinner.
A couple of nights later, Lynn and Kim had us around to their home in Yallingup, a charming house on five acres of beautiful, natural bush. Lovely as Yallingup and its surrounds are, having good friends here is a big part of what brings us back time and again.
Mooching around Dunsborough
After my morning walk, around the gardens and then along the road until it seemed time to turn around and come back, we went for a mooch around Dunsborough town.
Apart from stocking some of the late South African sculptor Carrol Boyes‘ iconic designs, Shadowz also features cool pieces from Gillian and Marc’s Dog Boy and Rabbit Girl range.
Dunsborough does grow on you. Checking out the estate agent windows, we inevitably wonder, and not for the first time: could we live here? Not necessarily in this town, but maybe Busselton? Then you remember it’s a three-hour trip to the airport. Nah.
It would be rude not to stop as usual at Yallingup Coffee. (Roy is nothing if not a creature of habit.) Another reason to like them is that they have re-organised their space so as to be able to serve everyone, including us and the rest of the Covid-19 Vaccine Control Group, who are still barred from cafés, bars, restaurants, gyms etc. here in WA. (Have you noticed my unusual restraint on this fraught and divisive subject? It does not come easy.)
Coffee at Cowamarup
Yallingup Beach
Thursday dawned bright and clear – one of those crisp Western Australian autumn mornings that turn out a lot warmer than foreseen. More in hope than in expectation, I boldly declared it to be a beach day.
To my surprise, my husband complied without demur. He even found a beach umbrella in the wardrobe and helped me pack a picnic. No doubt Shopper Roy was keen to try out the new and nifty Kathmandu foldable picnic table that he’d recently bought online, especially for such an occasion.
Though we’ve visited before and stopped at different beaches, I’d never really appreciated this one. Yallingup Beach is magical.
Out of season and during the week, there’s plenty of parking and green lawns for sand-free picnics. It’s a 1.5km beach walk along what they call the “lagoon” – but which is more accurately a sheltered bay – to where you run out of sand and into a rocky promontory.
Dozens if not hundreds of surfers were out there, some solo but mostly in groups. I idly wondered (as you do) why they weren’t at school, at work or whatever.
To my amazement, Roy sat tranquilly and uncomplainingly under the umbrella for close on three hours, alternately reading his Kindle and admiring the new picnic table. By the time he was ready to pack up and leave, so was I.
Review: Apsara Yoga Retreat and Guesthouse, Yallingup WA
Both the gorgeous yoga teacher Angela and her husband, Sean, hail originally from South Africa. Angela isn’t running classes currently: caring for an active 17-month-old and this sprawling property has to be hugely demanding. Even with the help of two (or was it three?) Husqvarna robot mowers, which wander around like terrestrial Kreepy Kraulys, doing an impressive job of keeping the extensive lawns manicured.
They’ve had the property for five or six years, Angela told me, and their efforts since then are clearly visible. Koi throng the koi-pond. Mandarins, lemons and apples flourish in the netted orchard, and the vegetable patch is thriving.
The guesthouse doesn’t have its own external deck or even an outlook; having your own space to sit outside was was definitely something I missed. But the nearby swimming pool loungers offer a welcoming spot to hang out with your morning coffee – or you can walk down past the reflection pool to the alfresco dining table where we had drinks with our friends. Further on there’s the shady sala at the boundary of the property, from where you might spot the neighbour’s kangaroos.
No kangaroos here. Instead, a couple of boisterous border collies – Sheba and Shaka, good South African names both – desperately longing to round you up like a herd of sheep at any given moment.
Otherwise, ten out of ten to Angela and Sean for a thoughtfully stocked bathroom, complete with washing machine, and a well-appointed kitchen. No dishwasher, but luckily I’d brought my own; see below.
