Vasse Felix Wine Estate, August 2020
Venerable Vasse Felix Wine Estate (founded in 1967 by Dr Tom Cullity) is the Margaret River region’s oldest winery, and one of its most elegant.
Margaret River Trio, 17-21 August 2020
Temper Temper chocolate factory; ginger, chilli and other addictions; equal-opportunity Eagle Bay: microbrewery plus vineyard; escapee lilies at large; Commonage Road Food & Wine Trail
*While at Temper Temper Fine Chocolate Factory, why not visit the Margaret River region?
(*With acknowledgement to the oft-quoted: “While at Raffles, why not visit Singapore?”, attributed – to the best of my knowledge – to that famous hotel’s equally famous guest Noel Coward.)
#1 Temper Temper Fine Chocolate
Top of my agenda for any trip to the Margaret River region, 200km south of Perth WA, is to visit the Holy Grail of chocolate, Temper Temper.
Busselton Break, 17-21 August 2020
The WA History Channel: Moondyne Joe advancing Australia fair; Broome or Busso?; Jolly Jetty Tour; Review: Bayside Geographe Bay Resort
It’s now nearly months since Roy and I have been forcibly confined to Western Australia – without one of us even having nicked a loaf of bread or a side of ham. And we’re gradually getting to know a bit about this aspect of local history, courtesy of granddaughter Mia (10).
Tea for Two at The Green Tea House, Subiaco – July 2020
The tea-tabulous Tsutomo Iwasaki; flashback to Kagoshima 2009; of catechins, monks and samurais; a long story; An Innocent Man; Sam-san the barista-in-training
One Wednesday afternoon in July, after a light bite of lunch at Cranked in the buzzy inner city suburb of Leederville, my new friend Debbie Uller drove me to the Green Tea House (www.greenteahouse.com.au). (Find it at Shop 17, 375 Hay Street in Subiaco; call +618 9388 7425).
Margaret River Getaway 7-11 June – Part 2: Yallingup
Our forest friends; Indijup Beach; Swings & Roundabouts; terrific coffee and a lighthouse; Peccavi (I have sinned) – No Regrets
Visiting a place where you have friends is great – you get to see it through their eyes and benefit from their insights. And they show you their favourite things.
We’re lucky that Kim and Lynn Sadler, whom we first met as fellow-expats in Singapore, have a forest home in Yallingup. He’s Western Australian, she’s English.
In fact, this lovely couple were two of the first visitors to our Dutch barge Karanja during that memorable cruise from England cross-Channel to Calais and through France in the summer of 2017. They met up with us in Reims [say Rance] for a drink on board followed by lunch in the city.
Margaret River Getaway 7-11 June – Part 1: Dunsborough
We’re all going to Dunsborough; magnificent market; three-quarters of the way there; review: Bayshore Beachside Resort; Gracetown and Cowtown; finger-lickin’ picnic spot
Having visited and stayed in the town of Margaret River several times now – check out these two blogs here and here, for example – I hankered to try somewhere different.
Good old Groupon directed me to the coastal town of Dunsborough. “I love Dunsborough!” exclaimed Carrie when I told her we’d booked a Monday-to-Friday stay at Bayshore Beachside Resort. It was a snip at $600 for four nights in villa “under the peppermint trees” with two bedrooms and a spa bath.
Love in the time of Covid-19, Part Two: Flattening the Curve, May 2020
Winter whinge; my loser husband; cycling for svelteness; surf ’n’ turf birthday barbie; hallelujah for Phase 3!
Though there’s still a fair amount of sunshine, the weather has drastically cooled here in WA. We set off on our often blustery morning bike-ride to Mullaloo in temperatures of 13°C or 14°C; it might rise to 20°C or so by lunchtime, and in the wee hours it can on occasion drop as low as 8°C.
Love in the Time of Covid-19, March to April 2020
The Land Down Under; All Dressed Up and Nowhere to Go; Goodbye Z4, Hello Volvo CX 40; Stayin’ Alive; The End of the World as We Know it; Blue Skies Through the Tears
Bursting with travel plans for the rest of 2020, Roy and I arrived in Perth WA on 21 February from South Africa. (For the record, we’d come via Paris, Roy’s niece Charlie’s London wedding, a couple of days with my sister Dale and her family in Kent, and then six nights in Singapore.)
Cape Town with the Campbells Part Three: The City and Constantia, 1-2 February
Summer in the city; activist art in Parliament Lane; MCC and munchies at the Mount Nelly; exquisite Italian at Villa 47; beach babes at Table View; vineyard lunch at Chef’s Warehouse Beau Constantia
Another flawless morning dawned in Cape Town – how lucky we were with the weather this whole time! From our holiday apartment at 27 Leeuwen Street, it was only a short walk to Greenmarket Square.
Not having visited the CBD for some years, it was initially a shock to see refugees encamped against the walls of venerable St George’s Cathedral.
The character of the market, too, seemed to have changed considerably. I remembered a more eclectic selection of wares; now it was mainly African crafts and curios.
As the sign in the photo above reflects, the foreigners fear for their lives in the townships – or “the community”- where it seems that the tougher life becomes, the worse the zenophobia.
Cape Town with the Campbells Part Two: Wine Tour, 31 January
Delaire Graff for delish wine-tasting and decadent diamonds; Boschendal for Dutch-gabled perfection; Franschhoek for a fabulous lunch and a motor museum
Accommodation agent Stay Amazing – through which we’d booked the Cape Town apartment (see Part One) – also operates wine tours.
Over dinner the previous night at La Perla – our first decent meal in Cape Town – our Capetonian foodie friend Karin Jenkins had suggested a one-day itinerary to introduce Californians Ellie and Steve to the Cape Winelands.