Southern & Indian Oceans Cape Augusta

The lonely expanses of Western Australia might not be the first place to mind when choosing a wining and dining vacation destination, but as David Bowden found – much to his delight – this region is ripe for adventurous indulgences.

One of the great attractions about the vastness of Western Australia is that it is less than five hours’ flying time from Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia Airlines also has direct flights from Kota Kinabalu in Sabah). Western Australia, the larger-than-life western third of the Australian continent, offers a range of experiences as big as the land. Perth is a very modern destination, with all the features of a large city and with the ease of access that makes travelling around in a car so easy.

Walking along the beach near Dunsborough

While Perth is indeed a modern city, it may be one of the most isolated cities on earth. Most Australians live on the east coast, with Sydney being some 4,400km from Perth, and Adelaide, the nearest substantive accumulation of humanity, being 2,700km away (I once did this three-day, two-night journey on a bus).

Considering the isolation, first-time visitors may be surprised as to just how civilised Perth and the west is. The southwest of the state perfectly combines adventure and indulgence so my week-long plan was to drive from Perth to Albany, along the south coast and inland to Pemberton, onto Margaret River, and then to return to Perth via the coast.

Whales and Wine

Coastal walk Cape to Cape Walk

There’s no reason for any tourist to not know the range of activities possible in Western Australia, as I soon discovered. Literature on every conceivable tourism opportunity is everywhere and, armed with a library of resources, I headed southeast towards Albany with a stop in Porongurup (acclimatising to Aboriginal place names takes time).

My interest in Porongurup was ignited by an encounter in Kuala Lumpur with a bottle of Pinot Noir from one of the region’s winemakers. Wine lovers are familiar with Australia’s cool climate wines from the Yarra Valley and Tasmania, so I was amazed that Pinot grapes also grow well in pockets of the west. In Porongurup, an altitude of 330m and the maritime influence from the cool Southern Ocean provides ideal temperatures for Pinot Noir. Castle Rock Estate is typical of a region that is home to a dozen or more wineries. Here I met with winemaker Rob Diletti and his dad, Angelo, and it was the latter who told me his son had just been recognised by leading wine scribe James Halliday as Australia’s Winemaker of the Year. With heightened interest, I sampled superb Pinot Noirs and Rieslings and enjoyed the truly local and warm welcome.

Tasting Room for Wine at the Chapel, Margaret River

They made a few recommendations for the remainder of my journey to Albany, including an extended walk to the Granite Skywalk and a visit to a marron farm. For every steep climb, there’s a view just waiting and I wasn’t disappointed with the granite boulder outcrop and views southward to the aqueous expanse of the Southern Ocean: next stop, Antarctica.

There was sufficient time to visit the Old Marron Farm at Nanarup outside Albany. With all its other weird and wonderful animals, it’s no wonder that the local crustacean is a freshwater delicacy delivering the taste and texture of lobster without the price tag. The farm is a beautiful setting, with some Australian animals such as emus and dingoes and owner Karl Rust also introduced me to some cross-country Segway riding.

Stalactites Caveworks, Margaret River

It was a long and rewarding day, and Albany’s Dog Rock Motel was just the place I needed for a good night’s rest but not before dining in Restaurant Lime 303. Albany isn’t a big town and I wasn’t expecting much until I entered the restaurant and perused the wine list and menu. Here, as in all smart restaurants in the southwest, the mantra is “fresh, local, and seasonal,” and my Emu Point oysters, pork trifecta, and Frangelico fondant were nothing short of magnificent.

Albany was infamous as Australia’s last whaling station, and has now been converted into the Discovery Bay Tourism Experience where visitors can explore all there is to know about whale hunting and processing. There are expansive new facilities here with native gardens and animals to make this a full day stop with facilities for picnics overlooking the coastline. Close by is the Gap and Natural Bridge, which are striking coastal rock formations with the granite coated in brilliant orange lichen.

For some afternoon indulgence, I headed down to one of several burgeoning Australian distilleries which are producing whiskies that are making many Scotsmen nervous. Great Southern Distillery bottles its single malt whisky under the Limeburners Creek label.

Surf and Turf

Canopy walk Valley of Giants

Reluctantly, I headed westward from Albany towards Denmark; not the Scandinavian nation, but the small town. I deviated into Greens Pool and simply sat and watched the breakers crash along the near-deserted turquoise coastline. This expansive beach is one of many along the coast and, apart from a solitary fisherman, it was all mine – but not for long as the Valley of the Giants near the town of Walpole, beckoned.

I recommend Bill Bryson’s book Down Under to those who have never been to Australia. It’s an essential read providing invaluable background information. He visited the Valley of the Giants and was suitably impressed with the elevated walkway called the Tree Top Walk through the canopy of giant eucalypts called tingle trees. This is a grand structure that provides a unique perspective of some impressive vegetation. Being suitably impressed, I flipped open Down Under to read: “It seemed amazing to me, in any case, that there could exist in this one confined area some of the rarest and mightiest broadleafed trees on earth, forming a forest of consummate and singular beauty, and hardly anyone outside of Australia gas ever heard of them. But that is the thing about Australia, of course – that it is packed with unappreciated wonders.”

Green Pool near Denmark, Western Australia

Being unappreciated meant that these wonders were mine for the day, as there were few visitors around. I reflected upon this and my next stop, which was Pemberton, once a timber town. Increasingly, more people are coming to see the trees and forests and now they have additional tourism value rather than being simply trees to fell. After the obligatory steep climb up the Gloucester Tree, I headed off to Karri Valley Lodge in the middle off the forest by a lake.

I entered a mobile-free and internet-free zone thinking places like this didn’t exist anymore. While this news may shock many, I relished the opportunity to gaze across the lake and watch waterbirds and colourful parrots perch on my verandah. Meals here are voluminous and tasty and they have an enticing wine list. It was, in fact, the wines of Salitage from Pemberton’s showcase winery that lured me here. John Horgan is the genial owner who eagerly showed me around the cellars, and his company made as much an impression on me as his Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays.

Western Australia has this ability to deliver the unexpected and the last thing I expected to see at a place called Manjimup was a truffle farm. Not just any truffle farm, but the world’s largest producer of the much sought-after superior Perigord truffle. I was there out of truffle season but learned that it’s possible to take a weekend tour to watch the truffle dogs in action during the season from May to August. The café here serves all things truffle including ice cream, and after a trifle too much truffle, I headed to Margaret River.

Surfing the Vines

Lawns Cape Lodge Margaret River

Margaret River is a well-established destination, and it’s easy to see why. Its lifestyle is fantastic; fresh air, clean, green, abundant sunshine, it works, the people are friendly, it’s laid back, and the wine…well, that may be the best attraction of all. Margaret River has always been the quiet achiever of Australian wines. While the region only produces a small amount of the nation’s wines, it delivers an abnormally high percentage of Australia’s premium wines.

Scenically, this is a little piece of paradise tucked away in the far southwest of continental Australia. Its vast coastline fronts the Indian Ocean and behind, there’s a rolling forest-covered dune system and then the fertile rows of vines. At the southwestern-most tip, the Indian Ocean meets the Southern Ocean at Augusta and the ‘Cape to Cape’ walk heads northwards from here to near Dunsborough. I booked into the luxurious Cape Lodge near the latter and met up with ex-Hilton KL chef Michael Elfwing, who now cooks at the lodge and conducts cooking demonstrations.

In addition to dining at Cape Lodge, I also ate in the superb Aravina Estate restaurant where Tony Howell’s dishes of Jerusalem artichoke and scallop soup and beef short ribs are complemented by wonderful estate wines such as Nebbiolo. The dining experience alone is worth the flight down from KL. As I washed the dessert down with a luscious botrytis Semillon, I realised just how easy an escape to Western Australia can truly be.

Travel File

Getting There
Travelling to Perth has been made easier with both Malaysia Airlines and AirAsia X flying daily.

Getting About
Heading anywhere out of Perth requires a vehicle but not necessarily a four-wheel drive unless you’re planning something really adventurous. All the major rental companies plus a few local ones have outlets at Perth Airport. Full insurance is advisable with the excess being quite high.

Where to Stay
Perth (Frasers Suites Perth, www.frasershospitality.com), Albany (Dog Rock Motel, www.dogrockmotel.com), Pemberton (Karri Valley Resort,
www.karrivalleyresort.com.au) and Margaret River (Cape Lodge, www.capelodge.com.au).

Contacts
Tourism Western Australia (www.westernaustralia.com) and Australia’s South West (www.australiassouthwest.com).

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Source: The Expat Magazine February 2015