Author: Catherine Anderson

Catherine loves painting and photography as well as the great outdoors. Cycling, kayaking, pack-rafting and hiking are favourite activities as well as scuba diving when the location permits. A self confessed geek, she’s the reason details are included in our stories!
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Day 139: 16 October – 100km an hour winds and torrential showers

Author: Mrs A

Location: Margaret River

The wind and rain started in the early hours of this morning, prompting a slow start to the day. We headed out around 9.30am to do a few tasks in Margaret River, before sitting down for a pot of tea and some brunch. Mr A then dropped me off at the scarily named hairdressers – Ed Scissorhands, while he dropped his bike off at the shop for some new tyres to be fitted.

It is always a little daunting having a cut away from your usual trusted advisor, but my hairdresser was fabulous, listening to everything I asked for and delivering perfectly. Given the ever increasing wind gusts and rain showers I suggested they might just want to do a basic blow dry, not my usual request of bouncy curls, but my consultant insisted and did a great job! I made her take a photo to prove what it looked like before I stepped out into the world!


Mr A met me and we drove north out of Margaret River about 25 minutes to Amelia Park Wines, the newest cellar door in the region. As with many cellar doors, the landscaping surrounding the building was spectacular, but unlike others, the entrance to the actual cellar door was something else. We entered through a big heavy wooden door into a dark wood panelled room full of wine barrels. The corridoor then led you forwards at which point two sliding wooden doors opened, revealing beautiful vineyard views and a tasting room – quite theatrical. It clearly worked its magic – after a few tastings we bought a couple of absolutely delicious wines and joined their members club.


From there we went down to Vasse Felix, probably the region’s most famous winery. A little bit of name dropping didn’t go amiss, and being (extremely!) loosely connected to Virginia Willcock (Vasse Felix’s world class chief winemaker!) enabled Mr A and I a free tasting of their $85 a bottle award winning Chardonnay – absolutely delicious. Our friends Carole and Nick drove up and joined us in the tasting here.

Our next vineyard was Howard Park, before we headed back into Margaret River for something quite different. Whisky. Yes, there is a distilliary here too. The starting price for a bottle of local Whisky is around $85 and they go up from there. We tried quite a few – learning how the bouquet is not always reflective of the taste, and just a tiny drop of water can make all the difference. 

All in all a very successful day despite the inclement weather, and Mr A is very proud to have a fine bottle of single malt for those evenings around the camp fire. We returned to camp for spaghetti bolognaise and an alcohol free evening!

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Day 137: 14 October – Old friends, new friends and more hidden delights

Author: Mrs A

Location: Margaret River

We were treated to another warm, blue sky day here in the Margaret River as we headed into town to the Farmer’s Market which runs on Saturday mornings. We didn’t know what to expect, given the range of markets we have experienced around Western Australia – ranging from the very poor Derby market which sold a few cacti and a couple of home made jams through to the surprisingly delicious Carnarvon market with famous chefs serving up food. This market was fabulous – more along the lines of what we are treated to at Forestville or Warriewood markets in Sydney.

Rows of stalls with samples of sheep and cow cheese, fresh bread, cakes, croissants, vegetables and herbs, olive oils, balsamic vinegars, fresh meat, eggs and fish…the choice and sampling opportunities were endless. We picked up some sheep cheese (I discovered I can tolerate this in small amounts – yay!), vegetables and wood fired bread. As Mr A was listening to the story of the bread shop, I looked around to see what delights awaited us next and spotted an old friend from Sydney! We popped over to surprise her…

Fiona now lives about 45 km away from the Margaret River in Augusta, and runs a successful and growing business, Alkomy Kombucha. Kombucha is a sparkling, non alcoholic beverage which contains probiotics which help your stomach health as well as help clean your liver and overall boost your immune system. Our livers are already crying a little after all the wine tasting, so we bought a bottle to take with us. It was great to see Fi and catch up on how she’s doing now.

Returning to our sheep station we found the ‘Griswalds’ have moved into a spot next to us – two feral families headed up by a potty mouthed Australian bloke. Fortunately after setting up their tent they went out for the remainder of the day, returning us to our serenity. We enjoyed freshly baked bread, cream sheep cheese and sliced tomato in balsamic and olive oil for lunch, sitting under dappled shade overlooking meadows of yellow flowers and grazing sheep. It feels like France!

Carol and Nick, an English couple we met on the gastronomic tour yesterday popped over to see our mobile apartment. They are considering moving to an off road van from their 26 foot monster. We wandered over with a bottle of wine to check theirs out too – it is huge, with three distinct separate rooms, each separated by sliding doors – makes ours look tiny! Not sure we could have got into all the interesting locations we have visited with that length of van, however. We whiled away the afternoon exchanging stories while enjoying a cool white wine.


The evening saw us back in Margaret River for dinner. We had been told about and had read great reviews about a restaurant called Miki’s Open Kitchen. Set back from the street in an arcade area, first impressions were quite unassuming, but once we were seated we were in for a treat.


The kitchen is the centrepiece of the restaurant, with seating on three sides. Nothing is hidden here – we were able to watch everything being prepared as the chefs worked their magic. Miki’s is Japanese fusion, with some incredible food prepared. We chose the Miki’s Trust menu, an ever changing degustation. I lost count of how many dishes we were served, but each contained about three different morsels, every one consisting of carefully balanced flavours and perfectly cooked. They were served up like mini artworks, with delicate edible flowers adorning the ever unique serving dishes. What an experience!

A really lovely evening, and a relatively late night home for us – 11 pm!!

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Day 135: 12 October – Margaret River has sheep too!

Author: Mrs A

From: Yallingup

To: Rosa Brook, just outside Margaret River

Distance driven: 51 km

Distance cycled: 10 km

We continued our exploration of the region, heading further south and setting up camp about 10 minutes drive outside of the town of Margaret River. It’s a very picturesque area, and a lovely change of scenery being surrounded by bleating sheep and lambs, all recently shorn. We’re set up on a working sheep station, complete with chickens, cockerels and guinea pigs (!) roaming the area, much to Miss T’s delight. The native birdlife is prevalent.

(Above: Western New Holland Honeyeater)

We decided to cycle to a nearby winery, one of many recommended by friend Cathy. It was only 5km away, and Miss Google promised just a 15 minute ride. It was a very scenic journey, though quite hilly. While it was 15 minutes in one direction, it was definitely slower on the return journey (particularly with a couple of bottles in my pannier and a few tastings under our belts!).



Brown Hill Vineyard had some great well priced wines though, and an enjoyable visit.


We did very little the remainder of the day, choosing to relax in the sunshine and read. We’re booked on a gastronomic tour tomorrow, so we’re saving our eating and drinking energy for that!

(Below: a pair of Common Bronzewings)

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Day 134: 11 October – A feline perspective of the Margaret River

Author: Miss T

Location: Yallingup, Margaret River region

Distance walked: 600 metres

Apparently we are in an area famous for whine. I’m not entirely sure why my servants have brought me here – after all I only associate whine with dogs or complaining humans, particularly the small variety – neither of which are good.

There are several other terms I have heard bandied about, which I can interpret as follows:

Bouquet – that I understand fully. Bouquet is all about the aromas – and that I know a lot about. I am more than capable of sitting in front of a single bush for in excess of 20 minutes just enjoying the smells of the creatures that came before me – be they feline, canine or possum, the odours they leave behind are quite irresistible. I get bouquet. 


Palate – I can only assume this means when something tastes rather nice. Like those treats my humans recently purchased for me. They don’t seem to understand how irresistible they are – if only I could eat those instead of that Science Diet they give me. That is rather dry on the palate, extremely savoury, lacking complexity, with hints of fake chicken and meat juices. Fills a hole but that’s about it.

Terroir – Easy.  Its all about how much sunshine I get, how little I am disturbed, multiplied by how nice the soil outside is to walk on. I don’t really understand why humans find it so ethereal….interrupting the terroir can result in a look like this below…you don’t want to disrupt the terroir…


Thankfully, it is rather quiet in these parts. It seems we are travelling outside of school holidays, so no small screaming (or whining) humans around, and only the occasional canine. It’s a good opportunity to explore somewhat freely, though I still seem to be tethered by the pink lead thing. Hopefully the servants will soon learn to walk without me guiding them.


I was stalked this afternoon by a pair of ringnecked parrots. Most odd. I said hello to them in my usual feline way (a slight hint of ‘I’d try to catch you if I wasn’t so well fed’) and they followed me all the way home. Quite  scary. I believe Alfred Hitchcock wrote a film about this exact situation. I’ll be staying in the rest of the night – I dread to think what’s next…


Signing off for now. Miss T x 🐱 

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Day 133: 10 October – Our first taste of the Margaret River

Author: Mrs A

From: Busselton

To: Yallingup

Distance: 33 km

Waking to a morning of showers we considered stopping another night in Busselton, but decided to make the move onwards into the Margaret River region, our local map looking dauntingly full of places to visit.

Our first stop was the Flametree winery, just 20 minutes up the road. Flametree has just won the prize for the best Chardonnay in the Royal Sydney and Perth wine shows…And at $65 a bottle, it was priced to reflect that status. Mr A and I are not usually Chardy fans, but theirs was lovely – not too oaky, not too sweet, much more complex than the Chardonnays usually rejected. But we declined to invest in a bottle on this occasion. The tasting was good, an interesting selection, but we have limited space and many wines to taste ahead. We made a single purchase of a rather nice Tempranillo-Touriga blend.

Miss T enjoyed a stroll around their yellow daisy filled lawns on our return, before we headed off to Yallingup to set up at our new campspot for the night.


We’re quite close to Wills Domain here, a winery several people have praised for not only their delicious wine, but very special lunches too. We decided to book in for lunch tomorrow, and gave our new friends, Chris and Anne a call to see whether we could have a tasting of their wine before that, given they are located right across the road. Instead, they suggested we visit today, and given our very flexible plans, we headed over to see them, via a local chocolatier – yum!


I tapped in the secret code to the gate, and we drove up to the house, past vineyards and dams and a very pretty holiday cottage. Chris was there to meet us, and we transferred into his car for a tour of the 13 hectare property, learning about the various grape varieties, the soils, the pruning methods and how things had changed in the 20 years since they first started planting vines.


Then it was back to the house for some tasting. Not a single bad wine – all delicious – even the Sauvignon Blanc, which was made in the style of the French Sancerre wine. We ended up staying about 3 hours all up, and left with half a case of wine, fresh eggs from the hens, two pots of home made jam and some protea flowers – and best of all some incredible memories, and friends we hope to keep in touch with, and perhaps see again in Sydney next year.


We finished off the day at the local pub for fish and chips and soda waters. A fine start to our Margaret River adventures!

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Day 131: 8 October – Winemakers and Dolphins

Author: Mrs A

From: Australind

To: Busselton

Distance driven: 63 km

Distance walked: 4 km

We moved off down the coast to Busselton, calling at the Bunbury Farmer’s Market on the way for some bread. Well, at least that was the plan. Somehow my basket filled with some more fruit and vegetables, another dip, some dairy-free banana bread…oh it was hard to leave – I had to keep reminding myself that Mr A and Miss T were outside waiting for me!

Eventually we pulled away and drove the short way down the coast to our next location. Not long after setting up, visitors arrived. Two fellow Zone owners who live on a property between Busselton and Margaret River called in to say hello and exchange local knowledge and experiences. We have now realised we need a whole six months in just this part of Western Australia – so much to do!

Before long, two prospective Zone owners also arrived to have a look around our mobile apartment and ask a few questions about it. The Zone is manufactured across the other side of the continent in south east Queensland, so there is little opportunity for Western Australians to have a look, unless people like us are willing to do a demo. We do get a voucher as a thank-you for our trouble.

After everyone had said goodbye, we decided to go for a walk and a look around. Busselton is on the coast, and one of WA’s only north facing beaches. No surf here. It is famous for having the longest wooden jetty in the world, which stretches almost 2km out to sea.


We didn’t take the train to the end, instead spotted The Goose Bar, conveniently located at the beach end of the Jetty, with a DJ playing some chilled Sunday afternoon tunes and the tempting sight of people enjoying the sunset with a glass of wine or beer. A couple kindly shifted across their bench so we could enjoy the view with our own beverages. 


As often happens in these situations, we started chatting as we watched dolphins fishing in the still waters in front of us. It turned out Chris and Anne own Brash Vineyard in the Margaret River – acclaimed wine critic James Halliday has rated their wine no lower than 92 points, and they have just had several bottles selected to be showcased in Neil Perry’s new Sydney restaurant, Rosetta. Located opposite Wills Domain, and open by appointment only, we plan to give them a call for some tastings when we are down that way next weekend. 


We shared a few more wines/beers/soda waters (Anne is doing a dry October!) as the sun set, before heading back to cook dinner. Fresh fettuccine with a basil pesto, sundried tomatoes, fresh cherry tomatoes and salmon – thank you very much Farmer’s Market!


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Day 129: 6 October – Back on the bike again

Author: Mrs A

From: Clifton Lake

To: Australind (just north of Bunbury) – for map see ‘Where are we now?’

Distance driven: 60 km

Distance cycled: 26 km

It was a lovely peaceful night’s sleep and we woke to sunshine streaming in through the trees, kookaburras, ring neck parrots and magpie larks all around us. It just so happened there was a bakery about 100 metres from where we camped – Mr A wondered whether he had woken up in heaven as he trotted over for a look and found freshly baked pies and sausage rolls. No prizes for guesssing what we had for brunch before we headed off on our way.

We drove south a short way south, just a 45 minute journey to Australind, before setting up at our caravan park. Australind was one of Western Australia’s earliest settlements, named in the 1800s as a combination of Australia and India – in the hope the two countries would maintain a prosperous trade of cavalry horses and food.

Once set up we jumped on our bikes for an explore. I decided it was about time I stopped being lazy (breathing much better now, voice still channelling my inner porn star i.e husky!) and joined Mr A for some activity. Our first visit was to a jetty which juts out into the Leschenault Estury.  The wind coming off the water was icy cold, and after admiring the view and many black swans, we rushed back to put on more clothes. 

More appropriately dressed, we decided to follow the cycle lanes into Bunbury, the nearest large settlement. For the most part, it was a lovely ride, just a couple of kilometres were alongside a very busy road. Bunbury impressed us. It is clearly a city (they call it a city, we would say small town) with a great deal of money flowing into it. The public areas are beautifully landscaped and shared pathways are everywhere, weaving behind dunes and past the large modern houses with incredible views out to sea.

Bunbury is surrounded by water – rivers, harbours, beautiful beaches lining the ocean front.

We rode along to the black and white striped lighthouse, then around to the helter-skelter-lookout up on the hill. We climbed up the 91 steps to admire the full view.

On our return cycle we were entertained by some bottle-nosed dolphins in the estuary chasing fish in the shallow water, creating a fabulous wake behind them, and a black shouldered kite hovering over the nearby bushland, hunting its Friday evening meal.

Talking of Friday evening meal. We Andersons are having a wild one. Already in PJs by 6pm, we are sipping on a delicious Central Otago Squealing Pig Pinot Noir, which (if there is any left) will accompany our fish curry dinner. Another fine day in WA.

Oh and Miss Tassie? She enjoyed a day catching up on sleep after yesterday’s busy day of travel.

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Day 127: 4 October – Marge Simpson can still have fun

Author: Mrs A

From: Lane Poole Reserve, Nr Dwellingup

To: Forrestfield, Perth

Distance: 95 km

We made our final return to Perth today, arriving around lunchtime to undertake multiple loads of washing, and clean up the mobile apartment before some final repairs tomorrow and heading south on our continuing adventure.

It was an uneventful journey north back to Perth, and a busy afternoon cleaning and shopping, before showers and changing for our highlight of the day, our farewell dinner with Caroline and Andy.

We’d booked a nearby restaurant with fabulous reviews, Quills. It turned out to be a great choice, delicious food and wine, and vouchers from our caravan park gave us two free dinners too.


We had a great evening, and I am so sad to be saying farewell to these new friends, who I know could become second family given the chance. I hope we get to meet again. I had my first ever (decaf) espresso martini for dessert…not quite Singapore Grand Hayatt Martini Bar quality, but ok for my first try….


Andy and his whisky creme brûlée….


Mr A’s amazing desert….

A fine evening with lots of laughs had, stories told, and adventures relived, all with my Marge Simpson husky voice…the things we do!

By the way – our wine selection for the evening was delicious – a Margaret River Vasse Felix – Cathy Gadd, you’d be proud…We will be there next week in person to try the latest selections – all for medicinal reasons, of course!

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Day 126: 2 October – South West WA brings out its best

Author: Mrs A

Location: Nanga Brook, Lane Poole

Distance hiked: 10 km

A perfect blue sky greeted us as we awoke this morning, and promise of a fine day ahead. Many of our fellow campers had either left last night or were packing up to depart this morning, so it was very peaceful around camp. We debated whether to try a kayak on the Murray, but decided it would be more effort than enjoyment, given I am not yet up to doing anything too strenuous. We also considered a mountain bike ride, but rejected this for the same reason.

And so we donned hiking boots and set off into the forest along a relatively flat trail, part of the Munda Biddi track Mr A cycled a few weeks back. The perfume from the newly flowering Wiry Wattle (Acacia) and the Whitewood Hopbushes was absolutely overpowering, especially when mingled with the pungent smell of pine needles from the Jarrah forest. The sun shone through the trees, and birds flitted around in the branches, accompanying us with their song. Wildflowers in pinks, purples, oranges and yellows lined the path, almost as though they were planted by hand, often climbing over the spiky grass trees like a flower arrangement. Flocks of red-tailed black cockatoos flew through the canopy, and a pair of colourful kookaburras landed on a branch just in front of us, one with a snake in its beak, smacking it dead against the limb before chomping it down. Nature in action.


Just a 90 minute drive from the centre of Perth, this is a truly stunning area, and should be on everyone’s must do list – whether for hiking, bird watching, kayaking or just relaxing in stunning surroundings.


We didn’t intend to walk 10 km, but before long we were nearing the Murray River, so I insisted we reach it as our halfway point. We made our way down there, but it wasn’t lined with friendly bolders inviting us to relax a while, as I had hoped, instead it was a slippery, steep, black muddy bank. Mr A duly demonstrated how slippery it was, as he slid down into the water. Oops. By that point we had walked around 5 km and my throat was feeling pretty hoarse and sore – I could barely laugh, but managed it inwardly – I’m sure someone somewhere would pay a lot to be caked in genuine Murray River mud, but Mr A was not impressed!


On returning to camp I collapsed with a cold drink in a camp chair, my legs feeling like jelly. It’s amazing what a bloodstream full of poison (CT scan dye, general anaesthetic and who knows what else!) can do to your health – a couple of weeks ago I would have easily added another 10 km to our hike. At the moment the breathing is not yet brilliant either, swelling still there in my airway and my vocal chords – I did sound a little like Darth Vader on the short hills we climbed. Hopefully as the week progresses I will feel the benefit.

The remainder of the afternoon was spent chilling out in the sunshine, reading and drinking tea with Tassie asleep  – sharing her time between Mr A’s my lap, followed by hot showers and dinner of chilli-con-carne and a glass or two of red.

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Day 124: 30 September – A little bit of R&R

Author: Mrs A

Location: Lane Poole Reserve, Nanga Brook

Distance walked: 500 metres!

Distance biked by Mr A: 14 km

Sleep was my friend today and around 12 hours of almost uninterrupted sleep were enjoyed.  Mr A woke up earlier than me and jumped on his bike for a ride through the forest, returning to make a pot of herbal tea and a BBQ breakfast. Nurse Tassie appreciated having a warm body to sleep with and kept me company.

It was a fine day – when the sun shone, quite warm, but chilling right down to around 14 degrees when the clouds came across. We spent the morning drinking tea and relaxing, Tassie even coming outside and relaxing in Mr A’s chair, relegating him to a stool! Its a beautiful area to reuperate in – trees in every direction, and multiple birds frequenting the camp sites, as well as a mob of bush wallabies.


We decided to go for a drive in the afternoon. My airway and vocal chords are still bruised and swollen, so I wasn’t up for anything too strenuous, and to Mr A’s delight, I am barely talking yet either. We explored round some of the other camp areas and Mr A took me down to the River Murray, where he had been kayaking a few weeks ago.


Now, since we have owned this caravan, slightly more than 10 months now, there has not been a Mr A fire story. It’s incredible we have lasted this long without an incident, but tonight, the accidental firebug drought was broken. We were cooking a fish curry on the stove top, and Mr A remembered he had some Roti bread in the fridge which needed heating up in the oven. So he took over that task – after all, the instructions were quite simple – preheat oven to 180 degrees, wrap bread in foil with a few drops of water, and cook for 4-5 minutes. What ever could go wrong? 

Mr A emptied the oven of all unnecessary items and lit the gas. Suddenly we noticed orange flames licking out of the open oven and the smell of burning plastic! Argh! He had left a bag of popcorn in the oven (we often store unopened bags of popcorn and crisps in the oven as they will not get squashed), and it had fallen down the back on to the flame. Burning bag and popcorn galore greeted us! Thankfully, not too great a disaster, and soon extinguished and cleared up by Mr A with no lives or property lost. Thank goodness.

Hopefully that is the worst we will have to contend with. The rest of the evening progressed with no further incident.

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