I’ve been away for a while. Naughty blogger! Thankfully, I’ve been doing some really nice things with my time. Enjoying the moment, savouring the day, and generally just having a nice, relaxing time. It’s winter here, and there’s nothing better than going on a winter road trip. The beauty of living in Perth is that we are close to so many beautiful holiday destinations – drive North and you’ll forget winter altogether, or drive South a few hours and enter a lush, green winter wonderland.
We chose to drive South for this particular extended weekend, to a little place called Margaret River (well, not so little anymore!). Margs is great because it has everything – gourmet food, hundreds of wineries that offer free tastings and delicious lunches, untouched beaches, excellent surfing, a thriving tourist industry, natural caves, art galleries, and did I mention the food!?
For me, the packing and driving are almost as exciting as the holiday itself. There’s something magical about anticipation, especially when there are so many sensory delights to look forward to – picking lilies, sampling chocolate and gourmet sauces, running barefoot on pristine white beach sand, stretching out in front of a log fire…mmm, I could go again this weekend 
Lucky for us, the drive from Perth to Margaret River is four hours at most. Three and a bit if you step on the gas. Since Jed and I left home quite early, we didn’t have to worry about rushing to the house we’d booked – we stopped for coffee and petrol on the way to the freeway, then again at Miami bakehouse in Mandurah. (Every time I get the garlic prawn pie – nothing like it!) We did a final stop in Margaret River for some ice (very important for the beer drinkers!) before arriving at Marmalade House around two in the afternoon.
Highlights of the weekend:
- The wood fire in the massive rammed-earth house we hired – the owner was kind enough to light it before we arrived!
- Providore. Seriously, I could just pitch my tent between the organic vegie garden and the chicken coop and eat their fresh produce for the rest of my life. We bought home Garlic infused olive oil, black olive tapenade, an $8 french bread loaf that was actually flown in from France (available daily!), dukkah, and mustard relish. Now I wish I had also purchased: the wild rice risotto and porcini mix, the $15 pasta sauce, and the fresh egg pasta.
- Peacetree estate winery. This lovely little place was built on weekends and holidays with love by a husband and wife team who commuted from the city every weekend to build their dream vineyard and winery(and she also shared with us her pleasure at having four strong sons to help out!). They planted olive trees and organic grapevines years ago, and now, their cellar door is open. We got an advance release bottle of their spanish wine “Tempranillo” and it was to die for. I didn’t even drink red wine before I tasted this wine, and now I’m hooked! The lady owner was very attentive and educated the four of us on how most big wine producers “machine-pick” their grapes to save time. Basically, they vacuum the grapes from each vine. Only thing is, they also end up sucking up mice, cockroaches, bugs, pests, and any other number of things that live in grapevines. YUCK! At Peacetree, however, they hand-pick their grapes! No cockroaches or mice – which means they don’t need to use any nasty additives to kill the bacteria that comes from nasties. Which means no hangover! Okay, I could also pitch my tent here
- Laurance Winery. The bottles are ornately decorated, the bathrooms are practically gold-plated, and did I mention the beef and red wine pie that tastes like a little piece of heaven dropped from the sky?
- The winding roads. The enormous trees. The silence.
- The amazing feeling of driving with the person you love, without a care in the world.
