Winterly Westerly Wanderings

[Daver6]

Great TR so far.

I'd be interested in your thoughts about the room at the Melbourne Hotel. I often see some sharp deals there but the quoted room sizes seem on the small side. Love to hear what you thought.

 

[kookaburra75]

Great TR so far.

I'd be interested in your thoughts about the room at the Melbourne Hotel. I often see some sharp deals there but the quoted room sizes seem on the small side. Love to hear what you thought.

We were in a Heritage Verandah Room, which is in the old part. It was a good size, with high ceilings. The new parts of the hotel I imagine would be different and a lot more cosy.

We were there on Sat & Sun nights, so things were quiet, and the old pub bar De Baun & Co only being opened for limited hours. The Japanese restaurant, Grand Orient and the roof top bar, Auroa weren't open while we were there. What is available while you are staying there will certainly add to the experience and value.

 

[kookaburra75]

We pulled into Bridgetown late afternoon, and found the Ford House Retreat.


They have a range of rooms, and we booked the The Grand Ballroom, which was large, with a four poster bed, comfy chairs and a fire.




We were the only ones in the old house, so we had a run of the kitchen and the lounge. We got the fire going in the lounge, and settled in with wine, cheese and nibbles.




Breakfast was over in the old stable building, which has been turning into a large function/dining room, and a shop full of bric-a-brac. It was a lovely old property, and we'd certainly stay again.

 

[kookaburra75]

After our restful, but cold stay in Bridgetown, we headed off in the morning in the direction of our next stay at Bunbury, and stopped in at Donnybrook for our morning coffee. Luckily it was on the way for our next planned stop - the greatest secret in WA tourism sites that they don't tell people about. Gnomesville. Let's be honest, it was creepy.

MrsK was worried about posing for this photo. She felt that if she turned her back on them, they would creep closer.


They're everywhere.

But, there was a silver lining to this experience. We were driving along Ferguson Road, which took us through the Ferguson Valley. It was a very scenic drive, and not unsurprisingly had a number of wineries along the way. As the rain was setting in again (more not PERfect weather), we came across St Aidan Wines, and stopped for a tasting and lunch. Well worth the stop.

MrsK taking in the scene, and relaxing during lunch


My meal of Crispy Pork Belly, on hummus

View out the front of St Aidan's Cellar Door, looking down to the river

We had a good chat with the owner Mary, who recommended that Willow Bridge Estate in the Henty Valley was worth a visit, so off we went.

 

[kookaburra75]

We drove from St Aidan across to Willow Bridge Estate, which took us across into the Henty Valley. Another picturesque drive, through lush countryside.


We found the winery we were looking for, and being a Tuesday it was very quiet. We were the only people in the tasting room, and got to have a good talk with the staff. One thing I really liked, was the detailed map of the winery, showing the parts that linked up with the wines we were trying. It helped link the style/taste to the terrain. Again, to keep the local economy ticking over, we bought a couple of bottles for the road, and one to bring back - 2020 Coat of Arms Cabernet Sauvignon. A great wine and a real bargain.

Willow Bridge Estate winery and cellar door


Entrance to the winery, and view down the valley

Certainly during our travels so far, and the wineries we've visited, I'd say that the wines are punching well above their weight, for the prices they have been charging. What we've been paying $20-$30/bottle over here, you would be paying at least another $10/bottle over east. And while Margaret River and the Great Southern are very good, next time we'd spend more time in the Ferguson and Henty Valley areas. Friends who we had dinner with on Wed night, echoed the same sentiment, and felt it would be long until those areas overtook Margaret River.

We then headed on our way across to Bunbury, which was our next over night stop.

 

[kookaburra75]

As we drove towards Bunbury, the skies got darker and the winds really picked up. By the time we got to our next place to stay, Bunbury Hotel Koombana Bay. Our room, a Deluxe Studio had a kitchenette area, fridge, stove etc. That let us cook up the remaining food, nibbles and other essentials for dinner (and a glass or two of our collected wines), rather than going out - which wasn't really an option. Being a Tues night, very little was open in Bunbury, and but mainly due to the winds which were gusting up over 50 knots, plus the driving rain.

From our room, looking out into the harbour - the wind was driving sheets of water across the waves. The palm tree in the bottom left was bent over so much, we thought it was going to snap.

While the building wasn't shaking, the sound of the wind forcing it's way under the door and the ferocity of the gusts were a bit of a worry. But, strangely enough we slept well.

 

[kookaburra75]

Our second to last day of our trip dawned a bit better than the previous day, although still very windy with squalls of rain sweeping through. This day were planned to take to Old Coast Road to get us from Bunbury back to Perth, going via Australind, Mandurah, Rockingham, Fremantle and to our hotel, the DoubleTree by Hilton Perth Waterfront.

We dropped into Mandurah for our late morning coffee, and after finding Tods Cafe down by the water, we had an early lunch as well, and enjoyed the food and coffee.

Looking back down the river at Mandurah, with the wind kicking up whitecaps all over the place.

We then continued our drive up the coast, going through showers of rain and having the car blown around on the road - but nothing too bad.

 

[kookaburra75]

The drive up to Perth was uneventful, besides the weather. We arrived at the DoubleTree Waterfront early, but were able to check in as the room was ready. We had booked a King Premier Panoramic River View room, so we would have a special room for our last night in Perth.

View from our room

Some of the local denizens in Perth had seen our activity on this Trip Report, so we had the pleasure of catching up with JohnM for a couple of hours, up in the roof top bar which was pleasant. We watched the weather roll in, while cosy inside.

From the balcony around the rooftop bar, looking downriver


From the balcony around the rooftop bar, looking upriver

After those couple of hours relaxing, we caught up with friends from Perth, who we had lunch with on the week previous in Bunbury. After a couple of drinks we headed down to the restaurant for dinner, and sampled a few more wines from the southern region. As we still had 4 or so bottles of wine that we hadn't got to finish off, we gave them to our friends as a 'pay-it-forward' moment, which they said they would enjoy. I did keep one back to take home with us (see earlier post).

 

[kookaburra75]

The last morning of our holidays started off ok, like the previous, although not as windy. While some rain swept through, we were greeted by a rainbow over South Perth as we got ourselves organised.


Our new July Carry On bags had done the job, although by staying in places with washing machines and dryers we had reduced the amount we had to carry. We called up an Uber and headed out to the airport, and relaxed for an hour or so until our flight was called.

The flight back from Perth to Canberra was comfortable, with good service from the team. MrsK's meal of Roast Chicken and mash was very ordinary, while mine of prosciutto and grain salad was great. Several glasses of West Cape Howe Riesling from Mount Barker, where we had been, helped. We watched the scenery change, and the skies were relatively clear until we got closer to Canberra.

The skies over South Australia


The skies nearing Canberra

We landed just before the scheduled time, helped by the winds that have been pushing everyone east. We jumped a taxi home, and have finished unpacking and grabbing something to eat - and drink. And then time to reflect on our trip, for a final write up.

 

[kookaburra75]

I had to head into work on Friday, but at least it was only one day, plus a client had moved a meeting to next Monday, so I headed home early. Plus, the effects of "WA Jet Lag" were cutting in - there is such a thing, or maybe it was a psychosomatic reaction to not being on holidays any more.

Overall, the trip was a great mid-winter getaway for us. We travelled to new places, discovered new wineries, drank excellent wines and sampled great food - which was roughly the plan. Margaret River is a nice place to visit, but I suspect if it was busy then it wouldn't be as pleasant an experience. The town would fill up very quickly, and many of the wineries I suspect would be packed. When we went to Leeuwin Estate, we were the only ones there, and had a great experience. I know others who have been there, felt it was too big an operation and got an impersonal service. As usual, we tried to stick to the smaller, family run wineries, and enjoyed all of them, and have already placed a couple of orders for wine. A couple of those that we visited were just nice, and we wouldn't go back. But, there were also a lot we didn't get to.

The Great Southern area, around Frankland River, Mount Barker and Denmark has a heap of excellent wineries. We only scratched the surface with three, and would go back again to find out more, using Denmark as a base, if we couldn't stay at my friend's place. But the real standout was the Ferguson and Henty Valleys, east of Bunbury. There is a lot to explore in that area, and one that we'll try again once we get over the the West again.

We'd use all of the accommodation places again, they were just right. We had made bookings back in November, along with the hire car booking that saved us a lot of money, as prices climbed steeply a couple of month's ago. And thanks to JohnM for making the time to stop in at our hotel for a chat and drinks.

Now for planning next year's mid-winter escape.

 

[craven morehead]

Many thanks for an excellent TR

 

[VPS]

Thanks for the TR. A few good accommodation choices there

 

[JohnM]

PERfect TR...

 

[jrfsp]

Great report - The Melbourne is certainly different now with the rebuild.
Brave to go down south during winter - none of the Perth locals do, but actually its nice to see a different quieter side to it!

 

[OZDUCK]

Thanks for your work in completing this TR. You certainly took the weather in your stride.

 

[FishFood]

As a Western Australia, it is interesting to see the South West through the lens of an interstate tourist. Thanks for your work in putting this together

 

[kookaburra75]

Thanks for your work in completing this TR. You certainly took the weather in your stride.

It was a lot warmer than Canberra, so that was ok. We only got caught once in the rain, getting from the car to the winery cellar door at Juniper Estate. So, we just had to spend a bit longer there, while our jackets dried out in front of the fire

 

[kookaburra75]

As a Western Australia, it is interesting to see the South West through the lens of an interstate tourist. Thanks for your work in putting this together

I too always find it interesting to see our own location through other's eyes. Living in Canberra, it's funny seeing other people's reactions ro reviews of places.

When I lived and worked in WA in the 80's, I was always up north, the furthest south I got was Mandurah. I did sample the wines in the Swan Valley though.

 

[kookaburra75]

Great report - The Melbourne is certainly different now with the rebuild.
Brave to go down south during winter - none of the Perth locals do, but actually its nice to see a different quieter side to it!

Yes, I remember The Melbourne as the very old pub, with the comedy club during the week. Mind you, Hay Street in the city on the weekend was as quiet as I always remembered it. I think due to a lot of businesses closing due to Covid, we still got a few good places within a short walk.

And the weather was ok. My friend, who now lives near Mount Barker grew up in Albany, so he knows what cold is like. Although, when we worked together, it was up in the Pilbara and Kimberley - but we both agreed we'd had enough of 40+ degrees in the wet season, so Mount Barker was not too bad.

 

[drron]

Loved the TR. When we go again to the south west it will be in August as time for the orchids. A bit later than you though.