From Margaret River

So this little town (smaller even than Dundas) is the centre of the wine industry on the West Coast, and is also a tourist destination. It has an artsy feel not unlike Dundas, and we fell in love with it immediately. The hotel we are at is one of a chain, but is amazingly good. Food excellent, grounds well-kept and extensive, accommodation very good. We walked around today and examined the ponds, the ducks, the strange vegetation. And we heard a sound which seemed like that of monkeys in the jungle, but turned out to be kookaburras up in the trees. We haven't seen them yet, but sure hear them at dusk and dawn. Also there are white, and green, parrots just flying around. Quite a different world.

Last night, after I had a nap (I hit the wall, my body not quite believing that we were twelve hours time-shifted), we went for supper at the hotel dining room. we were the only folks in the entire big room, set to seat thirty or more people. So we got our choice of table, and sat by the fireplace (not working at this time). We had a wonderful meal, good food, good wine, and good service.

A good sleep, but again getting up at before five in the morning. We walked around the place, then showed up as the first ones for a sumptuous breakfast. Turns out they have a resident duck, who took a shine to Darlene.







We were picked up, carted off en masse to three more wineries, a venison farm, a cheese place, a chocolate factory, and a brewery. It's tough being a tourist; or at least, tough being a tourist and keeping your head clear. I'm glad we had some guided tours of this area, but I have to say that we were ready to end before the tour was ended. Having said that, the country is remarkable, and the people friendly. And the weather is near-perfect: twenty or so and clear skies. Sure beats Dundas weather right now.

The final part of the journey was the ride back to Perth, another three hours in the bus. Fortunately, this was a comfortable experience, and the seats reclined so we could sleep. Also, they had wi-fi (believe it or not). So I caught up on emails and so on, between naps.

Arrival in Perth was later than I had been up for the past few days (ten o'clock), and we were heading to our B & B hosts to meet them for the first time. They were great: a Brit accountant and a Panamanian medic. We talked and shared experiences until well past eleven. They convinced me that it is silly to try to go to one of our day trip locations, since the round trip would be about 800 Km! It would be a very long day.

Tomorrow would be a shorter day, only five or six hours of planned time. One of our jobs would be to cancel a planned trip. So we keep the trip to the Pinnacles, and cancel the one to the Wave Rocks. With that decided, bed seemed the best next step. and that's what we did.

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Location:Wallcliffe Road,Margaret River,Australia