wine in the west

We left Alice Springs and flew to Perth, Western Australia. We landed early afternoon on a beautiful day. We took about a 20 minute train ride to Cottlesloe beach, where we lay in the sun for the afternoon.

The next day, we explored the city centre a little, walking around all the little shops. Tina and Mara toured the botanical gardens. Mom and I met Marie's (mom's sister) friend in the botanical gardens. Sue gave us lots of tips about travelling Australia. We had lunch in the gardens and then did a treetop walk, which gave a beautiful view of the city and the rivers on which it lies.

That evening, we went to Sorrento, a very nice Italian restaurant...the first time Tina and I spurlged on a meal! Mara and I went to the Belgian Beer Cafe to taste some beers. We met up with a couple of guys from B.C. and a couple from France. They took us to a couple of bars in Northbridge, which apparently is the place to go out in Perth. We went to the Brass Monkey, which was quite dead. The bouncers are very strict about not letting drunk people in the bars and we were questioned about how much we already had to drink. We then went to the Wheel Barrow, which was not as strict about their entry criteria! Although they did require a piece of ID and took your photo before you entered. Twenty minutes was time enough in that place :)

The next day we got the train to Fremantle, a suburb of Perth, where Perth originally started. Fremantle is known for its market so we took some time to explore it. Fremantle also has a street with an abundance of cafes and is known as "Cappuccino Strip". We explored the market and the town.

We took a 2 hour bus ride to Margaret River, south of Perth on April 12. We were ready to settle in one spot for a few nights so chose this nice little town. We did many tours of the tiny town and it's main strip. It rained a lot when we were there!

We decided to do a wine tour since Margaret River is quickly becoming a popular wine region, termed the next Bordeaux. We chose Margaret River Tours. We got picked up 9:00 am by our tour guide, Jim. There were 7 other people on our tour. We went to six wineries: Stella Bella, Leeuwin, Voyager, Watershed, Pierro, and Moss Brothers. We had a wonderful lunch at the dining room in Voyager. Our favorite wines were from Stella Bella. After the wine tastings, we went to a chocolate factory and then a cheese factory for tastings...yum. We met Jim later for supper at Settlers, the local pub. It was declicious and we tried lots of different Australian beer. Jim told lots of jokes, our favorite being, "Why does the Avon lady walk funny?" After the bar closed (12:00!), we went back to Jim's house for a few drinks. Antony, a guy who works at a winery also came with us.

Our final day in Margaret River was spent relaxing, exploring the town once again. In the evening, Mara and I played a board game, Settlers of Catan, with a couple me met from Europe. Fun game! We headed back to Perth for a night before getting ready to catch our flight to Adelaide....bound for South Australia!

first pic is of perth on the swan river

second is a sign on surfing beach

third is half full cow on wine tasting in margaret riv

erin