Quick look

Now, I know what you’re thinking, and you’re right; Western Australia IS a very long way to go for a gourmet food and wine get-away. And honestly, Australia isn’t exactly known for its epicurean delights, is it? As far as us POM’s are concerned, the Aussies couldn’t give a four X for anything other than beer, prawns, barbequed snags and a variety of other culinary clichés. Well, allow me now to take very great delight in removing all such misapprehensions and introduce you to the Margaret River region...

273km south of Perth, nestled in the heart of the stunning Geographe Bay, lies Australia’s secret slice of food and drink heaven. Situated right on the very coast line of the Indian Ocean, with breath-taking beaches as far as the eye can see (unless you happen to be looking in-land, obviously) and a backdrop of mighty Karri trees looming to the rear, Margaret River is as near perfection as it’s possible to be. But, I hear you cry, surely all that sand couldn’t be conducive to the production of good food and wine? That, my friend, is where you would be wrong. With more than 84 wineries, five breweries, a handful of olive oil farms, a chocolate factory, fudge factory, venison farm, more organic veg growers than you could shake a stick at (assuming that stick-shaking is your thing) and coffee shops, tea houses and restaurants galore, it is a veritable gastro-travellers paradise.

What To See : Back to top

The important thing to remember once you reach Margaret River, is that it is entirely possible to have too much of a good thing. It’s difficult to avoid the pulling sensation of so many wineries; so little time, but the best advice is to pace yourself... And the best way to do that is to book yourself onto a tour with Lifestyle Margaret River (www.lifestylemargaretriver.com.au).

Generally speaking, guided tours are not my cuppa chai, but the ladies at Lifestyle offer something that little bit different. Eleven years ago Nola Gaebler (affectionately known locally as “Nola & her Roller”) permanently relocated to her fave holiday destination to indulge in her two great passions: wine and classic cars. As a rule, wine and cars aren’t thought to be the best combination, but when you’re elegantly sprawled in the back of a 1955 S1 Bentley, a Rolls Royce Silver Shadow 11, or a Lexus LX470, meandering through the trees and groves of one of Australia’s most prolific wine producing regions and sampling the very best from the local cellar doors along the way, then you may just think again. It’s a little like being in an episode of “Thunderbirds” only instead of Parker, it’s Lady Penelope behind the wheel.

The Lifestyle tours can be personally tailored to suit your particular interests. This little critic would strongly recommend a visit to the beautifully appointed, award-winning, art gallery toting, Vasse Felix (www.vassefelix.com.au), Cullen (www.cullenwines.com.au) for the feel-good factor of supporting Australia’s first carbon-neutral, biodinamic winery, and the very small, understated Gralyn Estate (www.gralyn.com.au), quite simply for the best wine you’re ever likely to taste on either side of the equator. For the foodies among you there’s also the Evans and Tate (www.evansandtate.com.au) food and wine matching experience, more suited for a light lunch than the whole shebang.

Now, step with me, if you will, away from wine for a time, and look at a few more attractions that the region has to offer. Don’t panic just yet though; we’re not going anywhere too strenuous. As you know, good wine and good food go together, and if you ask them very nicely, the Lifestyle ladies may just agree to take you to Olio Bello (www.oliobello.com.au), The Olive Association’s Grower of the Year 2006/07. Completely organic, Olio Bello have taken everything good about olive oil and made it even better, offering pure extra virgin oils of varying strengths, infused oils of chilli, parmesan and Satsuma (to name but a few), sauces, chutneys and jams, and most weirdly, but surprisingly nicely, cakes and deserts made with olive oil. If you leave this place hungry, then you really haven’t made the most of the samples made available to you! Olio Bello also make and sell a wide range of cosmetics, absolutely perfect for sensitive skin... Not half bad for a one-time run-down dairy farmer.

If Olio Bello has got your juices flowing, then you might also want to check out Margaret River Providore (www.providore.com.au), whose cellar door comes replete with a large chemical-free veggie patch, the produce from which can either be indulged in on-site at the visitor centre’s fantastic restaurant, or taken home in an array of jams, pickles, sauces and oils, not to mention some fabulous dukkah.

And to finish up, a few kilometers down the track from Providore is the Margaret River Chocolate Factory (www.chocolatefactory.com.au). The chocolate factory doesn’t quite have the feel-good home-grown element to it, as they actually use imported Belgian chocolate in their recipes, BUT, if you have a fancy for the worlds richest hot chocolate, a beautifully indulgent brownie, or simply a selection of hand-crafted chocolaty goodies, then the MR Chocolate Factory will do it for you every time.

If, after so much food and drink, you feel the need to give your heart, liver and kidneys a rest there are a variety of activities available to embark upon... A personal favourite is a visit to a day Spa, offered by Moondance Lodge, Cape Lodge Small Luxury Hotel and, the slightly controversial, Quay West Bunker Bay resort (www.mirvachotels.com.au). Quay West met an awful lot of resistance when the initial plans were made for the resort to be built, directly on the sea front. And you can understand why; Bunker Bay is a place of incredible natural beauty. However, sensitive architects have ensured that strategically placed plant-life keeps the building completely hidden from view from the beach and, it must be said; it’s a beautiful resort, cleverly and comfortably designed, with stunning facilities, a great restaurant and, most importantly of all, some truly sumptuous spa therapy treatments... Unfortunately, detox is not one of them, but hey, you can’t have it all.

For the more active visitor, Margaret River is host to a number of surfing schools for all levels of ability. It’s particularly worth investigating Escape Safaris for women (www.escapesafaris.com.au), a relatively new enterprise run by two local girls, who offer yoga, bush-walking, snorkelling, caving, horse-riding, visits to local gallaries and the Wardan aboriginal centre, and an above-average lunch, on top of your standard mornings surfing.

Alternatively, you could try a trek with the Mirravale horse riding centre, a Swim on the Wild Side with the non-profit-making Dolphin Discovery Centre (http://dolphins.mysouthwest.com.au), or a day canoeing along the Margaret River with www.bushtuckertours.com, which provides a great opportunity to view some indigenous fauna and flora and a chance, as the name would suggest, to sample a few native culinary delights... After which, you really will be wanting a proper lunch!

Eating Out : Back to top

Amberley Estate, Corner Wildwood & Thornton Roads, Yallingup, WA 6282. Tel: (+61 8) 9750 1111.

For a decadent luncheon, the majority of the wineries in the area will run an on-site restaurant of a very high standard. A particular recommendation is the Amberley Estate (www.amberleyestate.com.au).  After a hard morning of... whatever it is that you happen to have been doing, take a seat at a patio table and enjoy the view; a garden of bird-of paradise plants, banksia flowers, hibiscus bushes and gum trees rolling down to a natural lake, surrounded by row-upon-row of grape vine, provide the perfect backdrop to a perfect lunch. Amberley also offer a food and wine matching service and I opted for the fantastically flavourful fried haloumi cheese with parsley lemon dressing, tomato, olives and wood fired sourdough crostini (nb., having removed the eye of a fellow diner with flying shrapnel, I found it best to allow the crostini to soften under the haloumi before any attempt to eat it... which was fairly hard to do as it tasted so damn good!), accompanied by a very light Margaret River Semillon Sauvignon Blanc to start, followed by oak smoked pumpkin gnocchi tossed through roasted zucchini cream sauce with a chive and ricotta quenelle and parmesan crisps served with the recommended Chimney Brush Merlot, which I continued to quaff right through a traditional Aussie dessert of pavlova with strawberry cream, chocolate shavings and raspberry syrup. All courses were well presented and very well balanced, but the biggest achievement was the gnocchi; firm to the fork, melt-in the mouth perfection... My compliments to the chef!

The great thing about eating out in this area is that really, anything goes. You can walk into practically any restaurant and find girls in shorts and t-shirts sitting cheek-by-jowl with guys in suits and ties and nobody bats an eye-lid, the atmosphere is so relaxed, and the eateries full of surprises.

The Restaurant @ Seashells Caves House, Yallingup Beach Road, WA 6282. Tel: (+61 8) 9755 2131.

On the surface, Seashells at Caves House (www.seashells.com.au) is little more than a pub. Very plainly decorated, chairs and tables scattered around an open fire, waitresses casually dressed... And a menu that could happily find a home in any five-star London restaurant. Vegetarianism has been a long time coming to Australia, so I was very pleasantly surprised by the selection available to me here, opting for the rocket, pear and parmesan salad with raspberry vinaigrette for starters, followed by a main of crepe cannelloni filled with spinach and feta with tomato pomodoro and finished with a beautifully blended dessert of white chocolate crème brulee with hazelnut wafers. Between them, my companions sampled pretty much everything else on the menu, tasting the local beer-battered shark with shoestring fries, seared Exmouth scallops with crispy parma ham, taglitelle and Olio Bello lime oil and the “ace” char grilled Harvey beef fillet with a mushroom risotto cake, buttered spinach and red wine jus. All servings were incredibly generous, attractively presented, wonderfully well-cooked and very reasonably priced, with the most expensive dish on the menu coming out at around £13. Aiming to serve largely locally sourced produce and regional specialities, Seashells offer fantastic food in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere, setting an example that many a UK establishment would benefit from following.

Vat 107, 107 Bussell Highway, Margaret River, WA 6285. Tel: (+61 8) 9758 8877.

As a complete contrast to the informality of Seashells, Vat 107 (www.vat107.com.au), Bussell Highway, brings a little city-slicking panache to the sleepy suburbs of Margaret River. Begin your meal with a quick round of cocktails in Vatini’s, the shoe-box sized wine bar suckered onto the side of the restaurant, before elegantly staggering into the sharp and stylish realms of 107. Marble bars, polished floorboards, dark-wood furniture, glitzy mirrors, swanky decanters and table-ware and the oh-so-important mood lighting, at VAT 107 it’s all about the look, with even the food styled to meet the current vogue... Despite this, however, and because of the owners determination to use seasonal local produce, the menu is nicely balanced and very appealing. Although not immediately vegetarian-friendly, a good selection of dishes are available on request, and from the standard summer menu I’m reliably informed that the oyster platter is about the best thing to have emerged from the ocean since Johnny Depp last donned his pirate outfit. 
There is no particular style to VAT 107’s menu, Eurasian is probably the best description, with Lebanese nut pilaf with mint lemon labne and baby preserved beets sitting happily beside veal rib eye with pommes frites, roquefortte reduction and fried tarragon on the main menu and a daily changing chef's mezze assortment enjoying a place next to vichysssoire of coconut & lemongrass, yabby tails, cucumber oil and Asian herbs in the entrée selection. However, it’s the reliance on current taste trends, rather than a chosen genre of cookery that makes Vat 107 a very much something-for-everyone establishment... You just need to move your mind set away from that relaxed holiday vibe and be prepared for a little bit of glitz and glam.

Sleepover : Back to top

After all those activities and all that food and yes, after all that wine, you’ll be wanting somewhere to sleep. Margaret River offers every form of accommodation you could wish for, from campsites to five-star hotels to deluxe self-contained apartments. A fairly central place to look for digs is Yallingup, which is within easy driving distance of most of the regions attractions and also happens to be the home of two top hotels.

Moondance Lodge, Spencer Road, off Caves Road, Yallingup, WA. Tel: (+61 8) 9750 1777.

Stepping into Moondance Lodge (www.moondancelodge.com), is a little like stepping back into colonial India, one almost expects the aiya to appear to take care of any children and the servants to hurry in to take care of your luggage. Instead, you are warmly welcomed by smiling assistant manager, Monique and escorted to one of eight luxury villas nestled discreetly in the bush land surrounding the Lodge.

The mission statement issued by Moondance owners Geraldine Reilly and Richard Doggart runs thus: “Our dream is to create a beautiful place somewhere in the world where the energy is strong and people can come and do whatever they need to do”, and they have achieved just that. Despite the deluxe surroundings, there is a distinctly relaxed and earthy quality about everything that is Moondance; from the lavish-yet-subtly decorated rooms, the quietly unpretentious day spa, the wholesome, filling and incredibly appetising breakfasts and the little personal touches added to the rooms; original art work, ground coffee and leaf tea in the mini-bar at no extra cost, essential oils in little burners ready for your evening soak in the spa and the open fire in the lounge area of the villas. All the staff are friendly and welcoming, but completely lack the sycophantic tendencies that most posh hotels seem to feel obliged to lay on. The ambience is nothing if not relaxing. There is very little wonder that Moondance won the 2005 Conde Nast Traveller Hot New Hotel award and it’s very easy to believe the words of the assistant manager; “nothing is a problem here”.

The Harvest Moon restaurant, open in the main lodge Friday-Sunday evening is also well worth a visit, with fantastic service and a wonderful array dishes to suit pretty well any palate.

Cape Lodge, Caves Road, Yallingup, WA 6282. Tel: (+61 8) 9755 6311.

For those of you who prefer the more traditional style of hotel and enjoy your decadence served with deference, there is the equally luxurious, yet slightly more refined Cape Lodge Hotel (www.capelodge.com.au). Part of the Small Luxury Hotel Group, when entering Cape Lodge you get the feeling that there is a place for everything... And you better not dare take anything out of its place. The aspect is pretty, with an almost English feel; it wouldn’t be much of a stretch to imagine a young Miss D’arcy playing crocket with the Bingley’s on the beautifully manicured lawns, which surround the beautifully manicured lake, which lies placidly in front of the beautifully manicured new restaurant and Forest Suits. Everything is... Just so.

With the grounds, so with the rooms. Having recently undergone a $3million refurbishment, the hotel now boasts 30 rooms, each stylishly decorated and completed with all the mod-cons, eight of which include double-spa baths.
However, what most people agree makes this hotel special, is not the accommodation, but the restaurant. The breakfasts are the best I, or any of my party, have ever come across; freshly baked muffins, fruits, cereals, nuts, breads and yoghurts of all kinds, then the cooked selection... I am awash with saliva at the very memory! Strawberry and mango pancakes with maple syrup and King Island double cream, cue a Homer-esque drool moment. And you want attention to detail? The smoked salmon served for breakfast is cured on the premises, salted every six hours, day and night and practically falls from your fork. If there’s one thing this hotel does well, it is food. Although in the evening the restaurant is open to the public, guests do take priority, so it’s rare for a table to be free... Seriously, if you like your food, you must stay here. The hotel is lovely, but the food is to die for... Given the size of the portions and richness of the meals, however, stay here too long and you probably will!

Margaret River, Western Australia. It is certainly a very long way to, but if you’re after a holiday a little bit off the beaten track, where you can enjoy the luxury lifestyle without the usual luxury price-tag, then this might just be the place for you. It’s beautiful, it’s relaxed, the food is fantastic, the wine is amazingly varied and amazingly high quality, and despite the growing viticultural industry, the region remains unspoilt... Most refreshingly of all, the local businesses intend to keep it that way.

Getting There : Back to top

Having spent 22-24 hours flying, the last thing you’re likely to want to do is get straight into a hire car for another three hour drive down the coast before reaching your hotel. Instead, spend a night or two in Perth, regathering your wits and sampling the great restaurants and hospitality available, before embarking on a leisurely drive down to Geographe Bay. On your way down, why not stop off at Mandurah for morning tea, or Bussleton for local Simmo’s ice cream and a leg-stretching stroll down the Southern Hemisphere’s longest wooden jetty to a fantastic underwater observatory; a great place for dolphin-spotting, both above and below the waves.

Emirates offer flights to Western Australia from all major UK airports on a daily basis, for more information visit www.emirates.com/uk or call: 0870 128 6000.

For more information on Western Australia and Margaret River visit:
www.westernaustralia.com and www.margaretriver.com