Margaret River - would you believe it's not all about the wine...

Margaret River is synonymous with wine, delicious wine, and we came expecting to enjoy a bit of grown up time exploring the wineries.  We hadn't factored on there being so much to do, that it took us four days to visit our first winery!

This is a fantastic region to visit with a family, that seems to undergoing burgeoning growth.  The old favourites are still here, but in the 12 years or so since my last visit here, many new ventures have started, bringing new activities, tastes and even fashions to the area.

We camped at Contos Campground, just near the stunning Lake Cave.  There are some 300 steps to descend into the cave, and a new addition is a suspended deck over the collapsed cave roof.  It was a little unnerving stepping onto the clear observation points in the deck - but for some crazy reason we all ended up on the deck and took this amusing selfie.

On the suspended deck.... The cave is some 300 steps below us!

Lake Cave's show-piece is the magnificent suspended column - one of only two known in the world, and the only one open to the public.  Whilst the cave is beautiful, I felt sure the water level of the lake had dropped since my last visit.  The guide confessed that all the caves in the Margaret River region have dried up, and they lined the bottom of this lake with plastic to ensure it didn't dry out too.  Of course no one really knows why - but the huge number of massive dams supporting the grape industry (and don't forget the aesthetics of a nice big dam) must surely have something to do with it.

The only suspended column accessible to normal people in the world

Being lighthouse nuts, it was only natural we would venture to the two lighthouses in the region.  First we visited Cape Naturaliste Light.  A short squat light, it is around 123 metres above sea level.  Its compact nature meant the keepers had to wind the clockwork mechanism every 20 minutes to keep the light rotating.  Part of its appeal is that whilst the light has been converted to electric motors to turn, and electric bulbs to shine, the original lead crystal lens is still in use, unlike Cape Otway, and Green Cape lights which we visited earlier on our travels.

Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse

Dunsborough provided a beautiful little beach to kick a ball around for lunch, and this place would have been fantastic to see on a calm day.  There is something incredibly therapeutic about sitting on a beach watching the world go by.

The venue for lunch was hard to take.

It was time for Mum to set the agenda, and we all found ourselves exploring many of the other things to see and do in Margaret River.  The boys were fascinated by the soap making process at Vasse Virgin Olive Oil and Soap Factory, and the chocolate factories (both of them) provided delicious chocolates.  We even tied the Cheeky Monkey brewery to try a cider and beer, but a couple of places really impressed us.

Margaret River Silk Farm

The first was the Margaret River Silk farm.  This is the only commercial silk worm farm in Australia, and Amanda showed us the full life cycle of the silk worm.  The silk worm is really a caterpillar that grows into a moth.  It has been domesticated and bred selectively for over three thousand years, meaning the moth is unable to fly.  The great thing about this company is that the silk they grow here is sent to disadvantaged communities in Laos for weaving, and the finished cloth and clothing is sent back to Australia.  It was a wonderful story, and we were really impressed that you can make the world a better place.  http://margaretriversilkroad.com/

Settlers Ridge Organic Wines

It took us four days to get to our first winery, but it was worth the wait.  We chose the Settlers Ridge winery because it is an organic and preservative free winery.  We found out when we went there that they are the only winery in the region that uses organic grapes and doesn't use chemicals in the wine making process at all.  The discussion on preservatives was a whole other issue - but their wine was delicious and affordable. We were converted!  http://www.settlersridge.com.au/  (A couple of days later at a bottleshop,  I asked for an organic or preservative free wine.  The organic wine was laced with preservatives and other chemicals, whilst the preservative free wine was made with grapes that had been sprayed...)

We enjoyed a great few days kicking about in this magnificent part of the world, checking out the surf, the rugged coastline and relaxing.

We made it to Cape Leeuwin, where we saw the meeting of the Southern and Indian Ocean.  Whilst the light-house is much taller than Cape Naturaliste, the lens is only some 53 metres above sea level.  Like Cape Naturaliste, the original lead crystal lens is still in operation, and I was touched that the foundation stone read "DEDICATED TO THE WORLDS MARINERS".  By now, the Little Fisherman is quite the lighthouse expert and had all the answers to the guide's questions - perhaps we need to find something else to visit!

Outside the front of the grounds

Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse, 1896

The original water supply, pumped by waterwheel, long since calcified.

We had travelled a long way to finally reach the west coast of Australia and see sunsets over the ocean again.  We took a picnic down to the beach and sat back watching the sun sink slowly below the horizon.  The thundering surf was not for the faint hearted, and we put our swim plans on hold - deciding to sit and share the moment together.  It was fantastic.

Sunset Coast

A special place to share with the family

We spent a fair bit of one day retracing our steps.  The Little Fisherman lost his hat a couple of days earlier, but some phone-calls from Mum soon relocated it.  After picking it up, it was time to get back on the gourmet food trail.  We were just about to get serious on the samples at the chocolate factory when the Little Helper realised he had lost his wallet (and couldn't buy any chocolate for himself).

Disaster.

We had tears, and in order to pacify one young boy by leaving, the other one got mightily upset about seeing his opportunity for buying chocolate disappearing before his eyes.  Mum's schedule was going out the window.  In short it was a disaster all around, and we started to retrace our steps, trying to prepare the Little Helper for the inevitable fact that we were sure his wallet would never be found again.

Somehow, we were lucky that day, and the wallet was found, in a chair where he had sat reading the latest Lego catalogue..  He was so relieved we had tears all over again.  And Mum went out in sympathy too.

Boy's both learnt a lesson that day.  But we couldn't be too hard on them, as Mum had lost a pair of sun glasses just a couple of days earlier.

At Cawaramup (or Cow Town)

So, in order to celebrate our rediscovery of all things that make people happy (Mum got to borrow an old pair of my sun glasses), we headed to our second winery of our tour, Vasse Felix, the original winery where it all began in Margaret River.  Thankfully the canopy of Rocky is not a suitable cellar for delicious $80 per bottle wines, so we decamped with a very quaffable drink-it-now red for under $20 and went back to camp for a roast lamb. 

At Vasse Felix

There is always time for one more swim, and we loved playing at Redgate on our last afternoon before we packed up and headed north.  School holidays had begun, so we decided to head straight into the big smoke.

Fun in the rock pools at Redgate Beach

We expected Margaret River to be a bit of a bore for the kids - but found that there was plenty to keep us all amused.  They loved playing with friends we met earlier, and caught up with again Sure we didn't get to see as many wineries as perhaps we initially thought, but after finding out what they put in the wine, we kind of liked the Settler's Ridge philosophy.  We met some great people doing some inspirational things.  A cross between Byron Bay and Bowral, we loved out time in Margaret River.  Would the expanding modern city of Perth be able to top this experience?  I sure hope so