Margaret River
We rented a car and drove down to Margaret River for a few days - Gav worked there for 4 months, and Leask has just been working there for the past 6 weeks. It was brilliant to see him again, and we had a fun night out with him (I know...I'm stating the obvious on that one!) Stayed with Barb, who was Gav's "Aussie mum" while he was here, she's a really lovely person, and so welcoming! Her house was amazing too, right on the river.
The first day we went climbing at a place called Willyabrup - spectacular granite sea cliffs. Domhnall has all the gear, so it was really easy to set up - he led most of the climbs, then we top-roped them. It was great fun.
Second day we did the tasting tours!! Cheese, chocolate and wine tasting, all in one afternoon - pure happiness :) Margaret River is really famous for its wines - there are literally hundreds of vineyards in the area. We stopped at the brewery for good measure, it had a really cool slogan - "an oasis of beer in a desert of wine"!
Watched a couple of videos and had a quite evening - "Rabbit Proof Fence" is a really excellent film, about the aboriginal hardships faced (mainly in the 1800 and 1900's) when whites tried to 'breed' them out and separated all half-caste children from their families. Very moving, and mostly set in Western Australia, so it was kind of appropriate to see it here.
PD & I did a bushtucker tour on our last day there which was also loads of fun. We canoed up from the river mouth, and had lots of interesting stops...learned all about the traditional foods, plants used for healing, and aboriginal way of life. We tried throwing boomerangs and spears, and attempted to start a fire by rubbing two pieces of wood together :) Lunch was a mix of berries, fruits, pastes, meats (emu, kangaroo & bustard), and grubs...it was really fascinating, although some foods were definitely preferable to others!
We walked above the cliffs which had great views over Margaret River, and then visited some burial caves. Our guide (Clinton) played the didgeridoo - really impressive - and then we crawled through one of the caves for a bit of excitement :)
Finally there was a race back down the river in the canoes. Our team won (PD & I, plus an Irish lady Celine and her Aussie husband Sean...they were good fun) - and we got a bottle of wine!! A really fun tour, and a great few days in Margaret River.
The first day we went climbing at a place called Willyabrup - spectacular granite sea cliffs. Domhnall has all the gear, so it was really easy to set up - he led most of the climbs, then we top-roped them. It was great fun.
Second day we did the tasting tours!! Cheese, chocolate and wine tasting, all in one afternoon - pure happiness :) Margaret River is really famous for its wines - there are literally hundreds of vineyards in the area. We stopped at the brewery for good measure, it had a really cool slogan - "an oasis of beer in a desert of wine"!
Watched a couple of videos and had a quite evening - "Rabbit Proof Fence" is a really excellent film, about the aboriginal hardships faced (mainly in the 1800 and 1900's) when whites tried to 'breed' them out and separated all half-caste children from their families. Very moving, and mostly set in Western Australia, so it was kind of appropriate to see it here.
PD & I did a bushtucker tour on our last day there which was also loads of fun. We canoed up from the river mouth, and had lots of interesting stops...learned all about the traditional foods, plants used for healing, and aboriginal way of life. We tried throwing boomerangs and spears, and attempted to start a fire by rubbing two pieces of wood together :) Lunch was a mix of berries, fruits, pastes, meats (emu, kangaroo & bustard), and grubs...it was really fascinating, although some foods were definitely preferable to others! 
We walked above the cliffs which had great views over Margaret River, and then visited some burial caves. Our guide (Clinton) played the didgeridoo - really impressive - and then we crawled through one of the caves for a bit of excitement :)
Finally there was a race back down the river in the canoes. Our team won (PD & I, plus an Irish lady Celine and her Aussie husband Sean...they were good fun) - and we got a bottle of wine!! A really fun tour, and a great few days in Margaret River.
posted by Mhairi
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