The Wine and Kangaroo Country of Margaret River, Australia

 

This pretty girl was as interested in me as I was in her.

The drive was much longer from Perth to Margaret River due to constant road construction.  I almost felt like I was driving in Saskatchewan with perpetual road construction if it wasn't for the herds but actually they are called Mobs of Kangaroos in the fields, I would have felt like home.  There are also numerous cows in the fields as well.  We also saw a dead kangaroo on the side of the road which was some roadkill not the usual roadkill for a Canadian.  

There are endless wineries in this area.  It would take a year just to go and visit them all.  It isn't just about wines, it is a very pretty area with lots of trees as well.  We got in later than we wanted to into Margaret River and checked in late to the Heritage Trail Lodge.  Many of the restaurants were fully booked up but we continued to walk and we found the Settlers Tavern which could take us and we've encountered a couple restaurants in Margaret River where you actually look at the menu and then you go up and you order your meal at the bar  and pay for it and get a number and then your food gets delivered to you.  Personally, I prefer this because then you don't have to pay the 15-18% for a waiter who may or may not be good.  We both ordered fish and chips and it's probably the best fish that that we've had. It wasn't greasy. It was light and tasty and it wasn't fishy at all.  We went back to our hotel and had an early night. 

The next day we got up and actually watched the Husky boys volleyball game on YouTube Live and we watched them beat Queen's University in the semi-final of the Canadian championships.  I missed the complimentary breakfast that morning and we made our way to the Margaret River Brew House which is literally right next door to where we were staying and I had a great salad and Darren had a really good burger and it's a really cool Brew House. It has the most seating you could possibly imagine inside and outside and we couldn't even get in there last night, it was so busy.   

The plan for the day was to go and visit wineries and although I was the only one that drank wine out of the two of us, I still had fun because the people that were serving us were interesting people and quite knowledgeable about wine.  The first vineyard that we visited was called Cullen Winery. 

I liked the wines there. They were very interesting and new to me. I've never had an Australian Sauvignon Blanc but they are very very popular in Australia. Apparently Aussies don't like the New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs which Canadians love.  I have to be honest, Australian Sav Blancs would not be my first choice, but I did end up buying an Orange wine which are rarer and usually pricier.  The wine tasting was $15, I was allowed to have five different wines and if you purchased a wine then you didn't have to pay your wine tasting fee,  my bottle of wine therefore, was only $25. 

This was the Orange Wine that I purchased at Cullen Winery in Margaret River.

Like I said I was supposed to have five different wines but I ended up drinking about nine different wines because the more questions you ask and the more you know about wine (and I do know a thing or two) about wine, then that person serving you gets more interested and then wants to showcase what their vineyard has to offer.  Many times I was drinking flights of wine, (same wine different vintage or year).  I was already feeling good at this time because I had already consumed quite a bit of wine.

Darren walking towards the vineyard.

The grape vines

Part of the gardens of Cullen Winery.

In the gardens at Cullen Winery

The vines.

We made our way just down the the road about 4 minutes to Juniper Estates.  I actually liked an SBS there even more than the Orange wine, but there's no way I could drink two bottles of wine by myself in two more nights, that would not have been wise. I did enjoy the second tasting. It was $10 for six but once again the server was very interested in the fact that I was extremely interested in the different wines that they had to offer, I ended up drinking a lot more than six samples.  Aussies shorten every word that they can and an SBS is short for Sauvignon Blanc, Semillion blend.

The Juniper Vines

This was a Lime Tree growing on the property and I was so envious!!  I love limes in drinks and squeezed on foods and for marinating.  This is reason enough to move to Australia.  The wineries would be the second reason.

Some of their wine choices.

On the drive back I remembered that there was a waterfall called Kevill Hill Waterfall close by.  We made our way there but it was a waterless waterfall because it is a dryer time in Margaret River, therefore, we just walked around and explored a bit where the actual waterfall would have been.  We came across a lone Boomer and he hopped away before I could get my camera out.

Where the water fall usually is.

When this lake fills up with rainwater then the waterfall begins.

We drove back towards our hotel and Margaret River town and we stopped on the side of the road for probably 20 minutes because we spotted a Mob of Kangaroos.  I left the vehicle and walked towards them and tried to talk to them and filmed and photographed the group of Roos.  It was a whole community of them, probably over 50 that were spread out on both sides of the road and in the fields.  As soon as you walk towards them or get within 10 to 15 ft they start hopping away, but they do respond if you say something, they do look up at you. They are interested in you and they are intelligent, you can tell.  

Watch this video of the kangaroos that I stopped and talked to:  https://youtu.be/pGw5jVqfFRM

Unfortunately we did see another kangaroo roadkill on the way back home.  They are the oddest most awkward looking animal but cute in their own way with lovely eyes.

When they're trying to look threatening they can push themselves up on their extremely strong tail and start to posture, especially if it is a big Boomer or a male I would be backing up because they can hurt you.  I am not sure if there were any males in this group?  Males don't usually stay in the same Mob.  They leave their Mob to find a new one between 3-4 years of age.  There were many young Roos, we didn't see any babies but we did see some youngsters for sure. We didn't see any Joey pop out of pouch or anything like that, but we did see a youngster with his face in his mom's pouch. Apparently Roos as big as their Mom will sneak a bit of milk from their Mom's pouch if they can. 

Females stay with their Mob, never to leave.  Siblings will protect the Joey when the mother is not around.  Cousins and Aunties will care for the Joey and protect them.  When a Roo is shot by Ranchers etc, they will mourn just like we do and some never recover.  Apparently they are very intelligent and very much like us.  I realized that I did not know very much about Kangroos so I did some research to learn a bit more.  Apparently their favorite foods are:  grass, ferns, fruit, leaves, trees and moss.

 

More photos of the Kangaroo Mob:

Each one is slightly different looking in markings, color, size muzzle shape just like us.

These two were completely a different brown color and the lighter one has shorter ears.

Having a good scratch.

The next day we drove to Busselton which is on the coast of WA or Western Australia.  It was a 40 minute drive and the goal was to walk the Busselton Jetty which is the longest jetty in the Southern Hemisphere 1.8 kms long to the very end. 

The water is crystal clear and breathtaking.

You can see the end of the pier over Darren's shoulder.

It was a hot day but we did it.  It was a cost of 4 Aussie dollars to walk the pier.  The water in this area was stunning and an Emerald greeny color. I wanted to jump off the pier when we got to the end. 

The end of the Busselton Jetty.

There are bathrooms at the end of the pier.  You can see the land in the background.

This is the exact size of a Blue Whale that frequent the area.

The train is for people who don't want to or can't walk to the end of the Jetty.

Many teenagers were jumping into the water at all junctions of the Jetty and it looked like fun.

We walked the 1.8 kms back to the beach which was a gorgeous white sand and jumped in the car and drove to a restaurant.

I ordered an Arugla Beet, Walnut chicken salad and it was delish.  We were going to drive back to Meelup Beach where it is supposed to be stunning as well but I had forgotten my bathing suit and we had just experienced a stunning beach so we drove back to Margaret River to enjoy that Orange Cullen Wine that I had purchased. 

We had a nice back deck and we were staying at the Heritage Trail Lodge in Margaret River.  I was enjoying my wine and I heard a flutter of wings and looked up to see this gorgeous bird fly into the tree in front of my face.  I snapped some pics and another one flew in maybe his or her mate?  They are big birds just smaller than a crow.

Australian Ring-Necked Parrot.

The bird life here alone is cause to move to Australia.

It was a really cool day in Margaret River Australia, we really enjoyed the area.