A Tiki Tour of the South West

We have just enjoyed two weeks with mum and dad in sunny WA. They had a whirlwind visit of Perth and the South West and it was great to see them and to be able to show off the area we have come to know and love. The trip also involved me, mum and dad revisiting places that we had been to 27 years ago; when we last travelled across this huge country (also in a big red truck). It was both a sentimental experience and amazing to see how much has changed since that last visit.

Photos: Big Red (2012) and Big Red Truck aka Ted Ruck (1985)

We met mum and dad at my Aunty's place in the Perth Hills. Whilst in Perth we made the trip out to Rottnest Island. The trip out to the island has seriously increased in cost over the last few decades and there are several new buildings, hotels etc on the island but most of the island remains unchanged, the beaches are still beautiful and most importantly the quokkas were still there and just as cute.

Photos: Rottnest Island 2012

Photos: Rottnest Island 1985

We wanted to spend a bit of time in Margaret River but decided to do a "tiki tour" (as mum calls it) through the inland area and so we took a couple of days to get there. We went via the small towns in the orchard areas of Donnybrook and Bridgetown, visited the numerous antique shops, swam in a natural spring and explored the Karri forests around Pemberton. We even climbed the Gloucester Tree, which is 61m high and which dad and I had climbed when I was only five years old. On the second time up, I am now in awe of my five year old self. Mum didn't make the climb in 1985 because she was pregnant with Jessica. This time all three of us went up the tree.

Photos: Manjimup Timber Museum, Fonty's Pool (a natural spring near Bridgetown), Big Brook Dam in the middle of the forest, Campsite at Big Brook Arboretum, Tram ride through the Karri Forests.

Photos: Gloucester Tree Climb 2012 and Emma at the top of the Gloucester Tree 1985

We spent three lovely days in Margaret River. Mum and dad got the chance to see the farm / camp that has become our temporary home and we explored some of our favourite places around Margaret River. We visited both the Cape Lighthouses (Cape Naturaliste and Cape Lewuine), swam at the beaches, drove through the Kari Forest, sampled local fare at the berry farm and local bakery and tasted local beers. We even had a little "pre"-birthday party for Jarvis so mum and dad could celebrate his upcoming birthday with him.

With dad due to fly out a few days earlier than mum, we all went back up to Perth to see him off and we spent mum's remaining days meeting up with long lost cousins, visiting old family friends, pottering through second hand shops, swimming in the dam and enjoying an afternoon at the Mundaring Weir Hotel.

Like all the visits people have paid us on this trip, it was bitter sweet. Two weeks simply was not enough time and it may be months before we see them again. But we were all so glad they could come. Jarvis still asks for Grandma and Star every day and has told me in no uncertain terms that they will be back soon. We'll see… we do have an adorable grandson on our side, something tells me his grandma won't last too long with out seeing him again.

Margaret River: Work, Life and Stuff

We've been in Margaret River for almost 3 months now and it is certainly starting to feel like home. We had our doubts when we first arrived as there didn't appear to be much work on or accommodation available and the recent bush fires meant everything was pretty disorganised. But we have settled into life here quite nicely now; we've found work, a place to stay and have made some new friends.

We arrived in Margaret River at the end of November hoping to get some work involved with the vineyards; partly because we were interested to see what's involved in grape growing and winemaking but also because we thought it would be an easy work option. Unfortunately most of the vineyard work is involved with the harvest, which didn't kick off till February. So Emma got a job at the Duckstein Brewery instead, basically waitressing and bar tending. It was a lot of fun, except she seemed to have forgotten the punishment one's feet take working behind a bar all day. Not long after, Em got that job, Rob got some work driving tractors for a vineyard management company. It soon became difficult trying to juggle our shifts around each other because someone obviously needed to be with Jarvis too, so as Rob's work picked up and Em's shifts became fewer. Em quit her job and Rob took up 5 to 6 days a week on the tractors. It's fairly repetitive work and dismally paid, but it's enough to keep us going for our time here in Margaret River and Rob gets to explore dozens of the vineyards in the area. He's been involved in trimming the vines, mulching, netting and harvesting. 

The Duckstein: not a bad place to work.

Rob and one of his many tractors.

Finding a place to live wasn't so simple. We have stayed in various caravan parks; in town (which was crowded without space to even put our awning up), on the beach (which was nice but smelt a bit like bushfire) and in the bush (no showers). We had to move around due to the summer peak season and the flood of tourists coming to the area. It was only meant to be temporary as we were trying to get a short term lease on a house. Unfortunately, so were hundreds of other travellers, locals and workers here for the 2012 vintage. So we finally settled in a rustic camp ground  on a working farm just outside of town. It's turned out to be a great decision. The people staying here vary from the usual grey nomads, euros in camper vans, backpackers sleeping in the smallest tents you can imagine and other aussies who are slowly making their way round the country.  There are a few dozen people, like us, who are staying here for the season and so we have managed to make a good group of friends who we sometimes share a meal with, chat around the campfire with and trade skills like guitar lessons for recipes. Everyone loves Jarvis so he is never in short supply of people to do some 'acting' with or go adventuring around the farm with. Jarvis has also adopted a lovely couple (Betty and David) as his surrogate grandparents. He visits them almost everyday at their caravan and has a special tree that he decorates with Betty and they keep a special stash of ginger nut biscuits just for him. 

There are ample showers and toilets, laundry facilities and two kitchens as well as a pool table. There are also a couple of thousand sheep, plus the pet ones and the pet goats, dozens of chooks (and hence fresh eggs), a dam for swimming and tractors and motorbikes galore; it's a 2 (and 3/4) year old's heaven. So as it turns out we're actually pretty happy here and are now glad we didn't find a house to rent. Em recently started doing the cleaning in return for free rent, so thats made it even better.

Even though Rob works most of the week, it's not all work for us here in Margs. He usually finishes work at about 2pm so most afternoons we head to the beach, the town pool, one of the waterholes or just into town. There are dozens of beaches along the coast and all of them are spectacular. There are a couple of good pubs, cafes, ice creamery, the soup kitchen and a great bakery in town so we have ample opportunities to splurge. We tend to head into the Settlers Tavern most Sunday afternoons for the WA standard "Sunday Sessions". Most pubs in WA do it but the bands at the Settlers are usually pretty good, and it's free!

And of course there are the wineries. It is what Margaret River is most famous for after all. We have visited about a dozen and had intended on going to all of the cellar doors before we left. However, with over 70 cellar doors in the area, we suspect this might not happen. The wineries are fabulous, they range from big and glamorous to small and boutique and sometime quirky. The wines are definitely different from those we're used to on the east coast but we have grown very fond of the Margaret River specialty "Semmillon Savion Blanc" and have even found a renewed appreciation for the old Chardonet. We're planning a winery tour with a bunch of people here at the farm, so that should knock a few more off the list and will hopefully be a bit of a laugh as well.

So all in all, life is good in Margaret River. We are planning on staying here until the end of March, by which stage it should not be so hot up north. Then we'll start the slow crawl up the west coast. But that's a little way off yet. For now we'll just enjoy Margaret River.