Que Sera Sera.
We found ourselves with a day off. The plans that we had changed at the last minute. We hopped into the car and started driving.
It was not long before we arrived in Dunsborough so we stopped to look through some art/photographic galleries. We ate lunch at Lamont’s restaurant at Smiths Beach and then continued south. We stopped at Laurence Wines.
On our journey today, this was the first moment when we really started to soak in the south-west environment. It’s beautiful down here and Diane Laurance is a perfectionist in every measure of this place.
You need to keep your eyes open here; there are details that really need a moment of appreciation.
The sales rep asked if we would like to do a complementary wine tasting. I was driving, but I did taste one, the ICON Cabernet. With that I bought the bottle. Possibly the best bottle of wine I’ve ever had, right along side Lamont’s Maubec.
A few days after this road-trip I returned to Laurance and had a vegetarian mushroom burger. This is a flawless venue. The menu suggests which wine to drink with each plate, so you can either choose the food you want or the wine you want and complete the meal from there.
South of Margaret River we entered what remains of the once expansive Karri Forests of the south-west capes. The Karri logging industry was once massive, these trees are still supporting the footsteps of London today. What remains of the Karri trees is a token representation of what once was. If it were not for a shift of preference to Jarrah, this forest may have been gone completely. Not that Tony Abbot would mind.
I took a road that pointed me towards the coast and I arrived at Hamelin Bay. Incidentally, this is where they used to export the Karri.
Climbing to the top of the limestone ridge, my son was shocked to discover the beach on either side of him.
The limestone that exists from Kalbarri to Albany is called the Tamala limestone ridge. It is the compacted remains of an ancient series of sand dunes which was cemented by the dissolving of crushed seashells through quartz heavy sands. I live on a major outcrop of it in Lake Clifton. It is responsible for the shape of our coast line, including the existence of Rottnest Island.
It takes a resilient plant to call this place home.
On the southern coast, just east of Augusta but west of the lighthouse, I stopped at a lookout and took in the view.
A pedestal with distances to observable landmarks sat overlooking the ocean. I was 3398 miles from the south pole. Probably too far to Kayak.
As with any place down here, we had the beach to ourselves.
West of the lighthouse is the Water Wheel. This was a spring fed water wheel which calcified over due to the mineral rich water. The spring has since dried up, but an electric pump keeps water flowing over the delicate wood to maintain moisture and preserve it.
My boys are little explorers, exactly how I remember it when I was a kid.
We stayed long enough for a nice photo of the sunset, and then we headed into Augusta for fish and chips.
If you exclude the bottle of wine and the food we bought, this day trip only cost us half a tank of fuel. You don’t need to take a week off work to experience the beauty of our south-west. Get out for a weekend or just a day. And share your journey with me.
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