For months, friends and acquaintances in Hong Kong had been raving about Margaret River, Australia’s premier wine region, located on the country’s western coast just south of Perth. My neighbor from London told me it was the loveliest place she had ever been and that she would not hesitate to return – even if it meant travelling there from London. It was that beautiful. And so, my husband, daughter, and I decided we should go see for ourselves this popular destination.
While Western Australia is relatively close to Hong Kong, it is still a journey. Flights arrive at midnight, necessitating an overnight stay in Perth. From there, it is a three hour drive south to Margaret River. This meant that – door to door – we arrived at our hotel exactly 24 hours after we left our apartment in Hong Kong.
About two hours out of Perth that first morning, I stared out the window in astonishment. It seemed we had travelled all this way to find – California! Although he had not spent the first twenty one years of his life vacationing in Northern California – as I had – my husband, Erik, had been there often enough to agree with me. Without a lot of imagination, we easily could have been driving down one of the state’s smaller highways. Swap some karri trees for Redwoods and there would’ve been no difference. And while it’s true that Margaret River is on the coast, I think it’s fair to say that Napa is close enough.
After an afternoon of disappointment – after all, in the twenty four hours it took to get to our destination, we could have flown to San Francisco – I recovered. After all, Northern California is a beautiful place to vacation. And so is Margaret River. After a day or two, I very much came to appreciate its uniqueness. While the scenery is similar, Western Australia offers a window into what the Northern part of California must have been like 50 years ago, before development and over population changed its landscape forever.
Mostly people travel to WA (the abbreviation for Western Australia and another reminder of my home state) to visit the wineries and beaches. Both are plentiful and wineries offer two distinct features I didn’t recall from trips to Napa: safe, enclosed playgrounds to entertain the two to six year old crowd and proprietary restaurants that offer gourmet lunches. Both attributes made for a pretty spectacular seven days.
During our week in Margaret River, we learned that the area is mostly known for its Cabernets. We took turns wine tasting and our four-year-old daughter, Elisa sampled a variety of play areas; the tourist information center actually promotes a winery “playground tour” for young families. By the end of the week we all had our favorites. My best lunch was at Watershed Premium Wines (seared scallops over a savory brulee); Erik enjoyed the rustic Nookery Café (and Cabs) at Woody Nook Wines, and Elisa expressed a clear preference for the playground at Xanadu Winery.
All in all, it was a great trip. Would I go back? Nah. While in Asia, I prefer to visit more exotic (closer) destinations. I’ll wait until we’re back home in Seattle to go wine tasting again in either eastern Washington or California. While my four-year-old may not agree, the experience is similar enough for me.
Xanadu Wines (www.xanaduwines.com)
Watershed Premium Wines (www.watershedwines.com.au)
Voyager Estate (www.voyagerestate.com)
Vasse Felix (www.vassefelix.com)
Woody Nook Wines (www.woodynook.com.au)
Cape Mentelle Vineyards (www.capementelle.com.au)
Knotting Hill Estate (www.knottinghill.com.au)
Leeuwin Estate (www.leeuwinestate.com.au)
And for more informaiton, you may visit http://www.margaretriver.com/