My Mini-Break

Okay this is another non-sewing post, but I promise I'll catch up soon. I really wanted to share some pictures of my mini-break in Margaret River.

Not only is Perth a beautiful and livable city (if somewhat isolated), we are lucky enough to be only 3 1/2 hours drive from the most amazing region, referred to as 'Down South' or 'Margaret River' (which is actually only one town in a much larger region) by locals. Pretty much anything you would want to do on a holiday can be found in the area. There are beaches to swim or surf, untouched forest and bushland to explore, wineries, breweries, gourmet food, arts and crafts (such as potteries and glass blowers) - you name it you can find it! I don't get there nearly enough and I was so excited about going away this time. We only had a short break (two nights) but we managed to pack a lot in. We decided not to do the wineries this time and focused on really chilling out and exploring.

This is the cottage we stayed in. There are eight in the group but you cannot see or hear any of the other cottages, there is 100m of bush between each one. The decor was a little dated (this might just be me as I am not a fan of the 'country' style) but it was spotlessly clean and comfortable and quiet - all you could hear was birdsong and creatures rustling around in the bushes (I admit the city girl in me got a bit freaked out by the quiet!).

Here are a couple of shots of the bushland around the cottage:

When we arrived we saw probably 30 kangaroos grazing on the paddock at the top of the drive - normally I am not a big fan of roos as I am terrified of hitting one with my car - it would be very bad for the roo, my car and me!

The owners encourage you to leave out veggie and fruit scraps on the back porch and leave the light on. We did this one night and had a great time watching a pair of possums coming up to the house and snacking on the food. They were so cute!

As we were driving along at one point a Kookaburra swooped right in front of the car, fortunately we didn't hit it but it gave us quite a fright. Finally as we were leaving to come home, 3 emus ran across the driveway in front of us so we certainly had plenty of wildlife adventures!

The weather was perfect, sunny and in the low 20's (Celsius of course) in the day and cold at night. Luckily we had a pot belly stove we could crank up as we settled in for the evenings.

This photo is of Prevelly Point, a surf break near the mouth of the Margaret River. There were a few surfers out but it was pretty flat.

This is a photo of Leeuwin, where the Indian and Southern Oceans meet.
We visited the Margaret River Chocolate Factory - and exercised remarkable restraint! I don't know how they get the chocolate so creamy, it really is wonderful. We also visited Providore, which is associated with the chocolate factory, I was less restrained here stocking up on Raspberry and Rhubarb jam, English style marmalade and a grainy tomato mustard - but there was a lot of other stuff that could have come home with me!

Out the back there was an organic veggie garden complete with chicken coop. Here is my fella with some happy organic chickens.

Our final stop was the Bootleg Brewery, this is a view from their beer garden.

Overall, we both had a fantastic relaxing break and can't wait to go back again. If you ever get the chance to visit Western Australia, do try and get to the South West you won't regret it!