Jubilación Living: Western Australia

Landed in Perth during a massive rain storm and tumbling temperatures. The locals were all thrilled for the break from the heat but there are times when we wish it would be a bit sunnier and warmer. Never thought we'd be wearing our fleece jackets as much as we have.

Perth has a fantastic botanical garden with terrific views of the city. One of my absolute favourite authors, Tim Winton, is from WA and in Cloudstreet (I think it is Cloudstreet) he writes of the boulevard lined with gum trees which were planted by family members of soldiers lost in WW1 and other wars at the garden. Reading the plaques was very moving.

Memorial Blvd

The skies cleared and we picked up our next home on wheels and headed down the south west coast. First stop was a seaside town called Bussleton, famous for having the longest jetty in the southern hemisphere. It's just shy of 2 kms out into the Indian Ocean so we definitely got our 10k steps in that day.

And then finally we got to swim in the beautiful Indian Ocean at Yallingup. We had stopped for a coffee and decided to stay the night even though we'd only been on the road for an hour. The beach was just too enticing.

Yallingup Beach

Finally it was onto Margaret River. This region is a mecca for red wine lovers - it's enough to make you weep the wines are so good. Margaret River only produces 3% of Australian wine but wins 20% of the premium awards. Yum, yum, yum.

Amelia Winery - walked up to it and it didn't look like much, huge doors opened into a room with casks - nothing special - then as we moved forward two more huge doors slide open and you entered a stunning tasting room with a fab view. The server said the owners were going for a James Bond type entrance and by god they achieved it. All it needed was for Daniel Craig to step up to the tasting bench. Sadly the photo I took wasn't even close to capturing the glamour of the room so put your imaginations to work.

Besides quite a few winery visits over 4 days (Brian thinks it was 13) we also stopped off at a beach or two. One was known for surfing and we caught a couple of surfies doing their thing. Good entertainment on a sunny Sunday morning.

But more wineries were calling. The wineries are often set in majestic gardens with sculpture and art liberally displayed. This is a very properous part of the state!

Vasse Felix