We planned to go to Bali after Australia, and most of the reasonably priced flights to Bali from Sydney stopped in Perth. So we decided to extend our layover and spend a couple days in this part of Western Australia.
Perth - one of the most remote cities in in the world - is 12 hours ahead of Boston and probably as far as you can get from our home town. It may not seem far from Sydney, but it takes just as long to fly there as it does to fly from Boston to California. It's also an expensive city. Companies have to pay people a lot of money to move to such a remote city so wages are high as are hotels, food and everything else. In fact, Perth currently has the highest cost of living of any city in the southern hemisphere.
Margaret River Valley
We spent our first two days in the Margaret River Valley, which is about 3 hours south of Perth. Margaret River is one of Australia's most famous wine regions.
We stayed at a little B&B called Bridgewater. It's owned by an older couple, who gave us lots of tips about the area and about Bali because they had visited the island over 30 times. Both nights we spent in Margaret River brought major wind and rain storms. On the first night, there was also an earthquake (which neither of us felt). On the second night it got a lot more interesting, with category 2 cyclone-force winds ripping through the valley! The house had a tin roof so the rain & wind was incredibly loud and I didn't sleep, fearing that the roof would blow off. The next day trees were down all over the place so I guess we were pretty lucky. Luckily, the rain held off during the day.
Perth - one of the most remote cities in in the world - is 12 hours ahead of Boston and probably as far as you can get from our home town. It may not seem far from Sydney, but it takes just as long to fly there as it does to fly from Boston to California. It's also an expensive city. Companies have to pay people a lot of money to move to such a remote city so wages are high as are hotels, food and everything else. In fact, Perth currently has the highest cost of living of any city in the southern hemisphere.
Margaret River Valley
We spent our first two days in the Margaret River Valley, which is about 3 hours south of Perth. Margaret River is one of Australia's most famous wine regions.
We stayed at a little B&B called Bridgewater. It's owned by an older couple, who gave us lots of tips about the area and about Bali because they had visited the island over 30 times. Both nights we spent in Margaret River brought major wind and rain storms. On the first night, there was also an earthquake (which neither of us felt). On the second night it got a lot more interesting, with category 2 cyclone-force winds ripping through the valley! The house had a tin roof so the rain & wind was incredibly loud and I didn't sleep, fearing that the roof would blow off. The next day trees were down all over the place so I guess we were pretty lucky. Luckily, the rain held off during the day.
A peacock along the driveway at our B&B in Margaret River.
Coastal Drive
On our first day we drove to various beaches along the coast, getting our first glimpse of the Indian Ocean. These beaches are most famous for surfing and serious surfers travel here from all over the world. Unfortunately for us, the wind was so strong and the waves were so crazy that not even the bravest surfers were out. Despite the wind, it was still very picturesque.
Redgate Beach
Redgate Beach
Hamelin Bay
Crazy wind!! You can't tell from this picture but the wind was so strong I couldn't look at the ocean, since the sand was blowing into my hood & sunglasses.
Prevelly Beach
The sea was angry my friends...
There isn't much to downtown Margaret River, so that night we had dinner at the pub in the main hotel. Everyone was there to watch the footy finals since the local team, Freo (Fremantle), was playing.
Big Day Out
On our second day in Margaret River we booked a vineyard/brewery tour called Margie's Big Day Out. Our group was small - me, Chris and two girls from a town nearby. Apparently everyone was in Freo for the big footy game. Nevertheless we had a lot of fun! Here are the places we visited:
-The Berry Farm (winery) - Great strawberry sparkling wine. Refreshing and not too sweet.
-Stella Bella (winery) - Best staff. We could have talked to them all day.
-Margaret Valley Cheese Factory (cheese tasting) - Yummy sweet chili cheese.
-Bootleg Brewery (lunch)
-Margaret River Chocolate Company (dessert)- Meh.
-Evan's Tate (winery) - Our server was a fab cork dork with a hefty arsenal of adjectives.
-Cheeky Monkey Brewery (brewery) - Great IPA.
Big Day Out
On our second day in Margaret River we booked a vineyard/brewery tour called Margie's Big Day Out. Our group was small - me, Chris and two girls from a town nearby. Apparently everyone was in Freo for the big footy game. Nevertheless we had a lot of fun! Here are the places we visited:
-The Berry Farm (winery) - Great strawberry sparkling wine. Refreshing and not too sweet.
-Stella Bella (winery) - Best staff. We could have talked to them all day.
-Margaret Valley Cheese Factory (cheese tasting) - Yummy sweet chili cheese.
-Bootleg Brewery (lunch)
-Margaret River Chocolate Company (dessert)- Meh.
-Evan's Tate (winery) - Our server was a fab cork dork with a hefty arsenal of adjectives.
-Cheeky Monkey Brewery (brewery) - Great IPA.
Our ride!
The Berry Farm. They have a fantastic sparkling wine made from strawberries. Not too sweet and perfect for summer. They also have a really tasty hazelnut liqueur.
Stella Bella - loved this place! Good wine and the servers were hilarious!
Stella Bella tasting room.
Sampling chocolates after lunch.
Evan's Tate
I liked this label (the sauvi was so-so)
Cheeky Monkey Brewery
Beer sampling. The IPA won.
Perth... pronounced Puhhth
We spent the last day in Perth, driving around town since the weather wasn't great. It's a modern city and much bigger than we expected. While we didn't walk around downtown, it looked like there were lots of cute restaurants and shops. We went up to King's Park to see the war memorial and a great (but cloudy) view of the city:
We spent the last day in Perth, driving around town since the weather wasn't great. It's a modern city and much bigger than we expected. While we didn't walk around downtown, it looked like there were lots of cute restaurants and shops. We went up to King's Park to see the war memorial and a great (but cloudy) view of the city:
Perth
War Memorial in King's Park
Afterwards, we drove to Fremantle, or Freo as they call it, which is about 20 minutes south of the city. Freo had just won the footy semifinals and everyone in Western Australia was incredibly excited. I guess they have never made it to the finals before and they were a big underdog going into the last game. Freo was a pretty cool town. It's much older than Perth, much smaller and has a ton of character. There is a section of town that is full of bars and restaurants that must get pretty crazy at night. It reminded me a bit of the French Quarter in New Orleans, but much smaller. I'd consider staying in Freo if I ever visited this area again (which is highly unlikely, btw, because of how far it is from everything!).
Bottom Line
All in all, I'm glad we saw this area, however I don't think it's worth a separate trip out here if you are visiting Australia. If you are into wine, Margaret River might be fun, but we much preferred the New Zealand wine region which might be a closer flight depending on where you are in Australia. Also, Perth is incredibly expensive due to the huge energy and mining boom in the area.
Bottom Line
All in all, I'm glad we saw this area, however I don't think it's worth a separate trip out here if you are visiting Australia. If you are into wine, Margaret River might be fun, but we much preferred the New Zealand wine region which might be a closer flight depending on where you are in Australia. Also, Perth is incredibly expensive due to the huge energy and mining boom in the area.
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