After the dream that was the crazy West Coast trip, the South West was always going to be a letdown. I debated stopping while I was on top, but the desire to „come full circle“ won out in the end. If the deranged threesome that had accompanied me from Broome to Perth had been around, it would have been a dream, but instead I had to make do with a sulky teenager, who was usually more interested in her Facebook than the natural beauty all around.
The first stop on this trip was Margaret River, where the Gourmet Escape could not have been further from what I had become accustomed to in the past weeks.
Food made from more than two ingredients? Served on proper plates? Real wine? In real glasses? Glasses made from glass? Cocktails served in dinky plastic cocktail glasses? People throwing perfectly good plastic cups and Pimms jugs away? Needless to say I scavenged like there was no tomorrow and spent the rest of the time trying to act normal and blend in with all these civilised people who had probably not showered under a sprinkler or tap recently…
The rest of the trip was a blur of gobsmackingly beautiful, woefully underrated national parks, excellent free camping, the most beautiful beach in Australia, and randomly bumping into friends from Munich on a campsite in the middle of nowhere.
Paradise, present company notwithstanding…
The Dave Evans Bicentennial Tree (Warren National Park)
Other stories I’ve written about South Western Australia and the Margaret River Region:
The 2015 Trend Destination Hot List (Number 8)
Ganz Unten: Westaustralien
8 Great Australian Wine Regions – Margaret River
Foraging in Margaret River
Margaret River Gourmet Escape
The Leeuwin Concert Series, Margaret River, Western Australia
Surfing in Smiths Beach, Western Australia
