I spotted this Cawara sitting on a power line this morning on my walk – what luck!
The cute little village of Cowaramup where we are staying at the moment is named after this bird – more commonly known as the purple-headed lorikeet.
Later this afternoon we spotted another one at one of the wineries we visited.
We are staying on the converted verandah of this building – the old Cowaramup bakehouse. It is very comfortable and cosy – which is good as it has been quite cool since we have been here.
The village is also known is “Cow” town – as the Margaret River Dairy is just on the outskirts, and the area is well known not only for lovely wines, but also for dairy produce. Its yoghurt is delicious!
The little church in the main park 
and a cow statue a few metres away!
Our first stop this morning was Canal Rocks in the Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park. The weather was perfect and we went for a short walk along the rocks to get a better view of the Indian Ocean. Our visit to WA is towards the end of the famous wildflower season, but we have seen some beautiful natural ‘gardens’, and here was no exception.
We stopped for morning tea in Dunsborough and were surprised to see a very large police presence in the small coastal village. Senior students (known as “Leavers”) have just finished their final exams and are celebrating that fact. In NSW and QLD we call them “Schoolies” – same thing but with a different label. There were many buses transporting these young people to a beachside area that was closed to the general public. Tomorrow will be the last of four days when this area is available for the “Leavers” from 7pm-1am. Music, food and fun activities are available to them – but there is no alcohol, no smoking and no drugs allowed. About 9000 students are supposed to be in attendance – staying at different camping grounds around this part of WA. It seems very well organised and policed.
A short drive further north took us to Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse – the last lighthouse on the Australian mainland to have a lighthouse keeper live and work here (up until 1996). Now it is all automated. Mick and I went for a walk towards the ocean to get a better look at it, and to see if we could spot any whales (which we didn’t).
By now it was after 11am, and the wineries were open. We wanted to visit Flametree because our son who lives in the UK is undertaking a sommelier course and one of the wines he had to sample / study was a 2019 Chardonnay from here.
There was no 2019 Chardonnay available, so we tried their 2020. We very much enjoyed the wines at this cellar door. Flametree is different from other wineries in that it buys grapes from different regions in WA each year, but doesn’t actually grow them. The cabernet sauvignon in particular were very good here.
We stopped for lunch at the Black Brewing Company. Wow – what a set up this place had. Lunch was fabulous and Mick enjoyed his wings with a pint of India Pale Ale.
Vasse Felix was our next stop – a very impressive winery with a very long history in the Margaret River. The first grapes were grown here by Dr Tom Cullity. The cabernet sauvignons were excellent, but we left with a bottle of their Syrah. Mick enjoyed the art gallery – those artworks on the wall were made from pieces of wire – all different shapes and sizes. The Holmes À Court have an interest in this winery and the art gallery is called the Holmes À Court Gallery.
Then onto something completely different.
Cape Grace wines – a very small, off-the-beaten-track small vineyard recommended to us by a close friend who told us they made excellent basket-pressed red wines. And we were not disappointed. Thanks Bel!!
Mick did well to only buy two bottles here.
Then it was off home for a short rest before we enjoyed one of the bottles with our cheeses, charcuterie and baguette (made by the French baker here in Cowaramup this morning). This little town has it all.
Tomorrow we travel a very short distance to the township of Margaret River where we will base ourselves for five days and nights. Should be plenty of time to explore a bit more of what is on offer down here.
Jane and Mick's Holiday Adventures 