Blue sky thinking
STEPHANIE HOLMES
WINE COUNTRY: Tour operator Sean Blocksidge on the Cape to Cape track with a guest.
Across the Tasman, even Sydney and Melbourne have had more rain than these traditionally sunny cities are used to.
If there’s one place you can rely on for good weather, according to almost everyone I meet while there, it’s Western Australia’s Margaret River region.
Situated amidst the rolling hills of the Leeuwin-Naturaliste Ridge, between Cape Naturaliste and Cape Leeuwin, with the mighty Indian Ocean to the west, Margaret River boasts sunshine, blue skies, temperatures in the 30s, gentle sea breezes, no humidity and modest rainfall between October and April.
Kiwis: imagine, if you will, getting up in the morning and deciding what to wear, knowing it will be appropriate all day. No need to pack an umbrella in your already bulging handbag. No use for the jacket under your arm.
Consistency – it’s a word seldom heard in New Zealand’s weather vocabulary. In Margaret River, it comes as standard.
There’s another benefit to this constant climate. Like California’s Napa Valley and France’s Bordeaux, Margaret River is blessed with the perfect conditions to grow great grapes.
The region produces only 3 per cent of Australia’s total grape yield, but about 20 per cent of its premium wines. The first winery in the region was Vasse Felix in 1967. Now, there are about 110 producers in Margaret River, many of them showcasing local goods in fantastic restaurants.
Sunshine, surf, top-quality wines, gourmet foods and talented chefs – Margaret River is pretty much paradise.
With so much variety in the region, the best way to sample it all is with a tour. Self- drive is an option, but then you would have to fight it out with your travelling companions over who gets the unenviable role of sober driver.
What a waste it would be to pass up Margaret River’s wines. Many operators offer minivan wine tours, but the idea of visiting multiple cellar doors and downing as much as you can in over half a day doesn’t appeal to everyone.
There is an alternative. Sean Blocksidge, owner operator of The Margaret River Discovery Co, describes his itineraries as “the tour for people who don’t do tours”. In his Land Rover Discovery 4WD, Blocksidge will take a maximum of six guests on his gourmet eco trips, which include a “best of the best” wine tour, sunset canoe tour and private itineraries tailored to specific needs.
I’m taking the Margaret River Discovery Tour with a pick-up from the visitors centre in Margaret River’s township.
It’s not long before we’re in our comfortable seats and on the road, and it’s not long after that when Sean swings off-road onto a dirt track through the Leeuwin- Naturaliste National Park, down to a calm, quiet spot on the banks of Margaret River itself.
We’re setting out for a short canoe trip and after a quick safety talk and steering instructions, we’re off. We divide between two canoes, and gently paddle our way along the still, khaki-green waters of the river.
It’s so peaceful – the only other people around are a dad and his children enjoying splashing into the water from a rope swing attached to one of the towering jarrah trees, and three young boys, who proudly show off their catch of still wriggling marron, a West Australian species of crayfish. What a way to spend your summer holidays, I think, and I feel even sorrier for all those Kiwi families who spent the start of summer cowering under sodden canvas.
After about an hour on the river, we pile back into the 4WD and Sean drives back into town, stopping at the delectable cafe and delicatessen, Blue Ginger Fine Foods, for lunch supplies.
While he fills up his “esky”, I take a look at the huge range of gourmet local and imported products and can’t help but buy some to take home.
We drive through the small beachside town of Prevelly, passing areas badly affected by November’s bush fires. Although the damage was terrible, no-one was hurt, thanks to forced evacuations, a lesson learnt after Victoria’s 2009 Black Saturday fires, which killed 173 people.
Although the perception, even across Australia, is that much of Margaret River was wiped out in the recent fires, Sean points out that only 1 per cent of the region was affected. The sight of burnt scrub and blackened trees is still sobering.
The thoughtful mood continues when Sean takes us to a waterhole believed to have been home to indigenous communities more than 30,000 years ago.
He says some groups find the spot overwhelmingly spiritual, while others don’t understand the significance. To try to make the waterhole’s history hit home, he gets out a plastic container full of 20-cent coins. Taking one coin out of the box, he likens it to the last 200 years. Pointing at the still full box, he says “this represents the last 30,000 years”.
It’s an innovative way to put Australia’s vast Aboriginal history into perspective and something I have thought about many times since.
Another special moment comes with lunch. Punching a security code into the entry box at the imposing gates of Fraser Gallop Estate, Sean travels up the winery’s long driveway and sets up lunch in the air-conditioned cool of the barrel room.
This winery has no cellar door and is normally not open to the public, but Sean, who worked in the wine industry, has connections.
The goodies he bought from Blue Ginger are all delicious – olives, pates, meats, bread, cheese and dips – and are washed down nicely with some samples of Fraser Gallop’s award-winning wines, including one yet to be released to the market.
The estate’s winemaker, Clive Otto, was born in Tanzania but grew up in Auckland. Despite calling Margaret River home, he says he’s a Kiwi “through and through”.
His first winery job was at Gisborne’s Matawhero. He worked the 2006 vintage at Central Otago’s Amisfield, but most of his winemaking years have been in the Margaret River, where, he says, he moved for the surf and laid-back lifestyle.
Otto’s trophy haul includes 134 gold medals, 160 silvers and 302 bronzes, plus 70 trophies at local, national and international events.
He was Winestate Magazine’s 2005 Australian Winemaker of the Year and Fraser Gallop’s 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon – Otto’s first hands-on vintage for the estate – won the best Bordeaux blend over [PndStlg]10 trophy at the Decanter World Wine Awards in London, beating wines from South Africa, Chile, New Zealand and Bordeaux, but you would never know any of this from talking to Otto.
“That was just a bit of luck,” he says. “It was just good timing.”
The unassuming Otto makes time to chat with us and answer any questions about his incredible wine – a treat reserved solely for guests on Sean’s tour.
It’s worth mentioning here that Sean is becoming a bit of star in the travel industry. He was voted Western Australia’s guide of the year in 2010, The Weekend Australian has just listed the tour among the top 12 things to do in Australia in 2012 and his tours have been voted the best in Margaret River by travellers’ social networking site Trip Advisor every year since 2008.
At the time of writing, he has 158 “excellent” ratings and one “very good” (I expect that person just didn’t want to follow the crowd), with comments such as “brilliant”, “fabulous” and “faultless”. Trip Advisor reviews often have to be taken with a pinch of salt, but there are 16 pages of glowing comments.
But it hasn’t always been a land of milk and honey for Sean. He started the business four years ago and the first year was a struggle.
He poured thousands of dollars into marketing, advertising and promotion, but bookings were few and far between. On the brink of giving up his business, things changed overnight.
Sean had never heard of Trip Advisor, but clearly some of his guests had. The day after his company topped the website’s ranks, his phone and email inbox went crazy, and he’s been steadily building up the business to huge success ever since.
What’s so great about this tour? I admit I was sceptical, but Sean’s knowledge and, above all else, passion for the region really shine through.
He’s also one of those rare guides who knows when to shut up. At a visit to Uluru last year, I was frustrated with the other guests on my tour who, instead of soaking up the spiritual experience of sunset at this ancient wonder, debated politics and more or less ignored the big red rock.
But on a couple of occasions throughout the day in Margaret River, Sean tells us to take a few moments of silence to appreciate the natural wonders all around us. After four years of touring, he’s clearly as still in awe of the area as his guests are.
After our lunch at Fraser Gallop, he takes us down another four- wheel-drive track, stopping high atop the rugged cliffs along the Cape to Cape track, where we walk along the dramatic coastline, stopping to perch on some rocks and appreciate the view.
“When you’re back at work next week, stuck in front of your computer, remember this moment,” he tells us. I did. I am. I do.
On our way back to the car, he makes us leave 50 metres’ space between each of us so we get some “alone time” to reflect on the location. Walking on my own, looking out to the beautiful Indian Ocean and rugged coastline stretching as far as the eye can see, it feels as if I’m the only person on Earth.
It’s a chance to reflect on how insignificant we really are in the universe. It’s small touches like this that make Sean’s reputation well deserved.
At the the end of the tour, we are dropped back into Margaret River town and Sean says goodbye, while we head up the road to Must for dinner.
The Margaret River establishment is the second Must restaurant by chef Russell Blaikie. The first opened in Perth’s Highgate in 2001.
Blaikie, who has worked in some of Perth’s top restaurants and trained with Anton Mosimann in London’s Dorchester, believes in using the best, locally sourced, seasonal ingredients and produce – a fact reflected in Must’s excellent classic French bistro food, which is now also showcased in a cookbook, Must Eat.
To cap it all off, the wine list is packed with Margaret River producers. The wine rack spans an entire wall. I take my seat beside it and the bottle next to me is Fraser Gallop Estate’s 2008 Cabernet Merlot, one of the blends I enjoyed so much at lunch. Sometimes things are just meant to be.
FACT FILE
How to get there: Air New Zealand has daily non-stop flights between Auckland and Perth; and offers four in-flight products including Seat, Seat + Bag, The Works and Works Deluxe. Connections are available from Air New Zealand’s other domestic ports and with partner airline Virgin Australia via Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. Visit airnz.co.nz for more information. Margaret River is about a three- hour drive from central Perth.
Where to stay: I stayed at Cape Lodge (3341 Caves Rd, Yallingup WA 6282, ph +61 8 9755 6311, capelodge.com.au), a beautiful, five- star luxury boutique hotel in its own vineyard. The accommodation is exquisite – with just 22 large, secluded rooms, a two-bedroomed cottage and a five-bedroomed private residence available. The Lodge has an award-winning restaurant, and executive chef Tony Howell, a born and bred Western Australian, changes the dinner menu daily, to reflect what’s in season and what local produce he has available each day. Cape Lodge will be profiled in Escape later in the year.
What to do: Margaret River Discovery Co. PO Box 1797, Margaret River, WA 6285, ph +61 439 910 064, margaretriverdiscovery.com.au, twitter.com/TourMargaretRvr or facebook.com/margaretriver discoverytours
Where to eat: Blue Ginger Fine Foods, 7/31 Station Rd, Margaret River WA 6285, ph +61 8 9758 7619, bluegingerfinefoods.com; Must Margaret River, 107 Bussell Highway, Margaret River, WA 6285, ph +61 8 9758 8877, must.com.au
* Stephanie Holmes travelled to Margaret River thanks to Tourism Australia. Visit australia.com for more information on getting there, hot destinations and events.
– © Fairfax NZ News
