After a good sleep we packed, checked out and headed back on the road. The destination was our new digs in Swan Valley, but Jo had stuff planned before then.
Low on fuel, we stopped at Cataby to fill up. Our hire car seems really economical, I am surprised how little we have spent on fuel so far given the distances we are covering.
The open road offered a couple of challenges – it seems Saturdays are the day extra wide loads travel the highway and we passed a huge bit of mining equipment on the trailer of another truck. It took up 3/4 of the width of the highway, passing it was very hairy, thankfully the trailing vehicle got signal of a long bit of empty road and gave us the sign it was safe. Not 10 minutes further on did we meet another humongous wide load mining machine coming the opposite direction, again taking most of the highway. We squeezed past but have no idea how the two huge vehicles coped when they met.
Just outside of Swan Valley we headed for Bells Rapids, a lovely park area, camping spot and general recreational facility tucked away in the gentle hills of Brigadoon.
Our plan was to do a river walk, but it was overcast so we kitted up with wet weather gear and our walking sticks, as there was some upper-downey clambering to be done, and we set off along the bank of the river (an early section of the Swan River as it turns out). There had been a bit of rain in the catchment, the water was flowing rapidly but we made it to the pedestrian bridge, crossed and were part way into the circuit when it started to rain. Seeing the weather close in we turned back and returned to the car for a “Scottish Picnic”. To explain it was coined that because, when we were in Scotland, each time our picnics were rained out we re-picnicked in the car.
After lunch we headed back out onto the highway on route to Swan Valley. Some provisions were needed so we went to Garbin Estate winery to do some tasting with the view of buying a bottle each for the next few days. Jo found a lovely Moscato, I really liked the Shiraz, Grenache and Tempranillo. We assembled a box of 6 to be mailed home and left with some wine for more immediate use also. We then headed to the shopping centre to top up our pantry bag and buy fresh fruit, veggies and other things for the self-catering planned.
Loaded up we headed to our new digs, a lovely little cottage among the vines and mulberry trees at the entry to Upper Reach winery. We settled in and had some time in the sun on the veranda relaxing. The cottage had many charming features, they reminded me of the houses I lived in as a kid in Maleny, particularly the warm creaky wooden floors.
After a good night sleep, we were ready to spend Sunday exploring the area further. We headed out for a breakfast at Padbury’s Cafe in Guildford. Padbury is one of the many legendary pioneers of this area, his name everywhere. After breakfast we headed out on foot to explore the historic area, choosing a combination of their “town walk” and “River Ramble”. There are so many heritage listed buildings in this area, making getting a sense of how things were back in the day easier. The visitor centre had a small but fascinating museum explaining many of the important families, buildings and timelines for development. During the walk we saw beautifully restored cottages, public facilities like courthouses, theatres, stores, gaols and pubs. It was a very pleasant ramble.
With our dose of history under our belts, we headed off to Lancaster Wines for a relaxed tasting, with cheese and crackers. Our plan was to find, among the tastings here, that rare thing – a bottle of wine we can share for when we are on Rottnest Island later in the holiday. To our delight we found a cracking rose that suits both of us.
To give our tastebuds a break we decided to go get gelato at SubZero, and we’re so impressed with the flavours on offer and the dietary information making it easier to choose. The owner was fabulous and really informative, and best of all the gelato was delicious. Jo had limoncello and I had papaya – very flavourful.
We then headed to Windy Creek Estate and was amazed by the variety of wines they made all on the family estate. We tasted most of the range, and were impressed. We ordered a mixed dozen to be mailed home. Our wine tastebuds fatigued, we headed back to home base for dinner and a good lie down.
Suitably supped (and only a little bit sozzled) we headed off to Morish Nuts and Mondo Nougat companies, tasting and purchasing snacks. We also visited Whistler’s chocolate company, Jo had a hot chocolate (but lamented it was not like the hot chocolates we have had in Europe).
Our last day in the Swan Valley was a rest day. Added to that, we were told there would be line work nearby meaning no electricity for the first bit of the day. Our hosts contacted us and asked if we wanted a complimentary winery tour – we said sure and spent the morning seeing how Upper Reach make their wine. The tour was really interesting, and we got to taste the noticeable development of one of their lines from fresh squeezed through to 3 years old. Laura our host was really interesting, clearly empassioned to take the risk of taking on a vineyard and then deciding to make wine without her or her husband even knowing how to grow grapes.
Jo had booked us in to The Tapas Bar for lunch, and we enjoyed a relaxed meal, catering for food intolerances. The tapas plates were tasty, varied and a showcasing local produce – so good.
Returning for the last time to our winery cottage, we went for a walk around the property, down to the Swan River. It was nice walking among the vines.
We spent the evening re-organising our bags and compacting down to a set of bags we could carry because tomorrow we return the hire car. We have really enjoyed our stay in Swan Valley – a unique area with a character all of its own.