Fremantle to Bunbury – with a few detours in between!

Today we departed Fremantle and headed to Bunbury – via Harvey to visit a nephew and his family, where we were spoiled with an amazing morning tea.

We have hired a car for the next 3 weeks which will allow us to explore quite a bit of the southern and western parts of this large state.

We took a further detour via the Ferguson Valley where we spent a few magical hours travelling through spectacular countryside. I had read that this area had a number of wineries worth visiting. So of course, we had to check if that review was correct.

Not your typical vineyard views – this area was mostly rolling hills and grassy paddocks. Earlier we had spotted dozens and dozens of large hay bales lying around to be stacked and stored – we guessed.

Our first stop was Willow Bridge Winery where we met a very friendly German-born, now local who gave us some good tips for where to stop next, particularly if we wanted some lunch. Before saying ‘auf wiedersehen’, Mick bought a bottle of their bubbles which he said was very good. I was not tasting at this stage – as I am the driver.

The Green Door Winery was out next stop , and the view was amazing. It was here we had a wine tasting experience with a difference. Never before had we tasted wine provided in mini carafes, accompanied by wine tasting notes.

We ordered a share platter for lunch, which we enjoyed while we tasted the different wines. Everything on the platter was locally sourced – pate, terrine, olives, cheeses and homemade sauces and biscuits. Just perfect and for $35 – a bargain.

Here we tasted two wines that were matured for 18 months in amphora pots – large ceramic jars that utilise natural yeasts from the air. They were very nice – but we decided not to make any purchases here as we must buy only what we can consume on this trip – there is no chance to bring any bottles back to Queensland.

The next stop was Ferguson Falls Wines. Mick was the only one to taste here. Unlike the previous two wineries there was a charge of $7. Mick was able to choose 6 of their wines for his tasting. You can see where his preference lies by his choices.

The last winery we visited was St Aiden Wines. We could select 5 wines each to taste and they were presented in a purpose-built tasting platter with each of the glasses numbered so we could not get confused. It was very well done.

I liked their Cabernet Merlot the best, so we purchased a bottle and were pleasantly surprised that we only had to pay for one tasting fee (of $6).

The total distance travelled today was a little over 220km. Oh, and WA has brilliant roads!

We will stay in Bunbury for only one night, but we plan on exploring more of this city tomorrow. It is Western Australia’s ‘second city’, located in the heart of what is known as the Bunbury-Geographe region.

In the morning before we depart, we will visit the (famous) Bunbury Farmers Market’s where I want to buy us some cheeses and meats for a platter for our dinner tomorrow evening in our next accommodation.