I’m so tired this morning I wish I could just upload the pages of my journal here to share what I saw and did in Margaret River yesterday. However it occurs to me that even if I could do that, I didn’t actually have the opportunity to write much yesterday. (I had no Internet access - I’m glad I could Twitter! Not sure what L thought of my frequently-buzzing mobile phone and my regular texting and laughing, though.)
Besides the three hour drive back to Perth, we spent much of the day talking to people. L and I met the staff of the Margaret River Public Library. As their website says, “a unique partnership has been created with Curtin University of Technology to manage & provide printed reference resources” - we provide a range of materials required by our viticulture and oenology students down there, and they house them and make them available to students and the public. I think this arrangement works well, and we’re fortunate that the public library is willing to help support our students.
We also met the teaching and research staff and had a chat about library services available to them. I then met their students and showed them how to find the information they will need for their assignments. It was a good session, I think, with the students asking a lot of questions (even though their lecturer says some of them were initially dubious as to the value of a “library session”). Three of the public library staff members were also there to get an overview of what is available to the students, so they should be able to point students in the correct direction when needed.
We arrived in Margaret River close to 5pm on Monday afternoon. We had a brief wander around the town but most of the shops were closed by then. Impressions of Margaret River? I was struck by how prosperous the town looks - it is a very tourist-oriented town - and it reminded me of one of the wealthier Perth suburbs (like Mt Lawley or Claremont). I wasn’t expecting to see so many ‘fine foods’ shops, designer boutiques, cafes, accessories shops, a Gloria Jeans, even a Dome. The surf shop had a water feature adorning its front entrance. BMW and Peugeot convertibles driving down the main street. Well-groomed couples in clean shiny 4WDs. Fashionable young things wandering around.
We had dinner at the Settlers Tavern. I’m guessing they have an eclectic clientele, as, apart from serving meals using “Margaret River free range eggs” and “organic pesticide-free salad greens”, they also have edamame: “Japanese sushi bar style steamed soy beans (vegan), [served with] Murray River pink salt” (sold out the night we were there), and something called a Joy Burger - ” a big, home-made, crisp vegetarian (vegan) patty on kappadokia Turkish bread… JOY!” for $9.90. The patty is “sunflower/poppy/sesame/pumpkin seeds, lentils, corn, potato, vegetables, chutney”. Sounded interesting, but I’d already ordered bangers and mash (L had fish and chips).
Our motel was quite pleasant, although L found the stream of traffic trundling down the street (it was on the main road, the Bussell Highway) noisy. I found the birds swarming around the bird feeder outside my door noisier! The name, Edge of the Forest, was appropriate, as there was a karri forest just behind the motel.
The rooms were clean and comfortable and smoke-free.
It’s a pity we didn’t have any time to visit the beach or any of the wineries in the area. I’d have loved to visit Cullen Wines - my favourite wines, I think.
The drive down was pleasant, although the roads were pretty busy. There is so much building and development going on all along the coast, I can imagine that in time the stretch from Perth down to Margaret River will be completely built up!
