Walking and wineries

The weather was unsettled again today - but much better than yesterday, so we were able to walk another spectacular section of the Cape Naturaliste - Cape Leeuwin coastal track and visit some wineries around Yallingup and Wilyabrup (everything ends in up in this part of WA!) without getting too wet or freezing cold today.

We had heavy falls of rain overnight which destroyed a lot of the flowers on the eucalyptus tree outside our unit window - but there were still some beauties surviving as we walked by this morning!   

We started our walk today at Injidup, about 7klm south of Yallingup's famous surfing beach. This part of Indijup is called a "natural spa" because of its small spa like pool set among the rocks.

Our goal was to walk from here to Canal Rocks - a short walk for us (5klm round trip), and a scenic part of the much longer Cape to Cape walk.

We met a couple of intrepid Cape to Cape walkers (all women). They strive to walk over twenty klms a day apparently - which would be hard going on these rough tracks and long sections of soft sand beach walking. They were all very chatty with us ....

The sun even came out towards the end and warmed us up no end!

One lovely walker took our photo - couple photos of us are a bit rare these days! 

The Canal Rocks are quite an extraordinary sight (and a geological marvel) - where walkers are aided by the very safe boardwalk arrangement out to the furthest section of the rock outcrop.

Rob does his utmost to get the shot of the day!

Success!

Next stop was the Yallingup Cheese Company at the Abbey Vale Vineyard on Wildwood Road. It was too early in the day for wine tasting for us but we really enjoyed the explosive flavours and textures of their handmade cheeses.

The Aravina Estate Winery on Thornton Road, Yallingup came up next. It was a huge place, beautifully landscaped with massed hydrangea plantings, a wedding chapel, the full deal. We enjoyed looking at its quirky surfing history "museum" and old car collection as part of its cellar door/restaurant complex. It was a very clear reminder to us that Margaret River beaches have a rich surfing culture - another dimension to this region's range of attractions.

We had a lunch stop at the Cheeky Monkey Brewery Co on Caves Road, Wilyabrup, one of the few places offering food on this rainy mid-week day. Caves Road is lined with vineyards and all the older established Margaret River wineries - and looked green, rich and beautiful today!

We had a long stop at Cullen Wines and a tasting session. Cullen Wines adopted organic methods 25 years ago and has been run by biodynamic principles since 2003. Vanya Cullen its chief winemaker is one of the most respected winemakers in the country. We took a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot home with us to enjoy with our cheese tonight and vowed to look out for more Cullen Wines back in Canberra.

Vasse Felix is next door to Cullen Wines. Vasse Felix is the founding vineyard of this region (planting started in 1967). It's been under the ownership of the Holmes a Court family since 1987 - and today looks seriously opulent in every aspect of its operation!

I enjoyed the focus on art work around the winery .......

To end off our day's adventures we enjoyed a coffee break at the beautiful Gourmet Food Merchant in Cowarampup (try saying that after a few wines) ........

We got back to Margaret River town in time to catch a dusk lit view of the adjacent bushland from our balcony. It's been a thrill for us to see some new (to us) bird life here - especially those spectacular fluoro green parrots with the black hoods (Australian Ringneck parrot?).