Margaret River, West Australia (Part 3) Food and Wine

 It was another glorious morning in this lovely part of the country and we were up and ready to go by 7.30. But first, breakfast, which we had at the White Elephant Beach Cafe overlooking the sea at Gnarabup Beach. This is a popular surf beach and we enjoyed the sublime view while eating our breakfast and then drove the length of the beach to watch the surfers tackling the breakers. With the sunshine, surf and gleaming white sand it was a fantastic sight.

View from the cafe, Gnarabup Beach

The next stop was at the Yahava Koffee Works, a coffee roasting company where we were greeted by the divine smell of roasting beans wafting through the car park. Here we were given a short talk on the production of coffee from the plant to the cup and then had a coffee tasting.  This was the first time I had been to a coffee tasting and it was an interesting experience, I was surprised by the range of flavours that come from different beans. You can buy coffee to drink at their on site cafe or all sorts of coffee products from the shop.

Our first winery for the day was Edwards Wines, named for the founder, Brian Edwards. Brian was a fascinating man who flew his 1943 Tiger Moth plane from London to Australia in 1990. He was daring and adventurous and loved a challenge. Developing the winery fitted the bill. His beautifully restored plane, Matilda, sits inside the entrance to the new and very glamorous winery building.  We had a tasting of 7 different wines there while gazing out over the vineyards. Edwards Wines is conducting a very interesting experiment by submerging wine 18 metres under the ocean in the belief that the wine will mature to perfection away from light and with constant temperature and pressure. Intriguing. Before we left we browsed  some stunning photographs of the sea and surf in the winery's adjoining gallery.

Waiting for the wine tasting at Edward's Wines

On our way to our second winery visit we drove through the pretty little town of Cowaramup.  The locals call it Cow town and have taken a cheeky twist on the indigenous name, which means place of the cowara (a bird) by displaying numerous full size, fibreglass, black and white cows at various spots around town. It is charming.

Thompson's Estate is a boutique winery founded by a cardiologist, Peter Thompson, and his wife, Jane. Our tasting was held in the barrel room and this time we had local cheeses and crackers to accompany the wines. Thompson Estate is proud of the fact that their wines are made in a traditional way and I have to say I enjoyed them the best of the three wineries we visited. Thompson's Estate has been recognised by Australia's premier wine critic, James Halliday, as a Five Red Star winery which puts it in the highest echelon of all Australia's wineries.

A cardiologist's wine label

Olio Bello is an olive farm and it was here that we had lunch but firstly we had the opportunity to taste a wide variety of olives, oils, sauces and condiments.  I bought a couple of things there and would have loved to buy more but, luggage constraints! We sat at a long table looking out over the olive trees to eat lunch, it felt like being in Italy. I felt very lucky to have had such a great group of travel companions, we had become friends in the three days we had been together so chatted amiably. 

Olio Bello

Sadly, lunch was our last activity of the tour and then we travelled the 3-4 hours back to Perth and said our farewells.  Many of us were going to continue on to take the Indian Pacific train across the Nullabor Desert but that's another story to tell.

A big shoutout to McLeods Tours, a small, family run, travel company. The tour was well organised, the activities were superb and our guides, Rusty and Jason, were well informed, friendly and helpful. I loved this trip and couldn't have asked for more so thank you, McLeods.

Disclaimer:  I paid full price for this tour and was not asked to promote McLeods Tours in any way.  These views are simply my own.

Margaret River (Part 2) Caves, Forests, a Lighthouse and Wine

 The second day of our Margaret River trip focused on Nature giving us a look at some of the spectacular natural attractions of the area.  After a very enjoyable breakfast at a local cafe we headed into the Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park, driving through lush bush and large trees to visit the Mammoth Cave. Here we would  see the remains of megafauna, some as much as 50,000 years old.  The spacious limestone cave has easy access and boasts impressive stalagmites and stalagtites.  I love the cool and silent ambiance of limestone caves so really enjoyed my visit there.

This is just a small corner of Mammoth. Note the person on the walk way which gives an indication of the size of the cave.

The remains of a pre historic animal in the cave

Next we drove through the majestic and  beautiful Boranup Karri Forest feeling so insignificant in the scale of things; some of the trees there are 65 metres tall. At certain times of the year the forest is carpeted with wild flowers and orchids but unfortunately this wasn't the right time of year, nevertheless, our guide stopped in a clearing and gave us a very interesting talk about the native trees of the area and described how the eucalypts  and other trees cope with the wild fires prevalent in Australia.

A bit further south we called into Hamelin Bay, a very pretty white sand beach.  The idea was to see stingrays swimming backwards and forwards along the beach.  Apparently this is a great attraction but for me it was nothing unusual, I see them often in New Zealand. Still it was lovely to stop at the beach and see the excitement on the faces of visitors who were thrilled at spotting stingrays for the first time.

Those dark shadows at the water's edge are stingrays, Hamelin Bay

Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse is at the bottom tip of the Margaret River region, the tallest lighthouse on the mainland of Australia, this was our next stop. Built in 1895 from limestone it is now fully automated and still vital for passing ships. We were invited by the guide there to climb to the top, all 176 stairs. Initially daunted by the open stairs I was quite proud of myself as I climbed it easily.  The views from the top are spectacular with a clear view of where the Southern Ocean meets the Indian Ocean. We had to cling to the railing at the top due to the fierce wind but it was well worth the climb. 

For a detailed look at its history we visited the small museum occupying one of the former lighthouse keepers cottages close by. 

Looking down from the top to the former lighthouses keepers cottages

Where the Southern Ocean meets the Indian Ocean

What a fantastic morning we had had, so much variety and more to come.  It was time to go to a really lovely cafe for lunch and The Colour Patch overlooking the Blackwood River truly fitted the bill.  While we dined and sipped wine dolphins were cavorting right outside in the river.

Time then for a wine tasting.  The Margaret River region boasts around 200 wineries, most quite small producers, and we were going to Brown Hill Winery. There we had a very interesting talk about wine making and the history of this winery by Chiara, one of the owners, while we happily tasted 8 of their wines.

We had all been looking forward to visiting the township of Margaret River which was our final activity for the day.  I think it is fair to say that most of us were expecting a cute, historic country town and that we were rather disappointed to find it was just a suburban shopping strip like thousands of others.  We didn't mind that time constraints meant we had a very short visit there.

Back at our accommodation a few of us gathered in the bar for happy hour drinks, such a lovely group of people.  We were all more than delighted with our day and went off to our rooms contented, looking forward to tomorrow.

Margaret River, West Australia (Part 1)

 I had heard so many people talk enthusiastically about their trips to Margaret River that I just had to go to see for myself.  I had flown from New Zealand  to Perth to take a trip on the Indian Pacific train which crosses the Nullabor Plain to Sydney (more about this in a later post). Anyway I planned the trip to have a few extra days to explore the Margaret River region so booked a 3 day tour with McLeod's tours, a small family run business.  Always keen for a new adventure I, along with 9 other passengers, was raring to go early on the first morning. Our first stop on the journey south was at the pretty town of Mandurah where we had coffee and strolled along the very attractive waterfront enjoying a perfect morning. 

Mandurah waterfront

Further south we called into a wood turning artist's workshop where the owner gave us a very interesting talk on Australian native trees and their characteristics.

Note: No sign pointing to New Zealand

Lunch was at Busselton where we set out to walk the incredibly long jetty there.  At 1.8kilometres it is the longest jetty in the Southern Hemisphere. It was a lovely walk to the end  and back over pristine waters with excellent views of golden sand beaches on either side. For the less physically able there is a small train you can take to the end and back.                Busselton is a popular holiday destination for West Australians and I could see why, it has a number of attractions including a brand new Hilton Hotel and a large brewery close to the beach.                     

The Busselton Jetty 1.8 kilometres long.

Shelter Brewery, Busselton

Then it was back on the bus and on to the Margaret River Chocolate factory, the biggest chocolate shop I have ever seen with every flavour of chocolate imaginable.  I bought some treats for the family and then enjoyed a stroll around their pretty gardens. 

We were invited to visit the farm belonging to the owner of the tour company, Nick McLeod, and feed carrots to his horses. I absolutely loved it there, so peaceful, so pretty, just a genuine Australian farm.

As we came over the hill to Prevelly, where we would stay for the next couple of nights, we had a spectacular view of the Indian Ocean and, most unexpectedly, a small Greek Orthodox chapel on the hill to our left.  The chapel of St John the Theologian has a very interesting story behind it.  During the second world war a local man, Geoff Edwards, was taken prisoner by the Germans on the island of Crete.  He managed to escape and found refuge in a monastery with the monks of Preveli. He had the chapel built as an acknowledgement of the risks the local people of Crete took to save the lives of allied servicemen, in gratitude to the monks who sheltered him and as a gift to the Greek community in the area. He had earlier named the area where his large farm was Preveli but it was later changed to Prevelly after he sold the land for subdivision. Inside the chapel I felt as if I was back in Greece, all the religious iconography was authentic and had been donated by local Greek Families.

The Chapel of St John the Theologian, note the Greek flag

Our last stop for the day was our very pleasant accommodation at Margaret Beach Resort, Prevelly.  Several of us gathered in the bar to have a drink before dinner and all agreed we'd been delighted with our trip so far. 

NOTE FOR SOLO TRAVELERS. I have done several small bus tours solo and I find it a fantastic way to get around.  I have always met wonderful people on these trips, many I have kept in touch with over the years. If you are anxious about launching yourself into solo travel, don't be, try a small bus tour and you will be hooked.

Waiheke Island Sculpture Trail 2024

 Any excuse to go to Waiheke Island is a good excuse and none more so than spending a glorious summer's day walking the bi-annual sculpture trail, Sculptures on the Gulf. This year it is titled Anything Could Happen.  With my friend, Pat, I set off on the enjoyable 35 minute ferry ride from downtown Auckland to the island, looking forward to what the exhibition had to offer.  The trail is 2 and a half kilometres long and winds around the Matiatia headland providing magnificent views along with thought provoking art installations.  This year there are 21 pieces,  fewer than in previous years but no less interesting. Here are some of them.

Cognitive Reorientation

This recalls  a scene from the Nordic-Noir television series, The Killing, where a car is lifted from water by a crane to reveal the body of a missing woman. Time is suspended here as water pours non stop from the car.  It Makes a macabre, dystopian water feature.

Artist: Eddie Clemens

Hard Graft

Cape Reinga lighthouse, at the very top of New Zealand, is reimagined here.  Further along the shore line from the light house  is a pohutukawa tree marking the entry to the underworld in maori legend.  The artist has combined the roots of the tree with the lighthouse as a homage to a very special place.

Artist: Oliver Stretton-Pow

No Tomorrow

I have to admit that when we first saw this installation we were bemused but when we read the notes on it it made sense.  Last year there were some terrible floods on Auckland's west coast. In places it is still possible to see the damage caused with debris hanging from distorted fence posts. This work echoes that but is also intended to show the grief and fatigue experienced when we are confronted by disaster.

Artist: Isabella Loudon

Lucken's Wing

This was designed as a tribute to backyard tinkerers, at a time when men would spend endless hours in their garages making weird and wonderful contraptions from bits and pieces. The resulting vehicles were a common sight around Waiheke back in the day.  As the sign on the side says these vehicles operated on a Wing and a Prayer

Artist: Denis O'Connor 

Fountain in Transit

This artist works with stainless steel tubing combining everyday objects into one big maze. The idea behind this piece is to draw our attention to things which help us, organise us and stop us without our giving them another thought.  This sculpture combines a shower, bus handles, a drain, a lamp and a clock.  It pulls the viewer in to imagine how these could possible all come together.

Artist: Yona Lee

These are just a few of the 21 pieces on display.  All installations are thought provoking and excellent conversation starters.  I highly recommend a trip to Waiheke to walk the trail, enjoy the views and see sculptures you are unlikely to see anywhere else.

Walkers on the trail.  The tower in the background is Wakefield Dreaming
by Brett Graham

Below: View of Matiatia and the ferry terminal from the sculpture trail

As always I thoroughly enjoyed the day, more so for the weather, the walk and the views than the art which was not as good as it had been previous years. The exhibition is manned by enthusiastic volunteers and there is a shuttle bus which drops visitors at the start of the trail which winds through bush and around the headland before arriving back at Matiatia and the ferry terminal.  In previous years there had been a marquee on the foreshore where you could buy food and drink.  There is no marquee this year so my friend and I took the short bus trip up to the village of Oneroa and had lunch looking out across the beautiful bay.  All in all we had a fantastic day and had lots to talk about on the ferry back to Auckland.

The exhibition runs from 24 February to 24 March.  Entry and shuttle $20

www.sotg.nz

Fashion. Art. Fantasy. A must see exhibition of the works of Guo Pei

  To be honest I had never heard of the internationally acclaimed Chinese fashion designer, coutourier and artist, Guo Pei before her exhibition, Guo Pei: Fashion. Art. Fantasy. opened at Auckland Art Gallery.  I went to see it yesterday on the recommendation of a friend.  All I can say is that I was completely blown away by the astonishing beauty and inventiveness of her creations. The garments on show are taken from eight of her couture collections and lead visitors through dream lands, magical gardens, gothic tales, cosmic and ancient Chinese myths and legends. 

The luxurious silk fabrics dripping with beading, crystals and exquisite embroidery and unusual materials combine to make extraordinary works of art. Guo Pei employs over 500 people in her workshop many of whom are embroiderers.  She has made it her mission to bring back the ancient skill of Chinese embroidery, something which was lost during the Mao period. Although she does design more prosaic garments for wealthy Chinese the garments on display here are from her Couture as Art designs.

"The culture of China is just like the blood that runs through my veins, it's my life. China has more than 5000 years of history....that has greatly enriched my designs and is essentially a foundation of my work"  Guo Pei

The most famous and notable garment on display is the yellow dress Rhianna wore at the 2015 Met Gala in New York. In China yellow symbolises power and status and was worn only by the emperor. Named Imperial Yellow it weighs 25 kg and took two years to complete including 50,000 hours of embroidery.  It was this garment that gained Guo Pei international recognition, she was already well known in China. She was invited to become a member of the Chambre Syndicate de la Haute Couture in Paris and has works now held in art museums in America, Europe and China. 

Imperial Yellow - worn by Rhianna at the Met Gala 2015

"Clothing..is like architecture for the human body. In both fashion and architecture are many works that express the transcendent spiritual realm, a pursuit of the soul, of the spiritscape" Guo Pei

Inspired by a painting by Goya

Guo Pei's take on traditional blue and white china.  

This surreal dress is shaped like the inverted hull of a boat, gliding to an imagined realm.

Inspired by a visit to a Swiss
cathedral

Her shoes are as inventive as her dresses

I am in awe of Guo Pei's inventiveness and creativity, her garments truly are works of art.  This is a sublime exhibition and I would encourage anyone who can to make a point of visiting it.  I thoroughly enjoyed  every moment and happily lingered for a very long time.  

Note: These photos are a tiny snapshot, there are 60 garments in all.

          The exhibition runs until 5 May 2024

   Below Right: Close up of some of the exquisite embroidery

Olea Kouzinaki - A fine restaurant in a magical setting - Kefalonia, Greece

On a family holiday to Greece to celebrate my special birthday I was lucky enough to be treated by the family to dinner at this truly lovely restaurant.  Olea Kouzinaki is located in a quiet garden on a hillside overlooking the town of Argostoli. It is a bit out of the way and not easy to find but well worth the effort.

Family meal under the olives

As we are a family of nine a special table had been set up for us under the olive trees.  It was perfect since we had three children under 12 and they had plenty of room to get up and move around without disturbing other diners. After a warm welcome and being shown to our table we had time to take in the lovely views over the harbour and the Ionian Sea. It was quite magical to see the day turn to dusk and then nightfall during our meal with the lights in the trees, the harbour and the  town below twinkling against an ink black sky.

From daylight to night

Olea prides itself  on using seasonal and local produce and the food reflects this, it is fresh and sublime. All nine of us had delicious meals and were happy with our choices, that's saying something with a couple of fussy 9 year olds as part of our party. My main of beef checks was melt in the mouth perfect. Some of the food combinations are novel but they work beautifully, for example, a starter of beans, grapes, pineapple, oil and cheese or eggplant stuffed with feta mousse, pickled onion, charred pineapple and garlic oil. The restaurant grows all its own herbs and many of the fruit and vegetables on the menu.

My beef cheeks, (top) and my son's prawns

Olea is not inexpensive but you certainly get what you pay for.  It is a most romantic and magical place to celebrate a special occasion, like mine, or just to go to for a superb meal. I can't think of anywhere better to have celebrated my birthday so a big thank you goes to my sons and daughters in law for treating me to this most wonderful evening.

Note: Olea is an outdoor restaurant so it closes for the winter months

Happiest of Christmases everybody

 I have been very quiet on my blog lately, mainly because I have other projects on the go. I do intend to make more regular posts, it's just a case of finding time! Anyway, I couldn't let Christmas go by without wishing everyone peace and blessings for Christmas and all things wonderful in 2024. It is the afternoon of Christmas Day here in New Zealand and soon my family will arrive for Christmas dinner.  I am looking forward to it. 

This beautiful tree is a Pohutukawa, known as the New Zealand Christmas tree because they always bloom at Christmas time. This year they are particularly magnificent which usually signals a long hot summer.  Let's hope!

Tree decorated, table set, food in the oven.  Family times are the best of times.

Wherever you are and whatever your religion the Christmas message is a universal one, it is a message of peace, love and hope.  I sincerely hope these all are part of your life in the coming year.