Friday, May 8, 2009

Kangaroos in the garden

It's been a busy week so far. Siying with her brother and mom and dad from Singapore stayed only the one night and wanted to do so much, but quickly learnt to relax a bit and just enjoy the moment. A bad moment was this morning when they went out the front door about 8.00am. In the garden were three kangaroos. I wanted to throw a stick at them and shoo them away, but of course the Singaporeans got out their cameras and were ooing and ahhing at how pretty they were. Later on when Pam was watering the garden, she noticed three native seedlings had been reduced to stalks.  I guess the experience gained by the visitors outweighs the cost of the seedlings, so we just have to factor in the cost of the damage by kangaroos as a cost of business.

Eric and Angie from KL had a good time here and they covered a lot of ground during their 3 night stay. Pity he had a few smokes outside and put the buts in the bin in the bathroom.  I had to clean the bin really thoroughly with lots of disinfectant and it still smells a bit. So far I have resisted putting signs out but may have to do that in the end.

Last Wednesday I went for a horse ride with Terry in Karridale. He has two horses and loves to go riding. We went around a blue gum plantation and had a few canters and gallops, just enough for me to notice this morning a few aches that I can attribute to the riding, which is great. No pain - no gain.  Will definitely go again next week.

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Ben from Tasmania stayed last night, having checked out of a resort at Prevelly that was not to his liking. He flies a Cessna over all the big cities for Virtual Earth taking detailed aerial photographs and is doing Perth at the moment. He had a few days off while his plane was being serviced and so came down for a bit of surfing. He seemed very happy with his room and was looking forward to coming back again.

Had Dereck the bob cat driver come and re-surface the drive at our front entrance. He put some finer gravel down and after wetting it, ran over it to really compact it and bring the clay to the surface and make it smoother than it was before.  We have really dry, warm weather at the moment so it will dry in a few days and we can use it again. The re-planted lawn is requiring lots of hand watering at the moment also.

Sunday, May 3, 2009

Kylie & Stewart, Esperance, 3/5/09. Thank you very much for your great hospitality. Our stay was absolutely lovely.

Vintage Stomp at Voyager

Had a wonderful time at Voyager Estate this afternoon. The Vintage Stomp is like a village fair and held on the grounds of the magnificent Voyager Estate. There was a stage with school kids doing songs and dances, bands playing (Italian theme) with Black Nonas and other singing groups. Lots of fun for the kids and a tasting area and lots of food. Voyager had a tent serving seared whiting on polenta and parmisan slices also fried on the BBQ, olive tapenade and a salad, absolutely superb, washed down with a Cowaramup Brewery dark ale. Pam had a spinach canelloni and salad washed down with Cape Grace Chenin Blanc. Also all very good.

The weather was great and it was sad we had to leave. Pam caught the bus back to Perth and I am now on my own again with lots of work to do.

Question from guest Re Cape Leeuwin and wineries

Dear Dirk,
 
I am sorry to bother you on some questions.
Could you kindly advise me on the below:
 
- how long does a drive to Cape Leeuwin (from Loaring Place) takes?
-  what time does the sun usually set nowdays?
- Would it be difficult getting dinner after 7pm? Which wineries are open for dinner?
- Any special winery worth recommending?
 
Thank you for your time. 
Best Regards
Siying 

My reply:

It is only a 30 minute drive from MR to Augusta on Bussel Highway but about 45 minutes via caves road. But there are lots of things to see and do on Caves Rd such as visit Lake Cave or Jewel Cave, the Boranup Karri Forest, Hamelin Bay.
 
The Leeuwin Lighthouse is 5 minutes from Augusta and there are tours to climb to the top and see the old lamp workings.
 
The sun sets at 5.30pm. Go to http://www.bigpond.com/weather/ and type in 6285 in the bar that says "My Weather" and Postcode or suburb.
 
Many of our guests make a day trip, having lunch in Augusta after visiting a cave and the lighthouse. They then drive up Warner Glen Rd (which goes through beautiful countryside) and visit the Rockfield Estate Winery (which has won many awards) and the Berry Farm, which does beautiful afternoon teas in the gardens of an old farmhouse, and there are lots of jams, pickles, chutneys and sauces to taste, as well as more wines.
 
No problem getting dinner in town on Thursday night after 7.00pm. There are many restaurants open til 8.30pm and the town is only 5 minutes away. Only problem is whoever is driving will have to watch how much wine they drink as police are hot on drink-driving.
 
I can prepare a dinner as well to your requirements, then you do not have to drive. Cost is $35 per head 2 courses and $45 per head 3 courses. You will have to give me a day's notice and let me know what you would like (anything is possible - sort of). We have a lovely lounge/dining room.
 
No wineries are open for dinner on a Sunday night. Most of the wineries close at 4.30, a few at 5pm.
 
All the wineries here are very good and a large number have fabulous resaurants open for lunch. Just around the town are Cape Mentelle, Voyager, Leeuwin, Xanadu, Redgate, Edwards, and then another 80 or so to choose from.  It is a problem that people ask which is the best winery or best restaurant. All are very good and you will not be disappointed at any of them.
 
People come and stay with us for 3 days and still have only just scratched the surface of all the great places to visit. When you come, we will see how you feel and what you would like to do and I will suggest an itinerary that hopefully will accommodate you all. 

Friday, May 1, 2009

Gerad & Taryn, Johannesburg, SA, 01/05/09. Your B&B has a fantastic setting! Thank you for the wonderful food and great hospitality. [A kangaroo hopped out of the bush and had a look at them while they were having breakfast this morning]

Tempranillo

Gerard and Taryn left to fly back to Joannesburg tonight. They had booked in for only one night and were going to go to Pemberton but decided to stay another night and see more of the region. 

Had a mens only pizza night last night while the girls went to a quiz night. Terry brought a Stella Bella 06 Tempranillo which is lovely and fruity, we then moved on to Vasse Felix 08 Tempanillo which  is smoother and then Thornhill 07 Tempranillo which was so good I had to open another bottle. I could a couple of pizzas which went down well, and then Terry and Graham rounded off the evening with a glass of port. 

About this time we got a desparate call from the girls that they had been abandoned in town as Pam had shot off home without them. Sure enough 5 minutes later Pam arrived and realised her mistake, so she had to fly back into town and pick them up. All the girls were very cold by this stage as the temperature had really dropped (4 deg this morning) and they quickly poured Graham and Terry into the car for their drive back to Augusta.  

Pam made me sleep in the spare room which was a good thing as I woke up at 1.30 and had a technicolour yawn and then snored so much I have a sore throat this morning on top of my headache.