Margaret River Bed and Breakfast

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Meekadarabee Falls, Ellensbrook Homestead

There is a 30 minute walk to two grottos along the Ellenbrook River at the Ellenbrook Homestead. The bush is absolutely beautiful and the grottos quite enchanting.

Beginning of the walk with the homestead in the background.

Ellenbrook Homestead mulberries

The old Ellenbrook Homestead (1840) has a huge mulberry tree in its gorgeous grounds that was full of luscious fruit, but reminders were left on fingers and clothes.

A kangaroo family dropped by this morning for a feed and a drink. Their joey was in the bushes to the right and was too shy to come out. The big male had quite a long drink. They would really like to get to the grape vines but I have bird wire all around them now so they are protected. We have 4 bird baths around the house that are used all the time by the fly catchers and honey eaters that are in the forest.

Thursday, December 31, 2009

Christmas Leek Orchid

Joanna went horse riding at the Nicols in Karridale with Terry while I went for a walk in the bush. Discovered a leek orchid called the Christmas Leek Orchid, Praesophyllum brownii (it was first collected by Robert Brown in Albany in December 1801).

Joanna and Terry returning from a horse ride around the blue gum plantation. The leek orchid was down in that creek line to the right.

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

The perfect getaway in WA!

We arrived in the afternoon to a beautiful house tucked away amidst forest and wildflowers. And then it only got better. Dirk and Pam, our hosts, and now our new friends, were right there to greet us with warm smiles, tea with homemade muffins and lots of sightseeing suggestions.
There are 4 rooms in this B&B, and they are all alike - very comfortable and nicely appointed, with luxurious baths. The beds are particularly comfy and it was difficult to get out of bed in the morning. Except that a gourment breakfast awaited us. Eggs and bacon, or sausage, toast, etc. made to order. I recommend the mushroom omelet - superb!
We felt quite at home and were very sorry to leave after 4 blissful nights. This was the perfect compliment to the Margaret River region, where there is so much to see and do and you can come home to nice people, a fire is it's chilly and a great night's sleep.
Thank you Pam and Dirk. We hope to return soon.

thekidtraveler, Chennai, Tripadvisor, Oct 14, 2009

Date of stay October 2009

Best nights sleep!

We arrived Saturday afternoon at 3:15 to find the front door open and Dirk and Pam, our hosts, working in the garden. They were both up to their elbows in top soil as they did Spring planting. Dirk checked us in, showed us the house and took us to our immaculate room. We felt comfortable within seconds. It was like we were family. He showed us the features – including the jetted tub, separate toilet and shower and provided a quick talk on their contribution to the environment by collecting the ‘cold water’ from the shower ‘start’ to water the plants outside our patio door. A black bucket is in the shower and we did our part and watered those newly planted flowers the next morning. They do collect rainwater and are very focused on energy conservation. Our room had everything we needed to make it comfortable including a nice heater and dual electric blankets to warm up the bed before we got in. It was chilly out here in the quiet forest. The room was spotless and the bed perfect with a comfortable high end mattress. Dirk provided recommendations on where to go for dinner and what to see in the area. He recommended some very good wineries, one of which wasn’t even on the map. We both had one of the best nights’ sleeps we’ve had in a long time, with only the squawk of Rodney the Rooster waking us up in the morning. There is absolutely no noise from the other rooms even though the B&B was fully occupied. We were the first ones out for breakfast and found a variety of cereals, fresh fruit, yogurt, muesli, tea, juices and ....liquorice allsorts and incredible 'fresh baked muffins' which are always there. It was set up perfectly and offered selections even for those on restricted diets. We helped ourselves and Dirk came out to see how we were doing. Grant finished his cereal and Pam came out to ask him how he wanted his fresh eggs – ‘the hens are laying’. He decided on a mushroom/bacon omelette with toast and was delighted with the result. We were soon joined by the other guests who were also provided with their custom excellent ‘hot’ breakfast selections. As we chatted, the time passed quickly and we suddenly realized it was 10:30. Unfortunately, we had only booked for one night and were heading back up to Perth with clear directions on how to get to the Margaret River Chocolate Co. We’d definitely go back in an instant and certainly stay for more than a single night. Thank you Pam and Dirk!

GGPOPNINO, Calgary, Tripadvisor, Oct 16, 2009

Date of stay October 2009