Sunday, December 22, 2013

More Margaret River: Beaches and Breweries

More beaches, as promised. Looking for places for Mr Smartypants to go surfing, we examined Surfer's Point, obviously.


The super-in-law kindly pointed out the place where someone got taken by a shark, just recently. 


That doesn't seem to bother these folk.


Still contemplating, we headed on to Gnarabup Beach. After much consideration, this was decided upon as a likely locale, so we messed about in the waves while Mr Smartypants played in others just around the headland (out of sight; out of photo-evidence).

The town of Cowaramup in Margaret River derives its name from the Aboriginal word 'cowara' meaning purple-crowned lorikeet . It is affectionately known as Cowtown, due to its dairy farming history, and symbols of the cow abound.

Cow statue outside Colonial Brewery
Interior decor at Colonial Brewing Co. - lights made from old growlers

A detour from beer to confectionery; Bettenay's Margaret River Nougat Company to be precise. You can watch the nougat being made and sample the wines on offer, before choosing your own slab of sugary goodness to take away. 


Beside the bovine sculptures, beautiful kangaroo paws (Anigozanthos) bloom outside - these flowers are endemic to the south-west of Western Australia, and the flower buds are covered with coloured hairs (from black to yellow, orange and red) which give them a furry, velvety appearance.



From nougat to chocolate at the Margaret River Chocolate Co. Here you can buy almost anything chocolate related from beans to baths salts - yes, bath salts. Now, this seems mildly odd to me, as having your bath water turn a dubious shade of brown isn't really ideal in most circumstances.


And so to the next brewery. Cowaramup Brewing Co was one of our favourites with excellent beer and friendly service. The porter is my winner, and the Special Pale Ale (brewed in a English ESB style) is highly recommended.

Not everyone looked thrilled...
As mentioned before, they have a thing about cows around here.

Him Outdoors and Mr Smartypants enjoying the range at Moody Cow
And the last beach of the trip is Binningup Beach, a 22km-long stretch of straight, beautiful sand, backed by dunes and stunning at sunset.


Binningup Beach

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