DAY 6 SWAN VALLEY
If you have missed out on Margaret River during your visit to Perth, you need to make sure that you don’t miss out on Swan Valley as well. Swan Valley is where you can easily locate a variety of wineries, cafés, restaurants and homemade products within 25 minutes of driving from the city of Perth.
The most convenient way of getting to and around Swan Valley is obviously by car. There is a train station nearby but it doesn’t seem to have any shuttle bus or other means of transportation for tourists to travel around this huge region. For our case, we rented a “one day city use” car from Bayswater Car Rental.
Tips: Since we only require the car for just a one day drive to and around Swan Valley, and back to our apartment in Maylands, we chose the “City Use” package which covers 100km per day and this cost us AUD51 with Zero Damage Access. At the end of the day, the total distance traveled was approximately 76km inclusive of some wrong turns which caused us to take a longer route to get to our destination. We would recommend taking this option if you are planning to spend just one day in Swan Valley instead of taking the “unlimited km” package at a higher price of AUD123.
Since most of the shops, wineries and restaurants in Swan Valley open around 9.00am to 10.00am, we took our own sweet time in the morning preparing and enjoying our breakfast.
#1 Yahava Coffee
Prior to the trip, we have actually done our homework on the places of attraction in Swan Valley. However, we still stopped by at the tourist center hoping to get some additional information and some maps before heading towards our first destination, Yahava Coffee.
This coffee shop has nice decoration with many different types of coffee beans displayed and a café serving some of their coffee beans accompanied with small bites. The good thing about Yahava Coffee is its free tasting of 3 types of coffee beans upon request.
The staff was very friendly as he explained about the different types of coffee bean to us. He also took the time to understand our coffee preference so that he could suggest something that we might like. We learnt that different coffee bean would require different preparation method and gives different aftertaste. Yahava Coffee definitely provided us with good service and quality coffee but we ended up not purchasing anything here.
#2 Margaret River Chocolate Company
Next, Margaret River Chocolate Company. They are very generous for having 3 big bowls of dark, white and milk chocolate on the counter for free tasting just as you enter the shop. There is also a small window just behind the free chocolate samples for people to look at their chocolate making process.
The chocolate samples easily melted from the temperature of our hands. Hence, we didn’t purchase anything in order not to risk bringing “out of shape” chocolates back to Malaysia.
#3 Providore
After the chocolate tasting, we visited Providore which is just next to Margaret River Chocolate Company. Providore is not just a place for you to taste and buy the wines you like but is also a paradise of jams, sauces and dressings. We noticed some special and unique sauces as well as dressings that could probably only be found here. Just spend some time here and try out all the different products.
#4 Lancaster Wines
We then walked to Lancaster Wines which is just on the other side of the road. The first thing that struck our mind is its uniqueness of an outdoor tasting shed instead of a cool indoor tasting room.
Without further delay, we headed towards a vacant spot at the bar counter to enjoy the wonderful wine and cheese tasting for free. It was our first time chilling and relaxing in such a nice outdoor environment which makes it a special experience. The chilled wine combined with some light breeze actually cooled us down from the heat of the sun. On a personal note, we love both their Rose wine and Cabernet Merlot but perhaps slightly more of the former. Also, thumbs up to their black pepper cheese and chili cheese which are really good!
#5 Windarra Honey
A small and simple house with basic furniture offering a variety of natural unprocessed bee products. Looking at so many different types of honey, we just didn’t know where to start. The owner actually came forward to share the differences of each honey, advised us what to buy based on our needs and preferences, and most importantly gave free samples for tasting.
If you are looking for healing honey such as the Manuka honey, you are at the right place. With limited luggage space, we only bought a small bottle (0.5kg) of honey. Hopefully, we will be able to get the bigger bottle (2kg) the next time we are here because its price is extremely cheap in this region as well as in Malaysia. The owner told us that there is no harm keeping natural honey for a long time since it doesn’t expires.
Tips: Their honey products range from 0.5 liters to a few liters. Since it is a liquid-based product, it couldn’t pass through the customs as a hand-carry item. Remember to get the owner to wrap your honey so that you can safely bring them home.
Besides honey, they also have other bee or honey products for usage on the face, lips or body. It is probably similar to the natural skin care products.
#6 Sandalford Winery
Initially, we wanted to focus our trip in Swan Valley on wineries since we didn’t manage to explore many wineries in Margaret River. However, we ended up being too lazy to taste the variety of wines here since we just couldn’t seem to find the taste that we are looking for.
Passing by the restaurant as we headed towards cellar door, we looked in awe of its fantastic atmosphere and environment. The restaurant’s interior has a little vintage feel combined with the some winery elements. The food looked great too!
In the end, we only walked around the winery especially at its cellar door. It can’t be denied that the wine prices here are relatively cheap and worthy as compared with Malaysia.
#7 Houghton Winery
Here we go with another winery. Looking at its logo, we have the feeling that we might have actually seen this brand in Malaysia. Houghton is probably different than Voyager Estate in Margaret River which doesn't export their wine overseas (only for local consumption).
As we walked into the cellar door, there were quite a number of customers and the staffs were busy serving them. So, we just have a look at the wines and did not proceed with any wine tasting which is actually chargeable. We decided to just head towards their restaurant and ordered a pizza to ease our growling stomach.
The outdoor dining area isn’t half bad. Such a big area surrounded by so many trees is definitely a perfect picnic spot to enjoy the nature. Picnic foods can be purchased at the restaurant.
Not far from the restaurant, there is a small museum which tells its history and displays big old wine barrels as well as wine-producing tools and machines.
#8 Mourish Nut & Mondo Nougat and Chocolate
Besides wines, Australia is also famous for its macadamia nuts and nougats. At Mourish Nut, you get to purchase many kinds of nuts and other confectionery items but we only focused on their macadamia nuts. We managed to try different flavors of coated macadamia nuts namely wasabi, abalone, salted and caramel from their free tasting counter. Finally, we decided to buy 5 big packets (350g per pack) of macadamia nuts at AUD25 each with the mixture of natural and wasabi flavor.
Mondo Nougat and Chocolate is just beside Mourish Nut under the same roof. We have never heard of this brand as we have been eating Golden Boronia’s (GB) nougat all the time. We got to try some of it from the sampling counter (maximum one piece per person) and the taste isn’t too bad. It is pretty nutty (lots of almond) and the sweetness is just nice. In terms of the flavors, Mondo Nougat seems to have more varieties compared to GB and it even have some special flavor such as lemon. Visitors can also see the entire nougat making and packing process from a window near the sampling counter. Unfortunately, we arrived too late and only saw the packing process.
#9 The Cheese Barrel
Visiting a cheese factory is always in our wish list but it is difficult to slot it into our itinerary because some factories has closed down while some were too far away. Nevertheless, we visited The Cheese Barrel which might give you an impression of a house filled with cheeses (it is actually a restaurant). Here we are checking out if they really offer a huge variety of cheesey foods.
We arrived here at about 4.00pm and there weren’t any customers around. Our eyes were wide opened when we spotted the free tasting cheese counter. We managed to try some cheeses from different countries namely brie, truffle cheddar cheese, blue cheese, etc.
We were in a dilemma deciding whether to purchase some cheeses here or from Lancaster Wines. In the end, we decided not to buy any as we were worried that the cheese might spoil when we try to bring it back to Malaysia.
#10 House of Honey
Before the clock struck 5.00pm signaling the time where most of the shops, wineries and restaurants in Swan Valley close, we made our last stop of the day at House of Honey. It is actually similar to Windarra Honey as they sell a variety of honey and related products. We tasted their normal honey and healing honey as well as their honey wine (sparkling wine made of honey). The honey wine is quite special and it is definitely worth trying (we have never heard of such wine before) but sad to say it isn’t to our liking.
As they were about to close, we quickly purchase two scoops of honey ice cream! Haha. We were more interested with their ice cream than their honey. The ice cream’s texture isn’t too bad and we would gladly rank it the second best ice cream in Perth after Margaret River Dairy Company.
Back to the honeys, Windarra Honey has the cheaper price since House of Honey seems more commercial with its nice packaging.
Obviously, the 2 scoops of ice cream were not sufficient for our dinner. We stopped by at Alfred’s Kitchen, one of the locals’ recommended burger places famous for their big, juicy and yummy burgers. As the weather turned dark, cold, and windy, we sat by the fireplace accompanied with our hot soup waiting for our burgers to be done.
While waiting, we observed more and more of the locals stopping by to make their order (some were dine-ins while some were takeaways). We were lucky to be here early since we only queued for a short while.
Our orders were finally done. Both of us preferred Alfred’s Special even though it should be a sandwich instead of a burger. The burgers are actually quite big and we would suggest 2 persons to share a burger since we weren’t able finish them all and brought half a burger back to our apartment as supper.
Cram
Alfred’s Special
Hamburger cheese and bacon
Tips: It is quite difficult to get to Alfred's Kitchen if you are travelling from Swan Valley. Drive slowly as you approach the restaurant and look for the junction to turn in (the junction is easy to miss). Parking spots are available right next to the restaurant.
After so many foods of high calories, we decided to return our rental car on the same day itself instead of the next day. By doing so, not only did we get more sleep the next morning but we also burned off some calories to make up some space for supper and desserts later that night. You might be wondering what we are talking about. If you have been following our Western Australia blog post, you would know that from our apartment wasn’t too far from Bayswater Car Rental (15 minutes walking distance).
After so many foods of high calories, we decided to return our rental car on the same day itself instead of the next day. By doing so, not only did we get more sleep the next morning but we also burned off some calories to make up some space for supper and desserts later that night. You might be wondering what we are talking about. If you have been following our Western Australia blog post, you would know that from our apartment wasn’t too far from Bayswater Car Rental (15 minutes walking distance).
Tips:
1. Other than the above, Swan Valley still has a lots of interesting places to check out such as Nuo’s Grapes, Kato’s @3000 Fresh Fruit Ice Cream, Elmar’s In the Valley, Whistler’s Chocolate Co. etc. Take note that Nuo’s Grapes and Kato’s are only opened during grape season.
2. It might be dangerous driving northbound from The Cheese Barrel (located towards the north in Swan Valley region) at night. According to the locals, various animals such as wombats, kangaroos, emus, camels and many others have been sighted and identified as potential hazards.
That summarized Day 6 of our Perth itinerary. Click the links below to check out the rest of our Perth trip.
Day 1 & 2 - Margaret River
Day 3 - Fremantle, Lobster Shack, The Pinnacles, Lancelin
Day 4 & 5 - Caversham Wildlife Park, Perth City, Rottnest Island
Day 7 - Perth City
1. Other than the above, Swan Valley still has a lots of interesting places to check out such as Nuo’s Grapes, Kato’s @3000 Fresh Fruit Ice Cream, Elmar’s In the Valley, Whistler’s Chocolate Co. etc. Take note that Nuo’s Grapes and Kato’s are only opened during grape season.
2. It might be dangerous driving northbound from The Cheese Barrel (located towards the north in Swan Valley region) at night. According to the locals, various animals such as wombats, kangaroos, emus, camels and many others have been sighted and identified as potential hazards.
That summarized Day 6 of our Perth itinerary. Click the links below to check out the rest of our Perth trip.
Day 1 & 2 - Margaret River
Day 3 - Fremantle, Lobster Shack, The Pinnacles, Lancelin
Day 4 & 5 - Caversham Wildlife Park, Perth City, Rottnest Island
Day 7 - Perth City
Post a Comment