Raising a glass to the good life in Margaret River

Reality Bites

It only feels like last week that I collected the work laptop and rather reluctantly started my Perth working career. I say reluctantly as it is not what I expected to be doing. As you all know, and it has been well documented, we left Sydney intending to embark on an open ended trip around the world. 

With the next milestone birthday only a couple of years away it was time to step off the hamster wheel and take stock of what the next chapter would hold for us. As we changed seasons in life, what life did we want. Without the distractions of needing to work, and in the creative haven of changing world settings, we hoped to achieve a little bit of clarity. Only, we didn’t get to go.

My journal reminded me of the day last year when this dream took on a more permanent hiatus.

“Back to reality. It had to happen. Hopefully this 6 months of work will fly by.”

Time Flies

And they did. So much so that the following 6 months went just as quick and here I am into year two of my current role. In fairness, a lot has happened in that year. And my role has evolved into something that I am really enjoying. Working with the organization in making work a better place to be. Changing to a more modern, emergent way of working, where people have more autonomy and purpose. 

Coupled with this, having trained as a professional coach in the last 12 months, I am also able to blend this work in, allowing me to help even more people, on a one to one basis. Very satisfying. Being a vocation that I can do from anywhere in the world, coaching is an area that I see playing a big part of the future.

Will we ever see the back of COVID?

What the rest of the future holds, we really don’t know. Just this week we had another snap lockdown in Perth. 3 cases of COVID resulted in the state premier, Mark McGowan, slamming the whole of the Perth region into a 4 day lockdown. A circuit breaker, to “crush” the virus, as he never tires of telling us. I do wonder where the right balance is when I see the sharp increase in cases across the UK and yet there are thousands allowed at the football, jumping all over each other in drunken delirium as England progress.

And one of the poster childs of early COVID success, Israel, also living life as normal whilst their own numbers are on a sharp incline. I guess what both these examples are showing us is that getting everyone vaccinated is key. The only way to move from a suppression strategy to one of management, which is the pivot the Australian government made this week.

All well and good if we get people vaccinated. Currently we have only around 6% of the whole population vaccinated. Which is just not good enough. We were looked on with envy from around the world as we lived our lives in relative freedom over the last 12 months. And this bred complacency. Why rush the vaccine? Why should anyone in the lucky country get vaccinated? So, the government did not make this a priority.

A glimmer of hope

Now, with most of Australia suffering lockdowns, with each state struggling with containing the new Delta variant, we now look wistfully at those countries that have really cracked on with getting people vaccinated. In Australia we have got a bad case of catching up to do. And catching up is what the government says we will do. With a new target (about the tenth we have had) of having the majority of people vaccinated by Christmas, there remains a glimmer of hope that the borders will open for international travel next year. 

Magnificent Margaret River

In the meantime, we will continue to do what we do best. Exploring all the best that Western Australia has to offer. Which last weekend meant another trip to Margaret River. Somewhere I have written about previously. Quite possibly, close your ears in Europe, the best wine region in the world. The quality of wines are hard to beat and the region has everything. Some great beaches hugging a wild coastline and inland there are forests that need to be seen to be believed. Magical. The Boranup Forest will forever hold a place in our hearts.

This trip we had the opportunity to stay at Barn Hives. We were in one of only 6 self-sustainable luxury-eco pods, based in Yallingup, at the top end of the Margaret River region. Very convenient for a great dinner at the nearby historic Caves House Hotel. Even more convenient was the Cape Lavender cafe next door, serving up quite possibly some of the best scones I have ever had. And I have had a lot. That said, I have yet to try the legendary Mrs B’s high tea, the talk of Yorkshire. Maybe if we ever get to leave Australia.

Lunched is served

Whilst in Margaret River we took the opportunity to have a long lunch at Wills Domain. Not quite as long as the 4 hour chef’s table the people behind us were enjoying. I am sure with every course they ate, the ladies’ stool just got lower and lower. A very heavy handbag. Apparently.

Our lunch started off with a glass of obligatory bubbles. The Wills Domain Cuvée d’ Élevage Chardonnay Pinot Noir. Made in the champagne style, and much to the chagrin of winemakers outside of France, unable to call it so. The food that followed was delicious, as was the 2019 “Eightfold chardonnay” that we chose to have with lunch.

Margaret River cellar doors

There are over 100 cellar doors to choose from across the entire Margaret River region and we are on a mission to try every one of them. We visited 7 new ones on this trip bringing our total visits up to 45. A few more trips required to tick off the whole 100. Not that you will find either of us complaining.

So, whilst we navigate the end of our current lockdown, I will get out the map and start planning which vineyards to visit next. Until we can next raise a glass to the good life in Margaret River.

Salut!