DAYS 48- 52 | MARGARET RIVER– I emerged one night from editing and introverting to find Lynne, Purri, and Isaac talking about this awesome, modern Villa in Margaret River. Before I knew it, we were whisked away to the Wine Country of WA! The route to get there wasn’t too much different than what we took to Windy Harbor. Winding roads, lots of country side, and one time familiar quaint towns made me feel more at home. We were nearing Margaret River when Lynne said we had to stop for chocolate! Always game for chocolate, I must have missed the conversation about the significance of this specific chocolate. Boy did it live up to its name: Gabriel’s Chocolate. The had won awards for their pure origin chocolates.

We got in just before dinner, and got settled in to, not the hyper modern villa, but a perfectly quirky Balinese style home. I have never been to Bali, but the idea of an indoor/outdoor home living arrangement was excitingly puzzling!

There were about 5 mid sized round cabins/huts/houses surrounding the central larger cabin that housed the kitchen, dining and lounge area. All the Lux “Bali Huts” were attached by either beautifully sculpted walkways or a greenery covered trellis. The villa was nestled further away from town, so there was A LOT of wildlife (we saw a Kangaroo, lots of loud frogs living in these waist tall urns, and on occasion even large lizzards that you would hear crawling around the top of the trellises when you walked by). With our Villa, came a very chic pool and lots of outdoor space to roam and relax. We ate dinner at a local microbrewery.

The morning of the tour, Isaac, Purri, Isaac’s Dad Nat, and hit the road early. Purri was pretty determined to find a good surfing spot, and I came along with Camera in hand hoping o make some beautiful 360 degree panos! One of the things I love about Australia’s cost is that rich blue and emerald greens. In the morning and at magic hour, the light is almost perfect contrast always! It is incredibly predictable and always fantastic weather. I am still work on the 360 panos, but when I get some made, I will add them here! It was hard to leave the coast, but we knew we had to make it back for our wine tour.