An old friend from high school was eager for a roadtrip and joined me in the journey across to Perth. It was even more exciting to have someone to share the first challenging leg of my adventure and we talked so much on the first afternoon that I lost my voice (!). We headed out late aiming to make it to Port Augusta by night, where we found a cheap but comfortable motel for a good night’s sleep before attempting the Nullarbor Plain crossing the following day.

After a breakfast of champions – egg and bacon roll with a good dollop of BBQ sauce – we hit the road as early as possible aiming to reach the WA border by nightfall. What could have been a rather sedate drive was a lot of fun with company as we chatted, sang to old music and listened to Radiolab podcasts. For anyone not familiar with Radiolab, go to www.radiolab.org – its a great national public radio show for curious people, involving science, philosophy and sharing people’s stories and experiences. Best radio show EVER.

Outback South Australia is fascinating in its starkness. Gnarled mallees, yellow sand and unidentifiable scrubby bushes as far as the eye can see. We stopped in Streaky Bay for fish and chips, looked out over the water and rested tired eyes, before cracking on across the Nullarbor Plain. Here we learned the true meaning of being in the middle of nowhere. It is a huge expanse of flat, brown nothing in all directions, as far as the eye can see. It is punctuated only by a run down motor inn with exorbitant prices in the centre and the occasional heavily laden cyclist who bizarrely thinks riding across the plain is a good use of holidays.

It was dark by the time we approached the campsite, only 10km short of the WA border. This was to be our first night of free camping and we’d chosen a site that was on the cliffs of the Great Australian Bight, but thankfully was treed so we wouldn’t be blown off the edge into the water during the night. After driving what was probably around in circles, we picked a spot and pitched camp, doing remarkably well in the dark, and decided that a bottle of wine and some night sky appreciation was in order before bed.

Sunrise was equally spectacular over the Bight and after taking some time to enjoying the views (photos will have to wait I’m afraid), we began our push on through towards Esperance – another 8 1/2 hours of driving. En route, we passed through Norseman on the far side of the Plain, an old gold mining town with a rather unusual sight. From the town we could see a large, heavily channeled cliff face and when we got up to the lookout at Beacon Hill, we realised that it was actually one side of a square of land thrust up out of the flat surrounding land that had been gouged down all sides where gold seams must have run. There were still trees and an old shanty on top. It looked like a massive computer chip mounted on a motherboard, pins exposed on all sides, but eternally shrinking as the machines eat away at it from the outside. I imagine that in not too many years, there will only remain a thin finger of stone with that cottage perched precariously on top.

We got in to Esperance with enough time to settle into our cabin and shower – an experience so glorious that its hard to believe it had only been one night on the land – before wandering into the town for dinner at the local pub. One drink and we were done for – we staggered back and collapsed into bed. The morning showed us that Esperance had been well worth the trip. We found a french bakery open early and again enjoyed the sunrise. I could get used to this early rising business if I’m to be rewarded with views like that.

On our way out of town, accidentally ended up on the Great Ocean Scenic Drive and figured that we might as well have a bit of a look. What we found was long, staggeringly beautiful stretches of beach with white sand and crystal blue water. It was all we could do not to stop, run down the sand and throw ourselves into it, parched as we were for the sight of the ocean after so much dry desert.

Refreshed by coastal air and beautiful views, we continued on to Albany for lunch which was almost completely closed on a Sunday and lacking any of the beauty that its neighbour commanded. Our experience getting lost in Albany only resulted in annoyance, much wasted time and giving up on our quest for fish and chips on the beach – one we hadn’t thought would be a stretch, though as it turned out there were neither nice beaches nor open fish and chip shops!!! – having to resort to a woeful lunch at KFC. We finally managed to extricate ourselves, shaking our fists and determining to blame the town for our late arrival into Margaret River and indeed everything else that was wrong with the world.

In the afternoon, we passed through some of south Western Australia’s national parks and I found my favourite region of the trip so far – the Great Eucalypt Forests. The trees were enormous and majestic – it was magnificent to see them in a native forest untouched by humanity except the tiny ribbon of road that passed far below their canopy, barely worthy of their notice. I wish I could bottle the forest-smell. Its surprising that we revere European style forests so much in Australia when we have such incredible native beauty – its a pity we don’t appreciate and protect it more.

It was dark when we arrived into Margaret River (damn you Albany!), but the main street was lit up like an adorable mountain village somewhere in the snow Swiss Alps. Of course, its quite warm and is a renowned wine region which possibly makes it my ideal place to live. We stayed in a very comfortable motel and had a spectacular breakfast at the coolest bakery ever in the main street, with mismatched couches, crockery and eclectic style only beaten by fabulous inexpensive food and homemade meringues the size of a small child’s head. (I actually verified this with a friend’s 15 month old.) Unfortunately we were on a tight deadline to deliver my travel buddy to the capital for her return flight to Adelaide so we tried visiting one winery, found that most of the world does have opinions about what time in the morning is suitable to drink alcohol and with a sigh left the lovely little town vowing to return for a decent visit. Perth is only three hours north so a day trip (or rather a weekend trip) is definitely possible for me during my stay and my friend swore she intends to repeat our roadtrip over a longer time frame with her partner and kids sometime in the near future.

A short drive later, relative to the distance we’d already covered at least, and we arrived in Perth with plenty of time to say our goodbyes at the airport and for her to catch up with a local friend before her flight home. It was a delight traveling with you, my friend! Come visit me any other time you wish on my trip and we can do it again.

So here I am now in the big smoke, with friends, wine and a replaced air mattress for more adventures.

Best: Camping – stargazing. Nothing can compare to the view of the night sky when there aren’t city lights nearby to blot them out. The Milky Way was radiant. Its no wonder that the ancients worshiped the stars. Being slightly more modern in our approach, we discovered that all residual knowledge from first year Astronomy was gone and resorted to launching the Google Sky app on our phones to tell us where the constellations were. I do so love technology.

Worst: Camping – the air mattress. Within an hour of going to bed, a slow leak had reduced our mattress to a thin covering over the cold hard ground. Grateful for thin foam mats, we got through the night and decided maybe cabins and motels might be more comfortable until it could be replaced in Perth.

Most Random Sight: On a stretch of open road at least 20kms outside of a one-horse town, a young man with a backpack and no shirt skateboarded past and away from us back down the road. No idea where he came from or was going to – we saw nothing for at least another 50kms.

So lets start with my sweeping and highly subjective assessment of Australian wine – South Australia produces the best wines in the country and therefore are among the best in the world (see rant below for my opinion on our global standing). I have to admit a significant bias of course, having been born and raised here but one could also flip that around to say that at least its an educated opinion! The wineries of the Southern Vales sneak just ahead of Clare, the Barossa and the Adelaide Hills to be my favourites. If I had a bajillion dollars, I’d go buy a hobby winery there, build beautiful gardens to host weddings and other special functions in, and pay people to do all the boring work so that I could swan around talking to people, eating and drinking fabulous food and wine and generally enjoying the lifestyle. Given my lack of funds, I guess I’ll have to settle for visiting similar places on holidays.

McClaren Vale has some stunning wineries, restaurants and cellar doors hidden between the vines. Old favourite wineries in the area include Coriole (mostly for the food and gardens!), d’Arenberg, Kangarilla Road, Ekhidna, Tapestry, Pertaringa, Ulithorne and Maxwell for their mead. Red Poles and the Salopian Inn are unbeatable for excellent food, and despite not being in love with the rest of my very expensive meal, the lavender creme brulee at The Currant Shed changed my life. Its a trap to keep going to the same ones every time though so we try to discover new places each visit now. This day we made it to four – Ekhidna, Samuel’s Gorge, Oliver’s Taranga and Battle of Bosworth – and a bakery in the centre of town for a simple lunch.

Ekhidna was quick stop to pick up some more Grenache as we already know and love them, but we invariably got delayed chatting and enjoying ourselves at the cellar door – it has a most welcoming atmosphere.

Samuel’s Gorge has one of the most spectacular views from their courtyard and informal cellar door, and friendly staff will deliver tastings wherever you choose to settle, inside or out. Their wines are usually good, though I was a little underwhelmed this visit and felt that they were releasing their current range too early. Give them a couple of years and they’ll likely be excellent – 2010 and 2012 vintages look to be superb all across the region for reds. A highlight was a newly released straight Mourvedre, which I’m not sure I’ve ever tasted outside a blend. They also provided us some excellent recommendations for the next two wineries.

Oliver’s served up a suite of excellent wines and some superb olive oil but their flagship wine, 2008 HJ Reserve Shiraz, made us moan with pleasure. My aunt bought me a bottle to be drunk somewhere beautiful when I feel like I’ve rediscovered myself through my travels. Fair motivation I think.

The final winery Battle of Bosworth is an organic winery with some nice enough wines, featuring a preservative free wine that had an … interesting nose (something between sweaty sneakers and raw meat) but had a particularly stunning sticky semillion – my only purchase of the day in an attempt to stick to my shoestring travel budget. Thankfully all of these wineries deliver and I’ll be referring back to the websites when I’m home and have an income again.

So what does one do after an afternoon of wine tasting? Why, go back to my aunt’s ocean view house for a platter of cheeses, dips and fruit and another bottle of wine of course! We watched the sunset over the water and contemplated life as only one can after many glasses of fine wine. Many thanks to my mother for her chauffeur service.

Best – Ekhidna Wines

There are many things to love about this winery. Ekhidna is starting to emerge as a producer of full-flavoured, *BIG* red wines featuring a 94 point Shiraz and my favourite 96 point Grenache but what is a surprise is that they still very affordable (one might even say underpriced) at around $20 a bottle. I can’t imagine that this will last given quality, but I intend to make the most of it. Talented winemaker Matt Rechner is often at the tasting bar chatting to customers and is fascinating to talk to. If you’re not so keen on wine, Ekhidna also produces hand-crafted, award-winning beers, ciders and ginger beer, and past the bar is a fantastic restaurant with excellent tapas style food. Matt and his team are young, enthusiastic and progressive in their use digital and social media – a little unusual what is a fairly old-school industry – and they bring a great vibe to the restaurant and bar. They also have some good specials available to people on their mailing list, though I like to go in there when I’m in Adelaide. Well worth a visit – website:, or check out them out on Facebook:

Worst – Australia’s chronically mismanaged wine export industry

In the two years I spent living in the UK and in travels around the US last year, I was staggered to see what kind of rubbish Australian wine was available for consumers. Its all very well for us to be parochial about our wine and some Australians might think this is fabulous – we keep the best for ourselves and get rid of the swill – but its actually a terribly unwise strategy all around. Australia produces far too much wine for us to possibly drink ourselves and needs the international community to buy it for our wine industry to survive. With woefully inadequate regulation, wine that should never have been made from inferior grapes and inexperienced producers have been exported overseas to countries who now believe that this is indicative of the quality of our wines. The emerging markets therefore turn to countries in Europe, the Americas and New Zealand rather than us for middle to top end wines. If the Australian wine industry together can’t find some way of clawing our international reputation back and make the most of countries such as China, Japan, Singapore and India beginning to consume wine in earnest, the industry will crash and many of our talented and experienced winemakers will be forced to close up shop.

Best:
As I left Canberra, I detoured via Poachers Pantry just outside Murrumbatemen. Poachers is a restaurant and shop that specialises in smoked meats, which are amazing and are cured on site. It is also attached to Wily Trout winery, which produces mediocre wine though the recent reds I had from there were excellent. My friends recently had their wedding reception there and it was one of the most fun weddings I’ve ever been to, so I have fond memories of this place. However, my reason for stopping by was my addiction for their smoked duck breast. I’m fairly sure they fed those ducks crack.

Worst:
A number of years ago, some friends and I backpacked around South America and found ourselves preoccupied with discussing the various toilets we’d visited, usually in attempts to identify the worst ones. (In one particularly spectacular hostel, the showers were positioned directly over the toilets.) No one back home really understood why our updates continually involved toilet references and we’d forgotten that this wasn’t a normal topic of conversation. Still, we never really got over it and I still have no problems telling stories about horrific toilets in public. So .. my worst moment from the last day was the public toilets in Peake in country South Australia. Its worth noting that nothing ever happens in Peake. The (one) local cafe just closed down, possibly out of boredom and the public toilets were a pair of concrete bunkers surrounded by a field of dust, ready for when nuclear war comes to Peake. I’d heard we were having a bad season for millipedes after the particularly wet summer we’ve just had and as I crunched across the bathroom floors, I discovered that the reason I hadn’t seen any is that they are ALL living in the women’s toilets in Peake. There were thousands of them. The cubicle walls writhed in a seething black mass. I know they’re completely harmless, but they didn’t seem all that thrilled about my presence and reared up on their back legs aggressively waving their front dozen at me in challenge. Harmless but definitely creepy.

The wisteria over the front arch is an eccentric old professor, hair sticking out in all directions in defiance of absent-minded attempts at control and he leans slightly to one side as if pondering a thought.


My red rose mourns quietly in sorrow after the rain.

The peace and tranquility of the belladonna lilies are not dampened by rain. She raises her beautiful face to the sky, full of hope.

Shy leaves of the forest pansy curl back in on themselves and hide as the rain comes. When the sun returns they will begin to open up but it is only when Autumn falls and the extroverts of Summer retire that they will stand alone and show their true, magnificent colours.

From among the branches of my knife-leaved wattle, I am somehow reminded of an old kaleidoscope my nanna had that I loved as a child. The angular leaves are unusual and precious in my garden, and the texture and variation it provides still delights me.

I’ll leave you with one last flower that attracted my attention on this evening’s walk. A lone, pure white flower remained on the top of an agapanthus. The other flowers have withered and begun to form seed, but this single beauty stands alone and keeps last watch over her sisters.

The only work that needs doing in the garden is watering in the cool of the morning or evening, and we have been lucky enough to have out hot season interspersed with thunderstorms so little manual effort is required. Midsummer approaches and any efforts to fidget with existing plantings will simply meet with stress so I am inclined to leave them alone.

Mid-stroll around the garden on my daily route, I looked over my potatoes and sighed over their state – something is definitely eating the leaves. I then began wondering exactly when they’d be ready. I remember reading somewhere that you could ‘bandicoot’ in under the plant for new spuds when the leaves started wilting and began to turn yellow. Well, that is certainly the case. All of a sudden my lazy afternoon turned to the greatest excitement as I found my first kipfler potatoes ready for harvest! Have a look at these babies:

The rest of the day will now be spent poring over Maggie’s Harvest – my favourite recipe book by Maggie Beer. Maggie is an Australian culinary icon and my lovely boyfriend bought me this book for my last birthday. Maggie’s Harvest is a wonderful book aimed at people who grow their own food, featuring her favourite varieties and methods of using the glut produced when everything ripens at once. The recipes are magnificent. I think simplicity might be needed here – maybe my new potatoes roasted with butter and sea salt, maybe a touch of rosemary, to make the most of that beautiful creamy flavour. Mmmm.

Back in 2008, the only green was the weeds

Now that its the end of the year, being a groundskeeper at the local football stadium still lurks around the top of my list of jobs I never want to do. This is partly because I’ve seen how much effort goes into those playing surfaces and it can’t be worth the heartache involved in watching burly guys with spiked shoes ripping it apart on a weekly basis. Also of course, turf is still terribly dull. However, some rather unusual things did happen.

First, I felt compelled to at least make an attempt with my grass, so I bought a decent lawnmower (with a built in mulcher for branches) and decided it wouldn’t kill me to attempt to control the weeds running rampant. I let the grass grown longer to compete with the weeds for food and light, then used “Weed’n'Feed” to knock over the rest. The active ingredient is generally iron sulphate, which when left on the surface of a damp broadleaf weed forms sulphuric acid and burns the bejeesus out of it, turning the weeks black, crispy and often unable to recover. I found it quite effective.

Then the rains came. Canberra has had its wettest Spring since the 70′s and for the first time in over a decade our dams are at full capacity. The grass exploded. For the first time, I really needed to mow it and when I did, something amazing was revealed – new, green sprouts of lawn! I don’t know how they came to be there, but after a few mows, it had thicked up considerably and it appeared that for the first time ever, I actually had something that could be called lawn!

My lawn today, sporting the shaggy look

Given the lack of rain in our climate, more people are beginning to turn to synthetic turf for their home gardens as well as in some sporting stadiums for a nice, green, “low maintenance” surface. We also studied these in class. There are some benefits such as less watering, its always green and it can be grown in limited light conditions. However, we found that there are a number of unexpected problems with fake lawns.

Disadvantages to fake lawn include:
• On a hot day, dry fake turf can get to 50°C (122°F) – up to 20°C *higher* than the air temperature!
• They need to be washed and disinfected, particularly after playing sport. Blood, sweat, tissue and animal droppings remain on the surface as they aren’t broken down by the good bacteria and living grass blades.
• A synthetic turf is expensive, vulnerable to tearing and will generally need replacing within 10 years
• Some synthetic turfs can leach hazardous chemicals into the soils and release fumes on very hot days that are dangerous to kids.
• Playing sport on fake turf has resulted in a greater numbers of injuries including friction burns from sliding and impact injuries from landing on a hard surface, unlike grass that can yield.

Needless to say, I now greatly dislike it and don’t think its worth using to replace the real thing. It may be a viable alternative to concrete, but that’s it as far as I’m concerned.

So don’t be so quick to dig up all of your grass – a little bit of love turned mine around and keeps the area around our house cool through the hot Aussie summers. Who’d have ever thought?!

Surely this must be any gardener’s favourite time of the year! So many things starting to emerge after too long in winter hibernation, including myself. Its been time to clean up the detritus littering my garden and my first day out in the garden needed hot showers and a couple of days rest to ease my stiff and aching muscles. Still, its a small price to pay to witness my garden emerge fresh and beautiful from its slumber like a butterfly from its cocoon.

Several trailer loads of SuperCompost from Corkhill Bros and 20 bales of lucerne mulch await their new homes. Perhaps I have been a little excessive on the lucerne, but I tire of paying for multiple deliveries when I underestimate the quantities involved. The compost I can put down immediately and water in, but the lucerne will have to wait for the next big rain.
I topped up my vegie patches and have planned out this years crops, according to my crop rotation plan. This minimises the need for adding fertilisers and prevents against nematode build up in the soil. The vast majority of nematodes are beneficial, but some are particularly problematic for tomatoes and potatoes. Try not to plant these vegies in the spot as last year for this reason – nematodes are tiresome to get rid of once you have them.

The plan from left to right is:
Bed 1: Peas and snake beans (followed by greens)
Bed 2: Pumpkins, zucchinis, carrots and beetroot
Bed 3: Tomatoes
There is a new bed that you can see in the top left-hand side in the picture above, in which I’m trying my hand at potatoes for the first time. It was an old sandpit that the neighbours left out on the road and I rescued it, knowing full well I’d find something to plant in it. I’ve filled it with kipfler potatoes – far too many I’m sure, but we’ll see how it goes. I also picked up some “Dutch Cream” spuds that I need to find a home for somewhere. What to do? Maybe another wine-barrel – I’d only fit a couple in there though and I hate wasting seed potatoes! If anyone in Canberra would like a few potatoes to try out, send me a message.

Pea frame & potato patch

Tomato frame

I’ve planted the seeds of five different types of heirloom tomato inside to get them started before the move to bed 3. They are: Black Russian, Tigerella, Pink Brandywine, 3 colour Zebra mix (for a surprise) and Tommy Toe (cherry tomato).

Now all I need is some warm weather and I’m ready to get planting!