8/12/2025 Margaret River Road trip

Mamma Kay picked me up this morning just after 8 to drive down to Carey’s in Southlake. We hit a bit of the rush hour traffic but that cleared pretty quickly and we arrived at Carey’s an hour later. After throwing our bags in the boot of Carey and Rays car we piled in and got on the road for our little adventure down to Margaret River. 

We had a rest stop an hour into the drive, topped up the water bottles, and, had I known how quickly afterwards we’d be stopping for lunch I probably wouldn’t have joined them in a jam donut. Yeah, the good eating habits? Abandoned at the moment, it’s difficult when your friends eat out all the time and there are so many nice things to eat. It doesn’t help that I have about as much will power to resist such delights as a terrier does when it sniffs a rabbit.  Probably less.  

Our lunch stop was an hour later at  the Crooked Carrott https://crookedcarrot.com.au/ can read all about them rather than me mess it all up! 

We wandered around the gift shop and had I been in a position to purchase a lot of quirky household items you can be assured I would have done. Lack of space in the sturdy one, and also my desire to not buy shit I don’t need curtailed that brief moment of weakness.  Yay , go me.  

The cafe itself is a scan the QR code, order and pay from the menu and receive a text message when your order is ready type .  So that’s what we did. Having participated in donut eating , which I might add was slightly underwhelming not an hour previously I decided I’d go for what appeared to be a lighter option and hopefully smaller in size than what I could see on the surrounding tables; A granola and fresh fruit yoghurt pot with a chai late. 

While we waited for the food to arrive I had a look around the cafe area and outside. All manner of kids play equipment including a massive rope climbing wall. There were old railway carriages, old cars and gorgeous flowers. I loved the quirkiness of it, inside there were three cast iron baths that had had the front cut off, been painted pink, and turned into low sofa and Chaise lounges.

Obviously they needed to be tested out for comfort, and they weren’t too bad. I just loved the ingenuity of them. And the colour. 

There were some fantastic paintings on the walls and doors too,it was just a whole lot of fun. 

Our food came very quickly,  my granola and fruit came out in a  goddamn pint glass!!! When will I learn everything served is super sized. I was glad I didn’t have a main course. Ray's Chicken schnitzel and wedges was huge, a good reason he and Carey shared it. With full bellies we went back to the car to continue on our road trip.  

Next stop was Cowaramup. A place heavy on the cow theme! Freishan cows everywhere you looked. The whole place is full of artisan type shops, all handmade goodies. First stop was the Candy Cow, a handmade fudge shop where you leave diabetic if you aren’t careful.

They make all the fudge on site and you can watch them doing it through the glass. It’s a pick and mix type affair and they are all individually wrapped in bite sized packs.

There are every other type of sweet or ‘lollies’ you can imagine, but I restrained myself to 6 different varieties and a pack of giant love hearts. Oh they’re fizzy too like refreshers. I know this from past experiences with them. 

All stocked up with fudge we went next door to the coffee shop that sold locally produced jams, honey and biscuits etc, and also served lovely cakes and coffee, unfortunately we had no time for that! 

Just around the corner was what Carey described as the “witchy shop”. A shop full of crystals,essential oils, handmade soaps, lotions and what Si would call potions.  There was huge bundle of smudging sage that I really want was to get as it was half the price of the sage we have at home, however New Zealand  has really strict import rules about plants and food stuffs. The only way I’d be able to get it home would be to send it home via courier which would then make it really pricey safe. Bummer …. I could call back in on my eventual way home and get some… 

I did pick up some handmade soap which I’ll put in the sturdy rucksack to keep it smelling nice, and an amethyst crystal bracelet for Julie which were really pretty.  

With our shopping done we went to Karriview lodges and chalets , our accommodation for the night.  We unloaded the car and took everything into the Chalet, which was called Evelyn!!

It slept 4x one double bed and 2 singles.  The door glass was in red and green squares which made the light in the chalet really pretty. 

There is a little balcony with tables and chairs and a huge floor to ceiling window that looks out over the forest, just beautiful. 

We did have a little rest and a quick cup of tea before heading back out to watch the sunset over the ocean at Gnaragup. Enroute we stopped off at Kevill Road Waterfalls, a really pretty and peaceful place luckily there was still a lot of water there, this time last year it was all but dry. 

Driving from the waterfall towards Margaret River  for groceries for dinner, it was coming on towards dusk and the kangaroos were all congregating in the fields feeding. There must have been 100 all in all, just bouncing around, eating and living their best Kangaroo life.  I do love me a kangaroo. 

After a huge lunch, we decided snacks were all we needed for dinner,  so we got cheese jam, salami's crackers, olives and fruit to nibble on from the farmers Market. As we came out of the market, a lady pulled into the disabled parking spot next to us, screeched to a halt and,  in doing so, she almost took out Kay and Carey. Managing to get out of her way just in time they both got in the car a tad shaken.   When she finally got out of her car, (it took her a few attempts) mamma started laughing out loud and shouted out  “pull your pants up love” when we looked, sure enough, she was walking into the farmers market with a bit of a wobble on,  her trousers almost down around her knees and her ass hanging out for the world to see. She appeared completely oblivious to the fact which we all found highly amusing. Cos with a combined age of well over 200 years old we’re childish like that! 

The town was all very familiar and I was sucker punched with really strong memories of being in Margaret River with Si,walking up and down the long street filled with all the delightful crafty shops.  I especially remembered the fudge and chocolate shop, it's  like I have a nose for these places! Although Si didn't have a sweet tooth like me, he was quite partial to a bit of homemade fudge, especially that of the white chocolate variety.  I used to make him white chocolate,Cranberry and Bailey’s fudge at Christmas time which he’d keep in the fridge, then he’d have a chunk with a cup of coffee… and hide it upstairs when the kids came. 

Mamma spotted a geranium she liked the look of growing outside the supermarket. We’re coming back tomorrow to take some cuttings for her.  

With our dinner safely stowed in the boot,  we headed to Gnaragup with the intention of watching the sunset.

Unfortunately there were a lot of low hanging clouds which totally spoiled the sunset plan. Although the sun breaking through the clouds and shining over the ocean was stunning , it just wasn’t as spectacular in the colour department as expected and had hoped for due to the thick clouds on the horizon. Usually the cafe opens up for the sunsets but unfortunately it was closed on Monday. Could have had something to do with the cloud cover. We walked on the beach and I noted the shark sighting sign, last seen 5/12/2025 that’s not too long ago, so you’ll forgive me for not going in the water!  The beach is really sheltered and secluded with lots of reef to snorkel and it’s safe swimming for kids if you ignore the sharks. We ended up driving around the coast  which was beautiful, and again very very familiar. Been there, done it and cried over it.

We were back at the chalet by dusk and the sunset was really pretty from the balcony.

Just a shame we didn’t get to see the sun drop down into the ocean setting it alight. There will be other sunsets for me. 

The evening got a little more difficult, the sunset and Margaret River Memories were hard enough to deal with but the simple act of sitting around the table eating cheese meats and olives and playing cards was excruciating. All things Si and I  did together not just at home but also on our travels.  We played sevens til the early hours which was a lot of fun particularly when you’re as bad at it as I am! The last time I played sevens was with Si at mamma Kay’s with Carey Ray, and Joel on our last trip here. Why do the little seemingly insignificant things hit so hard? I think I must need my head looking at to be honest, how did I ever think this trip to Margaret River  would be a good idea? it’s ripping me apart, revisiting the places and acknowledging the memories that come along with them, closely followed by the physical pain of missing Simon. Add to that the guilt that I’m here and Si isn’t it’s making for a simply fabulous day today!  

Much Love

Mrs Leonard 

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