Where To Eat, Drink, Swim and Sleep on a Luxe Margaret River Road Trip

It’s reckless to get drunk in an art gallery. I know this. I could spill pinot on a painting worth more than a lifetime’s rent. Or knock over a plinth and go from art lover to art hazard. Yet here I am, three wines deep, exploring the 150-strong Australian art collection beneath Leeuwin Estate, one of the country’s best wineries.

The family-run estate has been growing grapes since 1973. But it takes its art (and food) just as seriously. Leeuwin commissions Australian artists for its Art Series bottles, and in the basement gallery I spot works by John Olsen, Arthur Boyd, Sir Sidney Nolan and Margaret Baragurra. I can relate to Olsen’s watercolours of green tree frogs, which look like they’re happily swimming in Riesling.

Leeuwin is my first stop on a winding road trip through Margaret River, or “Margs” if you’re trying to fit in like local. Which I am. I’ve rented a 4WD with Turo in Perth for the four-hour journey south, passing the 1.8-kilometre-long Busselton Jetty and corridors of towering karri trees en route. (No one overtakes me, which basically makes me a local.)

Unlike its ancient forests, Margaret River’s winemaking history is young. In the 1960s Dr John Gladstones flagged its Bordeaux-like climate and gravelly soils for vineyards. Pioneering estates like Vasse Felix, Cullen Wines, Leeuwin Estate and Sandalford Wines helped put the region on the world vino map. Today, it boasts more than 200 wineries, draws 1.5 million visitors each year and produces 25 per cent of Australia’s premium wine exports.

But Margaret River isn’t just about wine. It’s a place to switch off among majestic caves, walking trails, crystal-clear rock pools and farm-to-table dining experiences. It sits on the land of the Wadandi Noongar people, who have cared for it for more than 45,000 years.

After browsing the gallery at Leeuwin, I head upstairs for a six-course lunch. On a verandah overlooking the manicured grounds and forest, I eat food that wouldn’t be out of place in the Art Series. Thick modernist slabs of sourdough arrive first, followed by elegant Shark Bay scallop crudo wrapped in pickled kohlrabi. Dessert is a sculptural Zen garden of chocolate, soy caramel and hazelnut ice-cream, which I recklessly rake apart with my fork.

Later, I check into the Pullman Bunker Bay Resort, where it’s an easy “yes” to the welcome glass of champagne. Overlooking one of WA’s few north-facing beaches, the five-star stay is flanked by the Indian Ocean and Cape Naturaliste bushland. But leaving the room might be hard. My studio villa has a king bed, a deep tub for post-adventure soaks, a private terrace, a kitchenette and jarrah floors. Beyond the 150 opulent rooms, the resort also offers tennis, a gym and a luxury day spa.

Days fall into an easy rhythm here. One drizzly morning, I wake to the gentle whoosh of waves crashing in Bunker Bay. I pad barefoot down the gravel path that snakes through the resort and hit a smooth timber boardwalk. Swallows dance and flit across a still lake, greeting the day like a changing of the guard. I reach the soft sand of the bay, where I’m the only person in sight. I spot a pod of dolphins dancing and jumping offshore. Walking alongside the water, sunlight on my face, I feel all the tension drain from my body.

When I’m not at the beach, I’m by the infinity pool or at the breakfast buffet – a feast of pastries, bacon, granola, fresh juice and barista-made coffee. At night, the Other Side of the Moon restaurant serves Mediterranean-leaning dishes. Meanwhile, back in my room, the handy kitchenette sits neglected.

It’s a challenge to leave the resort. But I join a Cape to Cape Explorer Tour with local guide Colin “Foxy” Fox. As we set off from Smiths Beach – just one stop along the iconic 130-kilometre Cape to Cape hiking trail – Foxy explains the coastline is a “whale superhighway”. Each year, some 35,000 humpbacks migrate along it in search of food. We follow a rocky track surrounded by dense shrub, sand dunes and sandstone slopes, looking for the perfect vista.

There’s just as much to see on the way. I pass giant patches of coastal rosemary and purple pigface wildflowers, just some of the 8500 plant species in the south-west. Soon, we reach a limestone cliff with a V-shaped passage, like a window overlooking the Indian Ocean. I balance myself on the giant rock separating the rugged corridor; the wind whips my hair and salt spray covers my face. There are no whales today. But back on the trail, we spot a friendly-faced dugite. “It’s the third-most venomous snake in Australia,” Foxy shrugs. “Nothing to worry about.”

Soon we arrive at The Aquarium, a rock pool with water so clear it looks like glass. Protected from the swell, it’s a calm spot to whip out the snorkel. Diving into this still paradise would feel like an insult to Mother Nature, so I slide carefully off the seaweed-covered rocks and dip underwater, where schools of tropical fish dart about. In a far corner, a western rock lobster wedges itself into the granite. With no one else around, the pool feels like a secret. A pocket of turquoise paradise on one of Western Australia’s most rugged coastlines. Not even the finest wine could make it better.

Getting there
It’s a four-hour drive from Perth to Margaret River. For a day trip, Leeuwin Estate has a private landing strip that accommodates charter and private planes. Some interstate travellers can also fly directly into Busselton Airport.

Getting around
Margaret River stretches across 130 kilometres of Wadandi Noongar country, from Busselton down to Augusta. To make the most of the region, you’ll need a car. Turo is a car rental marketplace that lets you hire a car from $38 a day, from a basic sedan to a luxury Mustang or Audi.

The writer travelled as a guest of Turo.

This story is part of Broadsheet’s special Aussie Travel Issue, presented by Up, exploring uncommon escapes and remarkable stays close to home.