Perth Hills – Travels with Ali

~ Postcard from Perth ~ November 2023

This last week has been another busy one for me, beginning with entertaining guests from the UK. I have been chatting a while now with Little Miss Traveller (aka Marion from Love Travelling Blog) and when she emailed and said she would be visiting Perth with her son Mark I immediately invited her to stay. They had a few days in the City before joining us for their last few days. We hit it off immediately and Anthony and I showed them around different parts of Perth.

Perth was in the grip of a heatwave and the temperatures were late thirties, but we still ventured to Kings Park the next day. We enjoyed a good walk around the park but I had to concede in the end and sit in a cafe while Marion and Mark carried on for a while.

We then drove into Claremont my local town to have lunch and a look around before heading back for a rest (for me anyway!). That night we had dinner in Fremantle at a beachside restaurant.

On Sunday we drove to the Perth Hills to one of our favourite wineries, Plume. We always receive a lovely welcome here and the service is outstanding as are the views.

I had told the lovely owner that I would be bringing guests and she arranged a wonderful table for us overlooking the valley and vineyards. We enjoyed a delicious charcuterie board and a dish called Flammekueche a German style pizza.

We stopped off on the way home to take some of the views of the Perth Hills and the Perth Skyline in the distance.

Over the next two days Marion and Mark took themselves off and explored other parts of Perth, which I’m sure Marion will be posting soon.

On Marion and Mark’s last night we had an early dinner overlooking City Beach to watch the sunset. It was one of my favourite restaurant/pubs Clancy’s Fish Pub. Unfortunately for Anthony in my haste to take a photo of the sunset I knocked over a whole pint of beer into his lap and over his dinner! Luckily the manager replaced these free of charge, but poor Anthony had to sit through dinner very wet indeed. He was extremely gracious about it.

It was a pleasure to meet Marion and her son Mark and we did compare other bloggers who we follow and found we had quite a few in common. So many of you will recognise Marion. Meeting someone in person, especially when you have been communicating a while can be daunting, but we certainly had no worries on that score and got on like a house on fire.

Sunday Drives – Masonmill Cafe and Beer Garden {Carmel, Western Australia}

Sunday seems to roll around far too quickly as the weeks just fly by. As usual Anthony suggested a drive out to the hills, his job to drive and mine to find somewhere. There’s not many wineries we haven’t tried and a few of them are now just cellar doors with no restaurants or have just closed completely. So on opening up google maps I spotted Masonmill Cafe. It said it was reopening on Sunday 5 November and I managed to book a table for 4. We had definitely not visited here before.

The drive is around 40 minutes from where we live, it’s a beautiful drive as well. As we approached I couldn’t believe how massive this place was, covering ten acres and already from the car I could see fantastic landscaped gardens.

We walked up to the restaurant only to find out that I had booked the cafe instead! Who knew there was a difference? Disappointingly there were no spare tables so we trekked back down again to the cafe. On hindsight this was the better option as we heard there were 90 minute delays for food. Although the cafe was not without problems too, as the owners had changed the food and wine menu, leaving staff confused!

After lunch we had a walk around the gardens. We couldn’t believe the many different types of roses on display and other flowers, tantalising the air with their floral perfume. The waitress in the cafe made us laugh as she spotted a lady with a bag and secateurs cutting herself a few blooms to take home – the cheek!

This place is ideal for a wedding, the bride wouldn’t even need a bouquet, just stand behind a rose bush or the abundant flowering jasmine.

There were many places to just sit and relax and enjoy a picnic, which is something you can order also instead of eating in the restaurant or cafe.

Tree canopied walkways and rose lined paths, a wonderful way to while away a Sunday afternoon.

**Cheeky mosaic mural on the wall of one of the courtyards**

We had a glorious afternoon here and I think we will go back and try the restaurant next time.

Have a great week and don’t forget to wake up and smell the roses!

Linking to
Weekend Coffee Share/PPAC
Pull Up a Seat

~ Postcard from Perth ~ 28 October 2023

The last week here in Perth has been pretty busy for me and last weekend I was out and about in the hills of Perth. On Saturday I went on an art trail with a friend. In the hills and surrounding areas there are many small galleries, featuring all kinds of crafts, artwork and sculptures. There was an open day so we took the chance to have a glimpse at the work. It was also a great way to see some of the countryside. The weather has been fantastic, but I haven’t put away all my winter gear just yet as it is still very cool in the evenings.

Some of the artwork in the gardens

We saw some beautiful houses, all very different, I couldn’t live up there though with the danger of bush fires throughout the summer.

On Sunday we had our winery date and once again drove out into the countryside, this time to the Wheatbelt region. About an hour and 15 minutes drive from our house. I had booked lunch at Stringy Bark Winery. In the middle of the state forest (luckily we didn’t get lost this time actually in the forest itself as we did the week before!).

It doesn’t look much more than a shack but nice and cosy inside and a good menu too.

**Chicken liver pate with cranberry relish**

This was absolutely delicious which I had with a glass ..or two.. of their Verdehlo.

**A bottle of their Cabernet Savignon to take home**

🟫 🟫 🟫 🟫 🟫 🟫 🟫 🟫 🟫 🟫 🟫 🟫

Monday I drove over to Elena’s and had lunch with her and Rosie in a cafe on the river. I saw some amazing murals on the toilet block. Better than having them look like a concrete grey block. My feature photo is looking across the river.

Beautiful mosaic decorated box

The parks and reserves on the river banks in Perth are great places to visit. There are always bbq facilities, picnic areas and of course intricately designed playgrounds for kids. There are also purpose built playground equipment for wheelchairs. A day out doesn’t have to be expensive, who doesn’t love a picnic.

Linking to Pull up a Seat and Weekend Coffee Share/PPAC

Vineyards and Valleys on a Sunday afternoon

The Packing Shed, Bickley, WA

We often visit a winery on a Sunday afternoon and today was no exception. We’ve not tried this one before and were not disappointed. Set in the rolling hills of Bickley and just a 35 minute drive from Perth, you could imagine that you were in the deep countryside. There are so many wineries dotted throughout these hills, many with restaurants and cafes.

Bickley Valley Wine Trail

This winery has a restaurant attached, where they offer breakfast and lunch. Today we chose a delicious chilli and lime bruschetta and pork belly with sweet potato chips which was just enough for the two of us to share and paired with the classic white for me and a Pinot Noir for hubby. Hubby enjoyed the red so much he took a bottle home.

After lunch we had a walk around this beautiful vineyard and took a few snaps. There are trees and hills as far as the eye can see, it’s so relaxing to spend a few hours here.

*A very modern dining area in the old packing shed*

Old rustic rusty farm machinery
Cute toilets!

On our drive back I asked Anthony to stop so I could take a photo of the road behind us, as I stepped out of the car I saw two kangaroos hopping through the bush. I couldn’t believe it when one stopped and looked at me and actually waited while I adjusted my camera to take a photo of him!