Western Australia is the next great food lover’s destination.
Its still a terribly long flight from Australia to London, or most any other place.
But what of the majesty of distance?
One of Upland Farm’s cabins in the morning mist.Credit:Kevin West
My head rushed, not so much from jet lag as jet wonder.
A majestic distance: any farther and wed be on our way home again.
Some 3 billion years ago, he explained, the granite on which we stood was the proto-continent Gondwana.
From left: The porch of Mill House Collective, a store in Pemberton; swimmers at Denmark’s Green Pools beach.Kevin West
My head swam to contemplate this glimpse into the deep past another majestic distance.
The South West Edge is not an obvious itinerary for first-timers to Oz.
In Bremer Bay, I happened to cross paths with a top executive from the Australian tourism industry.
From left: Lucky Bay, in Western Australia’s Cape Le Grand National Park; backroads in the Margaret River region.Kevin West
She and her husband were driving the exact route I was following.
Finding them there was like uncovering a secret: the South West Edge is Australia for connoisseurs.
To my American eye, the Margaret River looked like two familiar wine regions rolled into one.
From left: Chef Ben Jacob at his restaurant, Lagoon Yallingup; an amuse-bouche of crudo at Lagoon Yallingup.Kevin West
At first glance it resembled Napa: a scenic enclave of fine-dining restaurants and powerhouse vineyards.
The spare-no-expense standard was set along Caves Road, the main north-south route.
The second face of the Margaret River looked more like Sonoma offbeat, quirky, a bit wayward.
From left: Inside a rental cabin at Upland Farm, in the town of Denmark; a rental cabin at Upland Farm.Kevin West
Im more of a chicken farmer.
Be that as it may, Vinciullos delicious natural wines have been profiled in theNew York Times.
At the start we couldnt sell a single bottle of wine in Western Australia, Morris said.
From left: The lighthouse at Cape Leeuwin; the Valley of the Giants treetop walk.Kevin West
It was a dare, Jakimowicz said, laughing.
Its one of the iconic spots, said Jacob, who doesnt even surf.
The view never gets old.
From left: Ben Ing and Kristy Merchant at Alberta’s, a culinary space in Busselton; the chilli-crab omelette from Lagoon Yallingup’s breakfast kiosk.Kevin West
Breakfast is at a walk-up kiosk outside.
I carried it to a bench with a view, where an envious seagull watched me eat.
The first bite was perfect in the way that few things are after a certain point in life.
From left: A salmon dish at Liberté, a French-Vietnamese bistro in Albany; rhubarb-rose semifreddo with mascarpone gelato at Glenarty Road, a restaurant and tasting room in Karridale.Kevin West
The food, the setting, the weather there was nothing else to wish for.
The guide on duty that day was a storm-weathered veteran named Bruce Murphy.
The first was a lighthouse keeper who cant quit the place.
From left: Andrea Brick at the base of the Gloucester Tree’s 153-rung ladder; Denise Louise Hargreaves, a volunteer at the Esperance visitors’ center.Kevin West
You smell old man and tobacco, with no rhyme or reason, he said.
Every door opened and closed at the same time, the guide said.
He left a believer.
From left: Winemaker Sam Vinciullo in the town of Margaret River; a farm vehicle at Brave New Wine, in the Great Southern Wine region.Kevin West
The road southeast toward Albany ran through sheep-grazed paddocks and old-growth forests.
The Gloucester Tree stands as a libertarian test of bravery, and I knew it was not for me.
Then Brick told me about her ascent.
Storm clouds gather over Bremer Bay.Kevin West
As I looked down into the tingle trees, vertigo made me understand the aptness of their name.
Lumber shipped out from Busselton jetty built the Indian railway system and the London Underground.
As logging declined, wine cultivation spread.
From left: Naturalist Hamish Gibson leads a hike on the Cape-to-Cape Track in Yallingup; a surf lesson in Lucky Bay, part of Cape Le Grand National Park.Kevin West
When I told them Id been in the Margaret River region, they exchanged looks.
I wanted the smallest town I could possibly find, she said.
The fact that there is nothing here is the reason to come.
From left: Galahs in the trees between Bremer Bay and Esperance; orcas off Bremer Bay.Kevin West
You come for the silence.
Today, it is the largest in the whole country.
At Brave New Wine, I found wife-and-husband winemakers Yoko Luscher-Mostert and Andries Mostert among the fermentation tanks.
From left: Swamp bottlebrush growing near Cape Naturaliste; sheep graze under the gum trees in the Margaret River region.Kevin West
The hipster winemakers are anything but reverent.
(Tasting notes for Nat Daddy, a cuvee: Absolutely gagging to be smashed.)
Both said they love the Great Southern because it represents freedom from stress and convention.
From left: Twilight Beach Road, east of Esperance; kiteboarders on Fourth Beach, outside Esperance.Kevin West
Perth is the most remote city in the world, Luscher-Mostert explained.
Margaret River is where people from Perth escape to.
Denmark is where people from Margaret River escape to.
From left: Surfers on the beach in Yallingup; the lighthouse at Cape Naturaliste.Kevin West
And Bremer Bay is where people from Denmark escape to.
Afterward I strolled up York Street, to the Kurrah Mia gallery of Indigenous art.
I hadnt and, who was he?
Were so proud of him, Gillies said.
Its source, for 178 years, was commercial whaling.
My mind swimming, I drove on to Bremer Bay to look for them.
Its called the Patch, and its a bit of open water 19 nautical miles off Bremer Bay.
This unique population never leaves the coastal zone from Cape Leeuwin to Esperance.
The Patch also draws prey species such as baleen whales, and the action can be dramatic.
Hunts are exciting, Sharp said, but a bad day for the creature on the other end.
You could have taken a stroll on its 50-foot flank.
Sharp knew them by name.
The pod was led by matriarch Queenie, the grand-orca who kept her daughters and granddaughters close.
Another family appeared, as well as several stray males about 30 creatures in all.
Sharps hushed but taut narration played out in real time, like an announcer calling a tennis game.
Her ability to read the oceans surface turned our glimpses into a complex, multigenerational drama.
The landscape became dry and flat on the way to Esperance, the farthest point on my itinerary.
Grain exports are shipped out of Esperance, a major commercial port.
Hargreaves sent me to catch the sunset on Great Ocean Drive, west of town.
The views were ripping.
My last day was a sprint back toward the Swan Valley, just outside Perth.
They were teaching us a lesson we wouldnt forget, Tilbrook said, adding dryly, and we havent.
I asked Tilbrook if the Acknowledgement of Country had meaning for her, or if it sounded hollow.
Reconciliation requires truth, she said.
Truth is the difference between calling something a battle and calling it a massacre.
Truth also reveals the contradictions of our present day.
She sipped from her cup and let out an unabashed laugh.
A car is essential to explore the South West Edge.
Roads are excellent, but the abundance of wildlife makes driving between dusk and dawn risky.
Perth
Perths creative enclave is Fremantle Freo to locals.
AlbanysLibertepresents Parisian decor, natural wines, and garlic-chilli-crab noodles.
The beautiful small-batch wines atLa Violettafeel almost intellectual, whileBrave New Winespecializes in easy-to-love party juice.