It was a long weekend here and we spent it down at Margaret River. I’d better explain where and what Margaret River is… It’s located 290 km south of Perth and it used to be a sleepy dairy farm area with a great reputation for surfing. Now it’s full of excellent wineries, talented craftsmen and gourmet food. But it’s always had an ‘alternative’ side to the area, so it was with great interest that I headed down there again after 20 years to see if I could find an organic and healthy side.
And was I very pleasantly surprised! We started our search on Saturday morning at the local monthly Farmers Market. It was a great start – there was an organic fruit & veg shop, raw honey, Free range eggs, an organic dairy and cheese maker, a sheep cheese maker, natural soap and sun-dried fruit… From there we went on discover organic wine, organic cold-pressed olive oil and a maker of natural soaps and body products… It’s really very exciting… And we bought lots of fantastic things…
The products are so great I just have to share them with you (in no particular order):
- The Yallingup Cheese Company (www.yallingupcheese.com.au) – local handcrafted cheese from local dairies
- The Natural Olive Oil Soap Company (www.oliveoilsoapfactory.com.au) – fantastic soap and body products made from cold pressed extra virgin olive oil
- Olio Bello (www.oliobello.com) – 4 types of delicious organic cold pressed olive oil
- Margaret River Free Range Eggs (www.margaretrivereggs.com.au) – happy girls
- Margaret River Venison (www.mrvenison.com) – tasty grass fed deer
- Settlers Ridge (www.settlersridge.com.au) – excellent organic wine, the first internationally recognised in Australia
- Solar Fruit (www.solarfruit.com) – lovely natural sun-dried fruit
- Cambray Sheep Cheese (www.cambraysheepcheese.com.au) – handmade artisan cheese
- Elixir Raw Honey (www.elixirrawhoney.com.au) – amazing gravity filtered seasonal honey
So we’ve come back to Perth with lots of delicious olive oil and fantastic healthy body products, plus a locally made pottery honey pot and jarrah drizzler – so Mike’s looking forward to breakfast tomorrow…
Life is good…