Mazes, art and wine

The roads of Western Australia

Margaret River has a giant hedge maze, so of course we had to check it out. The boys loved the idea of walking through a life-size maze, especially when they were allowed to lead the way.

The cedar hedges are about 3 to 4 metres high and smell wonderful. It took us about 30 minutes to get to the centre of the maze and then out through the exit. We explored another three smaller mazes and then led the boys to a little play structure, while we sat in the shade of a wide, fragrant tree.

Running around the mazes — Margaret River, Western Australia
Running around the mazes — Margaret River, Western Australia

Later, we stopped at Brookland Valley Vineyard and had a chance to walk around its beautiful grounds filled with flowers, plants, trees, slender walking bridges, and a small lake filled with ducks and black swans. Rowan lay down on his back under the shade of a leafy willow tree, gazing up through its leafy branches at the sun dappled sky, smiling.

“I could stay here forever.”
— Rowan

We found a small pond beside the tasting room and tossed small pebbles into the water as kookaburras squawked at us from an overhanging tree. Rowan picked up two, round, dark brown “rocks”, and asked me what they were. I said they might be rabbit poo.

Instead of getting grossed out, he said, “I wonder if they will float?” Then he proceeded to throw them in the pond. “Mamma,” he shouted with glee, “rabbit poo floats!”

After lunch, we headed north to Yallingup, where we found yet another play structure, this time right by the beach. After another half hour or so of park time, we took the boys to two art galleries, featuring artwork by Vayu, Ian Dickinson, and Marcia Hadlow.

say when... vayu
say when… vayu

Kevin and I loved the quirky and simple canvases by Vayu, but Rowan was more impressed with Dickinson’s sea and city scapes. He also liked the reflective qualities in Hadlow’s small, still life paintings.

“I would like to paint and be an artist when I’m older and get better at colouring inside the lines. I would like to make paintings, frame them and keep some for our house and sell some too. I’m going to make small ones for a year plus a month and then I will start to get better and make bigger ones for a year.”
— Rowan

For lunch we went to Eagle Bay Brewery and had a fantastic time on their enormous patio overlooking the gently rolling hills of the estate. Afterward, we took a quick trip to see the lighthouse on Cape Naturaliste, then went on to Busselton and its 2km long jetty, before heading back to Perth, tired, but happy to be “home”.

Walking along Busselton jetty — Western Australia
Walking along Busselton jetty — Western Australia

2 Responses to “Mazes, art and wine”

  1. Your comment drew me back to Perth this afternoon, Eva! Thank you. On such a cool and cloudy day in Toronto, it’s nice to think back on hot sunshine and leisurely vacation days… Hard to believe it was just a few short weeks ago!

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