A day out with Ed at Swan Valley

My bro Ed came to visit recently. On a day where he didn't have any plans with his friends, i decided to bring him to Swan Valley. It was supposed to rain occasionally on that particular day but we took our chance. And oh boy, it turned out to be a gorgeous day. My pictures will tell! :) 


So we started off almost close to noon, after i did some household chores while allowing Ed to digest his breakfast. It is my first time driving to Swan Valley so i wasn't very sure of the roads. We actually made a wrong turn and ended up at Sandalford Winery , which is perfect! 


Sandalford is one of the biggest winery estate in Swan Valley. Their estate is huge enough to hold concerts throughout the year. We didn't get to join the wine tour this time but managed to hang around the grounds and took some pcitures. 

 Sandalford Wines

 Special bins for you smokers out there 

 Table grapes planted way back in 1890!

 Shading myself from the sun under a huge tree while Ed was busy taking pictures of the vines

 Endless rows of vines

 Part of the estate where concerts are sometimes being held 

 Check out the clouds and the reflection. Stunning eh ? 

 Shadow of Ed and I..

 Group of birds lazing around but fly away immediately when they hear foot steps

Our next stop was to get some chocolates at the Margaret River Chocolate Factory. They provide free tasting of their chocolate nibbles in Dark Chocolate, Milk Chocolate and White Chocolate. All you gotta do is scoop away with the tiny spoon provided. 

 Array of truffles available for the sweet tooth 

Then, it was time for lunch. We stop by at Mallard Duck Cafe, a cosy little cafe. We shared a Valley Platter. On a beautiful day like this, couldn't resist a glass of Rose Wine. Absolutely refreshing! 

My glass of Rose Wine ... just the right amount of sweetness

Our Valley Platter - Salt & Pepper Calamari, King prawns with mayo, marinated olives, warm cacciatore sausages, roast duck shanks, lamb koftas, bread of the day with chef's dip... yummy!

After lunch, we walked around the outdoor area of the cafe before heading off to our next destination. 

 Lemon trees... can u spot the lemons ? 

 Llama , lamb and little ducks chilling out 

Some of you might wonder, is our lunch enough for two ? Well, we didn't wanna over eat because we had to save space for dessert..... home-made ice cream!!!

Oggies Ice Cream 

Oggies serves the best ice cream in Swan Valley. You have plenty of flavours to choose from and the guy is very generous with his scoop of ice cream. One scoop is enough to leave you bloated till dinner. I opted for the bailey's coffee flavour while Ed opted for Mint with Chocolate Chips.

 Truly satisfied with our flavours!

Last two years, when i joined the Pink Bus Tour of Swan Valley, we stopped by a brewery. Although the experience didn't turn out quite well at the brewery, the huge gigantic tree left an impression on me. Had to bring Ed over because i don't think anyone has seen quite a tree like that!

Different angle views of what i call the "Mighty Gigantic Confused Tree" 

Lancaster is a must visit. Why ? Simple because they provide free wine tasting and cheese! Their red wine are a bit dry but Kevin & I love the Late Pick Chenin dessert wine. It is absolutely heavenly. 

 Muscats surrounding their sign board 

Daily offers are scribbled on chalk boards

 Ed chilling with his glass of wine.. does he look stoned ? hmm.... 

 View of the tasting shed and the beautiful sky

By then, it was almost 4pm and time for us to head home before the jam starts. Couldn't resist taking a slight detour and visited Mondo Nougat. Have always heard of Mondo but never been nor tried their nougats. Felt a little disappointed as the staff there were very cold. After tasting their nougat, i prefer Golden Boronia, anytime! Well, that's my personal preference :) 

 Entrance to Nougat world  

Can't resist taking a picture with this cute little car and the cherry blossom painted walls 

So, that was our day at Swan Valley. Yes, we did get stuck in a bit of traffic. Ed was busy "fishing" the whole journey back.  The outing was priceless because i don't remember when was the last time my bro and I actually hung out. I was so thankful that the rain decided to stay away and made our day out a perfect one!