A Harmonious Holiday
I apologise. It’s been a little while since my last post. That’s because I’ve been on a truly awesome holiday where I did very little. It was glorious for the most part and my very favourite part was the first week.
My family and I are fortunate enough to live a few hours north of the very beautiful Margaret River region. We drove down for the first week and stayed at a wonderful location. It’s the location which I’ll spruik for the remainder of this piece.
We stayed at the Harmony Forrest Margaret River Cottages (1). They are located just south of Witchcliffe, which is fifteen kilometres south of the Margaret River town itself. The cottages themselves are in the middle of a karri forest.
Many locations harp on about being ‘off the beaten track’. Their advertising waxes and wanes about getting in touch with nature and or away from the bustle of city life. I’d like to stress at this point that the Harmony Forest cottages themselves are literally in the middle of a karri forest.
Not some recently planted grove. Not a man-made construct. Nothing manicured. Each cottage is enclosed by forest accessible only by a gravel track. Each of the eight cottages is separated by a couple of hundred metres of dense forest. The dirt track running around all eight cottages is a little over a kilometre long.
When you look out of the window of your private spa, the forest is about five metres away. If you are quiet when you are outside you will see a number of tiny local birds fluttering about. The residents guide advises that if you leave fruit out after dark local possums will visit. I can confirm this is the case.
There are a number of trails cutting through the area. When I went for a run, I saw kangaroo’s metres away from me. Sometimes they hopped away from me, once they hopped along in front of me on the track. Rabbits bounded out from one side of the track to the other in front of me.
You can just manage to get some mobile reception in the forest itself. I can’t imagine why you would want to use your mobile phone except for perhaps the odd call. There is so much else to see. There is so much that is wonderfully peaceful about the place.
When you do leave the forest to explore the Margaret River area you find that the forest itself is quite perfectly situated. It’s close to the well credentialed vineyards of the region such as Voyager, Leeuwin and Cape Mentelle.
If wine isn’t your thing the caves are close by and the Augusta lighthouse isn’t far to the south. Margaret River itself is of course close by to the north. You are near to everything that the region is famous for.
Lastly, the cottages themselves are a great place for kids. There is a generous naturally grassed area around each cottage. Furthermore there is the forest itself to explore. I cannot recommend the place highly enough. So if you find yourself travelling in that part of the world check out for just a short time by in to the Harmony Forrest Margaret River Cottages.
http://www.harmonyforest.com.au/