Last Friday I took the day off from crazy advertising life and headed on a road trip with three of my favourite Perth girls to Margaret River.

The gorgeous Margaret River region is located three hours south of Perth and stretches for a stunning 1,000km along WA’s South West coastline. It has been a traditional family holiday location for years, and it’s easy to see why… The region has all the ingredients to make it the perfect escape; fine wines, delicious dining and perfect waves. What’s not to love?!

Carla, Jo and Sam had all been lucky enough to visit the region (many) times before, but I’d only visited once briefly during a trip with my family – so I was ridiculously excited to explore with three of the loveliest friends a girl could have. Oh, and it was also a trip we booked to celebrate my birthday (which I celebrate this weekend, eek!!) – so as you can imagine, there was a lot of excitable dancing on the journey ‘Daaan Sauth’ (said in my best/worst Aussie accent).

We visited from Friday to Sunday and ended up packing in so much adventure, I couldn’t possibly do the trip justice with one blog post. I therefore decided to divide the trip up into three blogs, one for each day – oh, and a cheeky post about Margaret River’s newest cafe, produce and lifestyle store, Riversmith – which we discovered on the Friday (and enjoyed on the Saturday).

So let’s get this first post started…

After a three hour journey from Perth, our first stop was the picturesque little town of Cowaramup – or as the locals call it, ‘Cowtown’. It’s easy to see why – this quaint little town, nestled just ten minutes away from Margaret River, is home to 42 life-sized fibreglass Friesian cows and calves that ‘wander’ the town pavements, recreational areas and shop fronts. I know – completely bizarre, yet ‘udderly’ fantastic. To top it all off, most of the cows were dressed up as Christmas elves! Gold.

If that’s not enough amusement, there’s the prominent ‘Roast on a Post’ (a cheeky reference to Laurance Winery’s famous ‘Chick on a Stick’) which stands proudly in the centre of the town. We stopped at the Cowaramup Bakery for some pasties and treats, before skipping over the road to treat our tastebuds to some fudge at Candy Cow – Salted Caramel, Watermelon and Cookies & Cream fudges were firm faves with us girls and we left giddy with pink packages tucked into our bags.

After checking into our cute apartment at Margaret’s Forest, we jumped into the car and headed over to savour the delights of The Berry Farm, which may just be one of my favourite places on earth. We enjoyed cream teas from the Cottage Café and dined amongst nature in the pretty rose gardens, making friends with the cheeky honeyeater and delicate blue wren birdies. The homemade scones and berry jams were all made on site, and the seasonal menu boasted mouth-watering, fresh, local produce. Once our tummies were full and the birdies had finished the last of the jam and cream, we pottered over to enjoy fruit wine, cider, port and liqueur tasting at the Cellar Door. The nutty liqueurs and $5 bags of avocados proved to be a hit with us – well that’s kinda healthy, right?!

After a quick dress change and slick of lippy at the apartment, we took a nice stroll around the cute Margaret River shops which adorn the main street and even checked out some of Kyle Hughes Odgers’ handiwork, before heading to dinner at Morries – a chic restaurant with an ever-so-industrial vibe about it. The food was on-point, cocktails cheeky and red wine delicious. I opted for the local black angus porterhouse steak, potato and thyme terrine with charred brocolini and feta salad… Just LOOK at that steak pic below – it was absolute perfection. YUM. The service was also great – and the final bill a pleasant surprise. I’m looking forward to heading back there on my next trip!

After dinner and drinks, we rolled down to Swings Taphouse and Kitchen for a few hours of champagne and live music before kissing goodnight to the evening.

I’d say that was a bloody good start to a long weekend in Margaret River, wouldn’t you?

Stay tuned for Margaret River Memoirs Pt. 2 coming soon…

PHOTOGRAPHED BY: KATIE REBEKAH