Travel_LeisureIndiaSouthAsia-January_2017

TRAVEL + LEISURE / JANUARY 2017 77

GETTING THERE

Indian nationals need a visa

to travel to Australia. You

can get a tourist visa in 30

days for stay up to 12

months. Air India, Qantas,

Cathay Pacific, Singapore

Airlines, Etihad, and Malaysia

Airlines have flights from

Delhi to Perth.

HOTELS

Cape Lodge This 22-room

hotel offers some of the

area’s most luxurious

lodging. Its rooms are

decorated in an earth-tone

palette and feature many

locally-made items, like

Vasse Virgin bath products.

Yallingup; doubles from

US$338; capelodge.com.au

Injidup Spa Retreat With

their white stone, light-wood

trim, and sisal rugs, the 10

villas clustered on a

magnificent bluff right on

the Indian Ocean

immediately encourage

relaxation. The beach below

is pristine, empty, and

seemingly endless. Yallingup;

villas from US$491;

injidupspa retreat.com.au

Smiths Beach Resort A

full-service beachfront

property perfect for families.

Many rooms resemble

stand-alone condos and are

clustered around an infinity

pool. It also has a tennis

court and an excellent

restaurant. Yallingup;

doubles from US$212;

smiths beach resort.com.au

RESTAURANTS

Miki’s Open Kitchen Take

a seat at the three-sided bar

and watch chef Mikihito

Nagai and his assistants whip

up mushroom tempura and

kingfish sashimi. Margaret

River; tasting menu US$46;

131 Bussell Hwy, Margaret

River; +61-8/9758-7673

Morries Try the charcuterie

board or the creatively

combined scallops and

venison at one of the best

restaurants in the area. It’s

open for lunch and dinner,

and the tapas menu is perfect

for anyone on the tasting

trail. Margaret River; entrées

US$22–US$26; morries.com.au

Riversmith A smartly

converted gas station run

by a mother-son duo serves

breakfast and lunch

and offers local jams,

jellies, and honey in the

back. Margaret River;

entrées US$7–US$21;

riversmith.com.au

Studio Bistro Set within a

lush garden in a clean-lined

modern building, this

restaurant has an eclectic

menu that includes dishes

like prawn dumplings and

fiery Malaysian duck curry.

Yallingup; entrées US$24–

US$32; thestudiobistro.com.au

WINERIES

Cape Mentelle Founded in

1970, this winery was one of

the region’s pioneers. The

property is now owned by

LVMH and is producing some

of the best Cabernet

Sauvignons in the area. Take

the hour-long, behind-the-

scenes tour. Margaret River;

capementelle.com.au

Leeuwin Estate A Margaret

River original tucked away

from the main roads. It’s

famous for its concert series,

held on the tree-ringed lawn,

and for its Art Series

Chardonnays, which are

getting better all the time.

leeuwin estate.com.au

Si Vintners The young

couple running this small-

production winery does a

range of varieties, from

Pinot Noir and Cabernet to

Chardonnay and Semillon.

Rosa Glen; sivintners.com

Vasse Felix A beautiful,

full-service winery with

lovely garden-studded

grounds and a tasting room

covered in stone and wood.

An all-day ‘Cape to Vine’ tour

is US$375. Margaret River;

vassefelix.com.au

The Details

Leeuwin-Naturaliste

National Park offers

a landscape of

granite cliffs,

scrubby forests,

and golden sands.

Margaret River’s off -the-beaten-path charm.

But that vibe could change when a US$46 million

airport expansion wraps up in Busselton, a city

on the edge of Margaret River, in 2018. Some

locals feel that an infl ux of visitors will change

the area’s quiet, quirky character.

For now, though, Margaret River is still a

peaceable kingdom—one with an outdoorsy,

Australian edge. On my last night at Injidup,

Maclaren hosted a barbecue for me. The guests

included Berliner as well as Brad and Jodee

Adams, the founders of Ocean Grown Abalone.

When the couple aren’t at the beach, they’re

eco-farming the mollusk on artifi cial reefs set

at the bottom of Flinders Bay, some 45 miles

away. Maclaren put some of their fresh abalone

on the grill, and we chatted on the wooden

deck outside my villa. As the sun set in an orange

blaze and the night air turned cool, Berliner

uncorked his Chardonnay. I had never travelled

this far from home, but I was already thinking

about how soon I could get myself back.

There are more than

150 caves in the

Margaret River region.

Mammoth Cave, just

15 minutes outside the

main town, has

yielded fossils more

than 50,000 years old.

ANCIENT

TREASURES

ANDREW WATSON/GETTY IMAGES; ILLUSTRATION BY HOLLY WALES

TRAVEL + LEISURE / JANUARY 2017 79