Escape to Dunsborough

Work is absolutely manic at the moment, so a last-minute decision to spend the weekend down south for the first time since Christmas was just what the doctor ordered. Getting out of the city for a few days to catch up with a handful of lovely people has made me feel brand new! As usual, the only downside was getting there: Jess had finished lectures for the week and driven down on Wednesday, but I had to work until Friday lunchtime and follow her down on the dreaded Friday night bus. Four hours of hell turned into five and a half due to traffic, car accidents and an angry drunk passenger trying to start a fight with the driver and getting kicked off (nothing out of the ordinary for public transport), meaning I got into Dunsborough at 9:30pm feeling exhausted. I was very happy to see Jess waiting for me and we had a quiet drink at home with her parents before turning in for an early night.

I'm glad I woke up on Saturday morning feeling refreshed, because it turned out to be a long day of indulgence, particularly in the alcohol department. Jess and I drove into town in the morning for a coffee and a mong around the shops before it was time to get dressed up for lunch. Terry and Maggs very kindly took us, Candice and Jess' boyfriend Pete to Swings and Roundabouts, a new restaurant in the very beautiful Margaret River wine region. The atmosphere was great, the food was absolutely delicious and the six of us gorged ourselves on sharing plates of delights such as crispy skin barramundi, seafood bouillabaisse, lamb rump, duck liver parfait and rosemary roasties. Naturally, this was all washed down with several carafes of Margaret River merlot. After a dessert of stone fruit crumble accompanied by a glass of cane cut sweet white (my new favourite), we staggered back to the car and immediately fell into a food coma on the drive home. The weather was cooling down in the afternoon, so we weren't sure what to do, but Pete made the decision easy when he said he wanted to go for a surf at Bunker Bay, situated conveniently close to the Pullman Resort, which is renowned for its cocktails. The outcome of this was Pete becoming designated driver and leaving Candice, Jess and I to sample the cocktail menu when he went in the water. By the time he came out, we were very comfortable and slightly merry, sprawled out on sofas overlooking the ocean, sipping mojitos and people watching a rather bogan wedding party. Tattoos and tacky dresses galore!

Cocktails!

Feeling a little judged after Pete saying going straight from cocktail hour to the bar for pints would make it a "bender", we retired home briefly for a bite to eat and a shower. Jess and I rode our trusty bikes to the Pour House, narrowly avoiding certain death on some steep curbs and poorly lit pathways, to find Candice and Oli already sitting at a table on the roof under the fairy lights. Several pints of custard cider later and the evening chill stopped bothering us; Sian, Josh, Alastair and Flo were all working, so it was lovely to catch up with them all after so long, in a drunken state as per. Having made promises to return ASAP, we wobbled home on two wheels, which were only slightly more stable than two legs, and flopped into bed.

Tankards galore at the Pour House

This morning brought a nasty hangover (aka my most common state while in Dunsborough), but thankfully our breakfast recovery plans were already in place. Jess and I picked up Candice and Walter the miniature Bulldog and headed to Samudra for our hangover fix. The sun was shining, the coffee was strong and we dissected our very amusing night curled up on big comfy chairs waiting for our veggie fry ups to arrive. As an initial non-believer in the health-kick culture, a nice change from your typical greasy breakfast did me the world of good! Walter was very well behaved and got lots of attention from the ladies, the little chick magnet. We spent the afternoon by the pool back at home catching up with Sian, reading and soaking up the last of the Sunday sun. Our last obstacle was the three hour drive back to the city before work and uni start bright and early tomorrow. This gargantuan task was overcome with sweets, good music and the promise that Jess could slap me if I started falling asleep. We were also helped along by my first McDonald's since arriving in Australia and my goodness is it cheap! $5.50 for a Cheeseburger meal; I see why the nation's waistline is expanding. The journey actually went very quickly and we're currently winding down with tea and Downton Abbey. Another great weekend over in a flash; back to the grindstone I suppose.

Brekky with the adorable Walter