Margaret River is overrated

Margaret River is overrated

One of the best-known areas of Western Australia, Margaret River is  disappointing compared to some of the state's other great treasures.

Little Beach, Two People's Bay: not Margaret River

Let me start by clearly stating that Margaret River has some good things. It has some truly exceptional wines. It has some big waves. And it has a great dairy.
But its reputation as one of the great destinations of WA is out of all proportion to what it offers. When I recently went to south-west WA for an assignment, most east-coasters who I spoke to said, "oh, Margaret River?" (And no, I wasn't going there.) It seems that almost anyone from this side of the country who goes to Australia's largest state for a holiday goes to either the Kimberley or Margaret River. It is not only well known, it is almost revered.
There are several reasons for this. It is close to Perth, so the people who get panicky after driving more than an hour out of a capital city don't get too stressed. Or lost. And WA has enough open spaces to get truly lost if you want to.
Secondly, unlike most other areas of WA, Margaret River received a huge injection of capital by rich city investors. Many of the vineyards and other enterprises in Margaret River were established by powerful people with plenty of money to spend on advertising and marketing, and those who were adept at ensuring that government tourism messages encouraged more and more visitors to go to Margaret River. Like almost everyone, government tourism offices have limited capital, and often have to push certain barrows while leaving others to sit relatively unnoticed at the bottom of the garden, only ever seen by the adventurous.
Thirdly, and directly related to the point above, east coasters are generally bereft of knowledge when it comes to anything over the sandstone curtain. If I say I'm going to south-west WA, Margaret River is almost the only place many have heard about in the region.
Yes, it has good wines, but gone are the days when Margaret River was pretty much the only place to get a decent bottle of plonk in the state. Drive a few hours down the road towards Mount Barker, Frankland River or the Porongorups and you'll see what I mean - a quarter of the state's vines are down there, and there are more multi-award winning wineries than you could wave an empty bottle of riesling at.

Some of the oldest shiraz vines in the south west at Jingalla Wines in the Porongorups. Not Margaret River.

If it's beaches you're after, well WA is littered with them. A few years ago Lonely Planet voted one gorgeous little strip of sand, called Little Beach, in Two Peoples Bay Nature Reserve, as one of the top 10 beaches in the world. But all the southern coastline is spectacular, from Cape Naturaliste through to Esperance and beyond, with lichen-splattered granite boulders, gleaming white sand and water the colour you think only exists in brochures. Along the southern coastline, whales and their calves often cruise just metres from shore (visit Point Ann in the botanical wonderland of Fitzgerald River National Park during winter if you don't believe me) and there is a huge mix of sheltered spots and places with wild waves.

The spectacular, subalpine peaks of Stirling Range National Park. Not Margaret River.

If it's scenery you're after, then Margaret River will probably disappoint. Yes, it is pretty, in a Hunter Valley, NSW, sort of way, but it isn't spectacular. And yet south-west WA is full of the spectacular. Try Stirling Range National Park or the gorgeous forests around Denmark, the wild and windswept Cape Leeuwin area, or head north to the Pinnacles in Nambung National Park. Further afield there is the Nullarbor, Kalbarri National Park or the extraordinary red-earth country around Mount Augustus.
My recent trip to the Great Southern Region, the area centred around Albany in south-west WA, reminded me that WA holds so many treasures within its vast sheets of land and crumpled folds, and it disturbs me that some people travel no further than Margaret River.
By all means go there, but just don't stop. Take an extra week or six and get out beyond there to see some more of what WA has to offer.
For more information on the Great Southern Region, look out for my feature in an upcoming issue of OUTBACK magazine.
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