Day 14 | Near Margaret River: but not being detained in so many wineries this time round

56 km | zzOz total: 679 km

What to report for Midwinter’s Day 2011, the shortest day of the year? Sunrise today is 7 30am, it’s gone by 5 20pm, pitch dark at 6.

Well, tomorrow we’re heading for summer, that’s good, but it seems a mighty long way off still.

Sunrise over the Indian Ocean, didn’t actually think that was possible, for a start.

Two other highlights today.

First, I stopped in at Cullen’s winery, the road goes right past. A bloke was polishing up the low key brass signage at the gate. “When I was at school it was the naughty boys who got to exercise with Brasso. What was your misdemeanour?” “ Just lucky, I guess.”

I was in luck too, all of Cullen’s crop are just fabbo, should be, it’s one of the most highly rated wineries in the country, hence the miniscule announcement at the entrance. They make outstanding specimens of the three wine species that make Margaret River so famous: a full flavoured Semillion/Sav blanc, that avoids the worst, grassy, excesses of NZ’s Sav blancs, with huge long flavour, courtesy of the 55% Sem, I can almost taste it now, racy, perfect summer in a bottle, well, I guess I’ll never have a career as a wine writer; the Chardonney, I’ll never know, it’s in limited supply, high demand, and off the itinerant traveller menu; and the Cab sav/Merlot, just my favourite Oz red, restrained, elegant, and flavour, flavour, flavour. Wish I could afford the $1320 case lot. I’m sure I could fit an easy dozen on that trailer.

The second highlight was the Coweramup Rail trail, and not only to get off the narrow, traffic riddled, roller coaster, Caves Road.

Yes, it was all downhill.