The Margaret River Discovery Co - Wine & Adventure Tours

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The Margaret River Discovery Co - Wine & Adventure Tours

The Margaret River tour for people who don't do tours! www.margaretriverdiscovery.com.au It’s the wine and nature lovers’ experience with the works!
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Limited to only 6 guests, travelling in a luxury 4WD, this is the tour for people who don’t do tours, hosted by local guide - Sean Blocksidge.

• Start the day with a canoe trip down a stunning section of the tranquil Margaret River. You won’t get wet, dirty or fall in. It’s a peaceful beginning to our day of highlights.

• We then head to the beach to see how the winemakers relax – a coffee wh

ile we check the surf at one of the region’s top beach breaks.

• Our next stop is an ancient waterhole to spot freshwater Marron and wildlife and to taste local honey while we reflect on Aboriginal history dating back more than 50,000 years.

• Lunch at one the region’s most celebrated emerging superstar wineries –Fraser Gallop Estate – is our next highlight. We have exclusive access to the working winery and vineyard and savour some of the best wines in the region matched with local produce while seated among barrels of ageing wine.

• We finish our day with a 4WD adventure and walk on a spectacular section of the Cape to Cape Track – the Wilyabrup Cliffs. We have special government approval to use a 4WD track that offers stunning cliff top views. High above the Indian Ocean the epic scenery, fresh sea breezes and surrounding ancient soils provide a deeper understanding of the unique terroir of the Margaret River region.

18/08/2024

Yalgardup Waterfall putting on quite the show following all that rain 👍.

17/08/2024

Winter evenings 👍.

15/08/2024

Erika and her Dad Yoshiro from Yokohama/Jakarta escaping the heat, humidity and traffic jams to enjoy some mid winter magic in Margs 👍.

14/08/2024

How’s the power thrusting 😳. And the voyeurs. And then he tries for girl next door 😍. So much happening in 30 seconds 😂.

10/08/2024

One of my guests was asking me, do I ever get bored living in a country town?

So I reflected on my Friday afternoon. Mountain biking in epic winter conditions, followed by a quick motorbike ride, sunset drinks with the crew from the volunteer fire brigade, dinner at the Tav with mates, including sharing a bottle of deeelicious new release Cullen Chardy and Oysters with Vanya Cullen, then off to see an incredibly cool 18 piece jazz band (WAJO) playing with Noongar rapper- Zero Emcee.

Nope never bored livin in Margs 😉. Quite ridiculous really on how lucky we are in the food, wine, culture and arts scene 👍.

08/08/2024

Fabulous news outta Fraser Gallop Estate this week!

Ellin Tritt has been officially appointed as the new Head Winemaker, following Clive Otto's recent retirement.

I've got loads of pics of serious winemaker Ellin, but this is how most of the MRDCo guests would know her. Loads of energy and laughs and full of enthusiasm to say g'day and share her extensive knowledge. So this is the pic I wanted to share with the exciting news.

Highly accomplished with a double degree in winemaking, viticulture and agribusiness, she's regarded as a bit of a young gun rockstar of the industry.

Having worked in Canada, Provence, Alsace, and Napa Valley and been with Fraser Gallop Estate since 2017, she been delivering some amazing wines throughout her career and I reckon it's a great appointment.

Congratulations Ellin! Keep sharing the love and enthusiasm for making the best wines for us all to enjoy 👍.

08/08/2024

This stunning Tawny Frogmouth spends almost her entire night landing on our roof and deck hunting for food.

It's an elevated position and she can see across the landscape. I'm amazed there is anything left to eat with how much time she spend reviewing the same piece of lawn and bush!

Yes they are almost silent in flight, but let me tell you it's a constant dull thud during the night as she lands back on the roof with a full belly. Whump. Whump. Whump allllll night. And we love it 👍.

07/08/2024

I'm pretty happy with this one. I reckon she might be too 👍.

I'm stoked with the light and luck of a magical pic. She's stoked with a rain filled landscape.

Every rain drop that shows up this winter is putting lifeblood back into local flora and fauna.

The driest summer in over a hundred years of data records had a devastating effect on the bushscape. Dead trees in their tens of thousands, dry riverbeds, decimated populations of marron, mussels and possums.

It's reasonable to assume last summer will have an ongoing effect for a decade to come with impacts on fauna populations and increased bushfire risk. Hopefully these recent rain events will help load the soil for the season ahead 👍.

Keep on rain'n 🌦🌧⛈!

06/08/2024

Driving home tonight and I'm trying to decide whether to go for a mountain bike ride (nahh too wet), a sunset (nahhh to cloudy), or take the long way home and collect the bin from the kerbside (boring bin won 🙄).

Rewarded with Forest Red Tails feeding in the Marri trees 🤩. Just as the sun opens up and the neighbour walks past with the dogs and the birds scatter and take flight to another tree 👍.

Ironically it was the red bin I was collecting 🤔.

03/08/2024

I knew this was gonna be a goodie right from the moment they all turned up in matching jumpers 😂.

Celebrating a very special birthday for one of Western Australia's tourism industry legends, Lisa D'Souza 🥳.

I've known Lisa for well over a decade in her previous role at Tourism WA and then as the founder of Sightseeing Pass Australia. Together with her husband Chad, they've been huge supporters of small tourism businesses like mine.

Amazingly we've had lots of emails and phone calls, but we've never properly hung out together or shared a wine until today! And what a way to start celebrating the big five O with a bunch of her best mates.

Happy Birthday Lisa! Thanks for sooooo many laughs and good fun. And well done dreamy Chad for being such a good husband and organising such a special day to remember 👍

02/08/2024

It's a juxtaposition of energy in the vineyards across the region at the moment. On the one hand it's all systems go from Mike and Clayton and the vineyard team at Fraser Gallop Estate as they work hard and fast to prune the vines.

On the other hand they are desperately wanting the vines to stop working and store energy and sleep for the winter 😴.

A well-rested vine is better equipped to produce higher quality grapes. Dormancy ensures that the vines can channel their energy into producing the best fruit possible when the growing season resumes.

It's been unusually warm start to winter this year, so hopefully this week of colder nights and well timed pruning will help shut the vines down for a good dormancy rest before Spring 👍.

31/07/2024

Heads up! A super cool new four day event is comin to Margs this November.

Pair'd Festival - Featuring top chefs, winemakers, sommeliers, and live music.

This looks like it's gonna be fun 😎.

Just giving you a heads up REGISTERED PRESALE TICKETS AVAILABLE 1-2 August. I'm guessing some of the events will sell out fast.

Details on their website in comments below 👍

28/07/2024

I received a call from David Hohnen, saying he needs some pics of his old pickup truck. For the record I'm not a pro photographer, not for hire and not interested in taking wedding pics.

But getting a call from one of Australia's most legendary winemakers, is like taking a call from Taylor Swift asking for backstage pics. I can never say no.

I also know I'm probably gonna sneakily capture a few cheeky portraits of Dave while I photograph the truck.

Turns out the truck was quite photogenic. So is Dave. He resembles the hard forged steel of the 1949 Chevrolet (his birth year).

The first one reflecting in the wing mirror is my absolute fav! Pure luck as I was taking pics inside the cab and saw the reflection. Dave was banging on about how rubbish Harley Davidsons are and I'm telling him "Dave, shut up and stop moving your mouth. This could be an amazing pic!"

He replies "just make sure ya get the Chev".

Yeah Dave I got the Chev. And the rockstar driving it.

Stoked with the outcome would be an understatement!

25/07/2024

Peter from South Australia experiencing a bit of winter magic. Thanks for the rippa review on Tripadvisor -

"Can't think of a better way to do it!

There's a hell of a lot of things to like about the Margaret River - particularly the wine.

I can't think of a better way of getting your head around all that constitutes premium wine making in a particularly beautiful part of the world than with Sean and his team.

Beautifully constructed, thoughtfully designed and flawlessly carried out - a fantastic day-long introduction to country, people, environment, industry and produce. He had me at "hello'!"

24/07/2024

The Disco under the Disco lights 🕺.

24/07/2024

Oooooh I LOVE watching winter storms smash into the coastline 👍.

24/07/2024

People always ask me how do I start my day so positive.

Here's the answer! I meet this bunch of awesome people every morning and their beaming energy and mega smiles ...... and cracking coffee, fill my battery to fully charged 🔋.

The "Gingettes" from Blue Ginger Cafe and Deli 🤩.

That's the team that produce our deeeeelicious daily lunch for the Discovery Tour. There's a few key players missing from the pic, notably Amazin Amanda who hand makes the most amazin food. And legendary head Gingettes - Tash and Bridget.

Some of the best people and best customer service in town!

If you've loved your Discovery lunches, this is the team that delivered em 👍.

19/07/2024

Rainbows over Fraser Gallop Estate.

Good to finally be getting some cold air in this latest winter blast and hopefully putting all the vines across the region to sleep for the season 🤞.

18/07/2024

Lots of fast moving rainbows out there today 🌈.

Dwarfing the Wilyabrup Cliffs for scale .

18/07/2024

I dunno why I love getting the winemaking process shots so much, they never get the likes and I'm sure I annoy the winemaking team every time they hear the 'click'.

But for me the images capture the story of hard work, passion, and tradition. From everything that happened in the vineyards to the intricate dance of fermentation, each step is a combination of agriculture, meets science, meets artistry.

I hope the photos capture the essence of nature and human effort. And a deeper appreciation for everything that goes into that bottle of wine when you drink it!

Thanks Anna for being my muse 😉.

17/07/2024

Good mornin!

06/07/2024

If you are a Margies local this is ESSENTIAL listening!

A fabulous snapshot of some of the best businesses in town. A lot of these guys are good mates and I have to admit I didn't know their full background until listening to this awesome little Radio Margaret River series 👍.

Soooo good to listen to the insights and inspiration. Made me think who I'd like to hear more about??? I'll start and say Bridget Isles from Blue Ginger Fine Foods, JD from Magic Dirt Trailworx, David Wilcox from Common Ground Trails, Scott Jones from Espresso Medic and Jen Colquhoun from Margaret River Podiatry.

Who do you reckon they should interview? (and no that's not a plug for me. I already know my own insights 😂 )

The Radio Margaret River link is in comments

05/07/2024

Good morning Margaret River!

05/07/2024

Last light over Surfers Point tonight 😎

04/07/2024

Incredible swell and incredible light at Wilyabrup thisarvo 😎.

If this was you out there, thank you for making that wave look even better 👍.

03/07/2024

Some sad news outta WA this week with the announcement of the closing of Hyatt Regency Perth.

That was my first real job as night shift room service. I remember submitting my resume and really really wanting to work for the best 5 star hotel in Perth. And I ended up in the best department with the best crew. The heartbeat of the hotel with a bunch of Malaysians who taught me life lessons I still use today.

It's fair to say the Hyatt was regarded as the leading hotel in Perth at the time. It was the only hotel with special security access where VIP guests could be secretly whisked in and out of the public eye.

Some of the most insane stories and experiences of my life came outta that place. I remember I had to stop telling the stories to my non industry mates because they just didn't sound believable. From rockstars to world leaders, or**es, brawls, mega banquets, misbehaving aircrew and just some of the nicest people you could ever hope to work with.

The diversity of the staff is what I'll remember the most. Sitting in the Grapevine staff restaurant and sitting with someone from another country and learning about their family and culture. And everyone just got along.

The number of people that place trained and educated in the delivery of service excellence has had an enduring effect on the WA hospitality industry. Soooo many of us are still mates decades later and leading hotels and restaurants and businesses all round the world.

Most of my time was spent on nightshift. From Room Service to Concierge, Front Desk and Duty Manager. With a Master key to entire building. Lots of opportunity for fun and mischief. They were heady days.

Mind boggling really to think they left a 367 room hotel filled with thousands of guests across ballrooms and restaurants to a management team of a bunch of twenty year olds each evening. Geeeeez we had some fun.

Thank you Hyatt, and thank you to every amazing person I worked with and so many memorable guests. And yes Max Beetson and your feather pillow fe**sh, you are still the biggest kn****ad guest of my career 😂.

📸 - Image from State Library of WA 390920PD: Staff of the Hyatt Regency Perth Hotel, 10 April 1991
Galeforce Photography,

28/06/2024

Not quite the spectacle of several weeks ago, but Aurora Australis did put on a bit of a show last night 🤩.

And this time I was finally here to see it👍.

We're still in the year of solar maximum so there is the possibility of a few more nights like this. Solar scientists reckon the Sun may not have it hit it's full peak of flares and sunspots so hopefully these clear winter nights can provide a few more opportunities!

25/06/2024

Yeeeeeew! Stoked to receive the news today that MRDCo has been named the #1 tour in Western Australia in Tripadvisor's Travellers Choice Awards 2024 and ......

TOP 10 BEST EXPERIENCES IN AUSTRALIA! 🤩🥳🤩🥳

MRDCo was the only business from Western Australia to make the top 10 list so I'm feeling a little bit proud Sandgroper at the moment to represent the state👍.

I gotta admit the tourism industry seems about as self congratulatory as the movie industry 🙄. It's all a bit ridiculous with a never ending array of awards and back patting. But the Tripadvisor awards always mean a lot to me because they're the purest and simplest reflection of whether people had an awesome experience. Or not.

Thank you to everyone that made an effort to write a review and share their experience with other travellers. And thank you to the supporting cast of Fraser Gallop Estate, Blue Ginger Fine Foods, White Elephant Beach Cafe and Bahen and Co Chocolate for all your deeeeliciousness and awesomeness.

And I cant forget my Mum who diligently reads and replies to every review! ..... and then messages me every time someone writes a banger 🤣.

Man hugs and high fives in appreciation from me 🙏.

It’s the Margaret River wine and nature lovers’ tour experience with the works!Limited to only 6 guests, travelling in a luxury 4WD, this is the wine tour fo...

25/06/2024

What a sight to wake up to this-morning. House surrounded by Forest Red Tails feasting on Marri nuts 👍.

Address

101 Bussell Highway
Margaret River, WA
6285

Website

http://www.margaretriverdiscovery.com.au/

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Videos

Only Fans Galah edition

How’s the power thrusting 😳. And the voyeurs. And then he tries for girl next door 😍. So much happening in 30 seconds 😂.

Turn the volume up. Aggggh the sweeeeet and gentle sounds of rain after 6 months of nothin 👍

I was out mountain biking the Creek Trails in Wooditjup National Park (featuring the iconic Black Cockatoo in the trail logo) and found a flock of about 50 Baudins Black Cockatoos feeding on wood grubs in the Jarrah trees. I loooooove the sound of these guys in the bush and took a few minutes to catch my breath and get off the bike and just sit and watch and listen 😍. On the one hand this is a beautiful scene, but you if look more closely and understand the bush, this is a disastrous situation. Those wood grubs thrive in dead and dying Jarrah forest. They are signal species of dying trees and if you look at Jarrah trees all over the South West this year, you'll see thousands upon thousands of them stripped of their bark. The Cockies are getting a one time protein hit as they feast on the dying forest, meanwhile the tree that could have provided hundreds of years of seed/nuts has died 🥲. In a year where climate change is right in front of our eyes, it kinda feels eerily symbolic of where we're all headed as we enjoy our one time energy hit of fossil fuels.

Rainfall data for the Margaret River region indicates this is the lowest Summer rainfall in over 100+ years of records. It's frighteningly dry out there with the soil dryness index heading off into unchartered territory 😱. It's having a huge impact on the flora and fauna and we are seeing more and more of the protected Carters Mussels drying and dying every day we go without rain to replenish the river. These mussels can be 30-40+ years old and typically move up and down the river bank as the river rises and falls through the seasons. This year, the water is drying at a faster rate than normal and hundreds of mussels are dead or dying along the riverbank. Many of them stuck behind submerged logs and can't make it to deeper water, then cooking in the heat. We've been trying to save as many as possible by helping them over the logs. They just need a simple helping hand (don't throw them in the deep water, just get them past the obstacle). Worth reflecting a single mussel can filter an entire swimming pool of water in a few days. They are super important in the eco system and critical to a healthy waterway👍.

60 seconds on the Cape to Cape Track!

Just in case you haven’t had the opportunity to get out on the Cape to Cape Track this Spring, we filmed 60 seconds of the wildflower magic for ya 👍👍

My guests today (Rosie and family) were telling me that an amazing whale experience yesterday with the team at Naturaliste Charters. I was kinda assuming a few breaches and pectoral slaps and then she showed me this video 🤩😎🤩😎. Holy triple double wowza! Now that’s a whale tour experience 👍👍. If you are in the region over the next few months I’d highly recommend booking a whale tour.

Ooooh what a magical sound! I counted well over 100 Red Tail Black Cockatoos flocking around this little puddle out near Collie. Feeding in the surrounding Jarrah and Marri trees and then coming in for a drink. The largest flock I've ever seen. I spent nearly an hour looking for feathers in the surrounding bush, but no luck. Worth reflecting as large as this flock appears, it's only a tiny fraction of what existed before landclearing, mining and shooting. That sound as magical as it is, is really only the cymbal section of what should be full bush orchestra.

Up in Dunsborough today and got super lucky seeing this Ring Tail Possum making its way through the Peppermint trees during daylight hours.

Bush snacks 😳

90 seconds of Hamelin Bay magic hanging with the Stingrays 👍

Margaret River timelapse sunset November 2022

So last night I made a rookie error and left the sunset 5 minutes before the sky blazed away in pink. We quickly turned around to try and catch the sky show. Missed it by seconds 🙄. I was telling my Singaporean guests today about my stuff up and they said “oooh that’s ok laaa, we did a time lapse! You can have that.” Little did they know at the time they would be capturing one of the sunsets of the year 👍. Scroll through to 25 seconds for the for the pink blaze.

Sixty seconds of Wildflower magic for you on the Cape Track

Sixty seconds of Wildflower magic out on the Cape To Cape Track for your Sunday relaxation pleasure🤩. Absolutely stunning Spring conditions 👍👍.

Check out the Bussel Highway bin man 👍. Asleep on the job 😴.

#1 Tripadvisor Experience in Western Australia - Margaret River Discovery Co

A little bit excited to share the news that MRDCo has just been recognised by Tripadvisor users as the #1 Tour Experience in Western Australia! 🥳🤩🥳🤩🥳 ...... and #2 in Top Overall Experiences in all of Australia for the Travellers Choice Awards. Couldn't have done it without the incredible support of West Aussies and Margies locals over the past two years. To be honest I'm kinda astounded my business even survived to this point. There's no chance it would've happened without West Aussies trying new experiences in their own backyard. Thank you to everyone who did the tour and shared the experience with other Tripadvisor users 👍👍. Means a lot to me 🙏. Hope this little vid brings back some goodtime memories 😎 ...... and yeah I need a haircut 🙄.

Ya know it’s a chilly start to the day when the trees are steaming 😎.

We've found a few interesting things in the Margaret River over the years. But this mornings efforts were definitely the most satisfying and heartwarming! Paddling down the river one of my guests reckons he's seen a dog in the water. No one else can see it at 50+ metres distance. He then thinks it's maybe a plastic bag? I still cant see anything, and suggest in expert tour guide voice it's probably a Purple Swamp Hen. He says again it could be a dog. Again no one else can see anything. We're all looking now. Nothing. If it's a dog it must the size of a handbag? And we cant see any handbag size dogs. Well if it's a Purple Swamp Hen, that's still pretty cool and probably worth a look. We start turning the canoe👍. What we haven't properly connected is the memory of the lady walking along the river 30 minutes previously looking for a dog as she whizzed past us as we were busy putting canoes in the water. Wayyyyy further down the river on the complete other side we haven't fully joined the dots and not really thinking of finding a dog in the river nearly a kilometer from where we met the lady on a walking path. Until we suddenly hear her desperate calls to "Henry Henry Henry". And we immediately realise we mighta found Henry! Sure enough as we paddle closer there is tiny little old Henry that has fallen in the river and drifted down in the current. He's little feet are just touching an underwater log and he's half underwater and completely stuck. Shaking uncontrollably in the cold he probably didn't have much more energy left in the old boy before he became Marron food. Once we stablised the canoe a quick grab into the water and very soggy and shivering Henry was on board. And a few minutes later re-united with his very appreciate owner🥰. Big double thumbs up to my guest Sean Kerr from Victoria for his incredible spotting skills. Currently on holiday from his full time job as a Regional Commander with CFA, it seems all those years of tra

It's no secret my favourite birds in the world are the Black Cockatoos 😍. Unfortunately they are also some of the most endangered birds in the world. There's a very real possibility they could go extinct in our lifetime 😪. The result of habitat loss, car strikes, food stress and ignorant people shooting them. Mostly it seems to be the impact of historical land clearing and forestry cutting down the big old habitat trees that take hundreds of years to develop breeding hollows. There's been great success at introducing artificial nesting tubes around Perth and surrounding districts for the Carnaby and Red Tail Black Cockatoos. At this stage there seems to be less measured success in the South West. This may be the result of still having old growth trees and more natural nesting opportunities 👍. I've been keen for a long time to try and introduce some nest habitat onto our property. We live on 6 acres of Marri/Jarrah bushland that attracts hundreds of Cockatoos throughout the year feasting on the gum-nuts. Last week MRDCo invested in some artificial and natural wood nesting tubes created by Dean Arthurell from Carnaby's Crusaders. Great bloke, highly skilled ropes-man, with an incredible passion for Cockatoos and his job as Chief Installer and Crusader. It seems the Cockies loved Dean too! As he climbed into the canopy he attracted two Baudins Black Cockatoos within minutes, to inspect his work and give him a few welcoming screeches. We'll keep you updated on the progress of the tubes and if there's any success in coming years. Thanks Dean and all the Cocky lovers and rehabilitation teams across the South West for the incredible work you do for this iconic species 🙏.

Shortcuts

The Margaret River wine tour for “people who don’t do tours!”

Sean Blocksidge is a local born and bred West Aussie who's been consistently rated the #1 best small tour experience in Margaret River for over a decade.

He'll take you down the back tracks and trails that most visitors to the region will miss.

As Sean says "how can you visit Margaret River region and miss the actual Margaret River? That's nuts. Or fail to experience the grandeur of the Cape Track."

Plus taste the best wine in the region!

He shares local secrets and stories to more deeply connect you to Margaret River.

You'll travel in his luxury Landrover Discovery 4WD with only a maximum of six people. This is personalised touring at it's best. No minivans or buses.

This is "the wine and adventure tour for people who don't do tours".

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• Start the day with a canoe trip down a stunning section of the tranquil Margaret River. You won’t get wet, dirty or fall in. It’s a peaceful beginning to our day of highlights.

• We then head to the beach to see how the winemakers relax – a coffee while we check the surf at one of the region’s top beach breaks.

• Our next stop is an ancient waterhole to spot freshwater Marron and wildlife and to taste local honey while we reflect on Aboriginal history dating back more than 30,000 years.

• Lunch at one the region’s most celebrated emerging superstar wineries –Fraser Gallop Estate – is our next highlight. We have exclusive access to the working winery and vineyard and savour some of the best wines in the region matched with local produce while seated among barrels of ageing wine.

• We finish our day with a 4WD adventure and walk on a spectacular section of the Cape to Cape Track – the Wilyabrup Cliffs. We have special government approval to use a 4WD track that offers stunning cliff top views. High above the Indian Ocean the epic scenery, fresh sea breezes and surrounding ancient soils provide a deeper understanding of the unique terroir of the Margaret River region.