Touring Western Australia - Margaret River

My Margaret-river.com - For detailed accommodation and tourism information - Margaret River accommodation, attractions, restaurants

Margaret River Western Australia, is a town in the South West of Western Australia, located in the valley of the eponymous Margaret River, 277 kilometres (172 mi) south of Perth, the state capital. The town is named after the river, which is presumed to be named after Margaret Wyche, cousin of John Garrett Bussell (founder of Busselton) in 1831. The name is first shown on a map of the region published in 1839. European migrants lived in the area as early as 1850, with timber logging commencing in around 1870. By 1910, the town had a hotel which also operated as a post office.

The surrounding area is the Margaret River Wine Region and has become known for its wine production and tourism, attracting an estimated 500,000 visitors annually. In earlier days the area was better known for hardwood timber and agricultural production. Margaret River is the foremost Geographical Indication wine region in the South West Australia Zone, with nearly 5,500 hectares under vine and over 138 wineries as at 2008.

The region is made up predominantly of boutique-size wine producers, although winery operations range from the smallest, crushing 3.5 tonnes per year, to the largest at around 7,000 tonnes. The region produces just three percent of total Australian grape production, but commands over 20 percent of the Australian premium wine market. Stretching some 100 km from north to south and about 27 km wide in parts, the region is bounded to the east by the Leeuwin-Naturaliste Ridge, between Cape Naturaliste and Cape Leeuwin, and to the west by the Indian Ocean.

A Mediterranean-style climate, lacking extreme summer and winter temperatures, provides ideal growing conditions. The climate is described as similar to that of Bordeaux in a dry vintage.[3][4] Humidity levels are ideal during the growing period and the combination of climate, soil and viticulture practices leads to consistently high quality fruit of intense flavour. Consequently, annual vintage results continue to exceed expectations and reinforce Margaret River's reputation as one of the premium wine-producing regions of the world. The principal grape varieties in the region are fairly evenly split between red and white; cabernet sauvignon, chardonnay, sauvignon Blanc, Shiraz, merlot, Chenin Blanc and Verdelho.

Several hundred caves are located near Margaret River, all of them within Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park. Six of these are open to the public. The most famous of these is the multi-chambered Mammoth Cave, which lies 21 kilometres south of the town and contains fossils dating back over 35,000 years.

The cave was first discovered by European settlers in 1850 and has been open to the public since 1904. The cave can be explored by a self-guided audio tour, and is one of the few caves in Australia offering partial disabled access. The other five caves open to the public in the area are Jewel Cave, Lake Cave, Ngilgi Cave, Calgardup Cave and Giants Cave. Many other caves can be accessed with a permit by experienced cavers.

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Margaret River's Climate

The climate is humid Mediterranean, with an average annual rainfall of around 1,130 millimetres (44 in). Most rain fall between May and August, when around two days in three record measurable rainfall and around one in ten over 10 millimetres (0.39 in). On occasions, as in August 1955, the town has had measurable rain on every day of a month in this period. During the summer, the weather is very warm, though there are usually seabreezes, and frequently sunny.

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