Things to do in Southwest

Credaro Family Estate, celebrating 100 years next year, is a pioneering family within the Margaret River Region. What better way to pre-emt celebration than at Shelter in Busselton, sharing two of the best things the region has to offer, both seafood and Chardonnay. For one night you can experience both at a dinner showcasing the award winning wines of Credaro paired with the local catch. Expect beer and sparking on arrival, a seafood themed dinner and a host of Chardonnay – with a few reds as the dinner draws to a close.

Get to know the intricacies of blending Bordeaux-style wine at Cape Grace with winemaker Conrad Tritt. Learn the structure and style traits of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec before creating a wine to suit your palate under Conrad’s astute guidance. Walk away with a new understanding of how these supporting varietals give prominence to the Margaret River Region king, Cabernet Sauvignon. This is an intimate event with limited spots available.

Cape to Cape, Australia’s largest, longest running and most popular four day MTB stage race. Based in Margaret River Western Australia, this iconic riding experience includes access to stunning private trails, vineyard visits, brewery finishes and some of the warmest hospitality the region has to offer. Starting at Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse in Augusta, and finishing four days later at the fabulous Margaret River Distillery, the course makes its way through a network of trails along the coast, through National Parks, forest, farm lands, mountain bike parks, and bush. Roughly 205km and 2,500m of climbing in total, each day’s riding is between 37km and 72km and has its own special terrain and environment to keep things interesting with a mix of fast flowing single trail, farm tracks, groomed downhill trails and fire trails – many through private land that can only be ridden while racing the Cape to Cape. There’s nothing too technical and it's ridable for anyone with a reasonable level of fitness and MTB skills.

For the aficionados and the occasional drinkers alike, Fine Vines invites you to explore all aspects of our wine region through tastings and tours, masterclasses and exclusive museum wines. Over 10 days this Spring, you’ll get insider access to the vines, experts and wines that have shaped the Margaret River region over the past 50+ years.

Enjoy a glass of Howard Park Petit Jeté on arrival before choosing your own journey from our extensive range, including wines by the glass from Champagne House Franck Bonville. Oysters will be freshly shucked by local favourites Get Pickled and Get Shucked plus other delicious food options available. Sip sparkling while the sun sets over the vines and Margaret River’s DJ Erik brings the good time vibes.

Leave your lycra at home on this two and a half hour tour that meanders from one stunning private outdoor location to the next on Dunsborough’s pristine foreshore, led by Richo from Bike Swim Hike. You’ll get to meet-and-greet the Hutton Brothers of Hutton Wines and Rhys from Vallee Du Venom, some of the region’s excellent wine producers, on a private outdoor wine tasting. A minimum of six wines are included in the adventure, along with all equipment including bikes, helmets, and the presence of a tour guide happy to share all of the local secrets

Lovers of Syrah and Shiraz can dive deep into the similarities and differences of these two wine styles with trophy-winning winemaker Bruce Dukes of Domaine Naturaliste. Take a tasting tour of the Rhone Valley, South Australia and return to Margaret River with six wines showcasing classic examples of these two wine styles, accompanied by a selection of charcuterie.

This curated wine walk through Busselton’s city centre puts you in the driver’s seat to experience a swag of Margaret River Region wineries on a multi-stop self-guided wander. Rocky Ridge Cellar Door, Shelter Brewing Co., The Fire Station, Art Geo Cultural Complex and Bodega? will play host to several small scale producers, each on hand to share their wine and passion. Accumulate wine knowledge, taste and compare, or just enjoy a lo-fi day of vino and fresh air and some of Busselton’s best spots. ?Wineries include Credaro, LS Merchants, Whicher Ridge, La Kooki, Marri Wood Estate, Skigh Wines, Cape Grace, Oates End, Bettenays, Flying Fish Cove, Churchview, Woody Nook, Wines of Merritt and Small Things Wine.

Dance of Life is a performance celebrating the art of Dance in many different forms - from classical ballet and Spanish dancing to more contemporary expressions. World renowned dance choreographer Seamus (Jim) Hughes has choreographed dedicated works for mature dancer performers and teachers Caroline Jensen, Danielle Phipps and Lynn Boon as well as himself. Seamus is a choreographer, visual artist and educator. After a professional classical ballet dance career in Europe he performed and taught contemporary dance, art and theatre and was artistic director of Fieldworks Performance Group in Perth. He now calls Dunsborough home. Lynn Boon discovered contemporary dance at age 20 in London and enjoyed 15 years of dancing, teaching and choreographing in UK and Europe. She has had her own dance and music company and after a long hiatus after moving to Australia, she returned to dance 5 years ago, performing in Perth and Albany-based ensembles. Danielle Phipps donned her first dance shoes at 4 and has enjoyed 30 years as a student, teacher and professional Spanish dance performer. She has studied and performed with numerous internationally renowned artists. Danielle runs Naturaliste Spanish Dance and teaches Pilates in Dunsborough. Caroline Jensen’s love for ballet began in South Africa at age 3. She has trained professionally in ballet, contemporary, Spanish and National Dance. She ran a large studio in South Africa before moving to Australia and began Dunsborough School of Ballet in 2006. She is also a keen yoga practitioner. The event is made possible thanks to Bay Gallery and Happs Wines.

Enjoy a relaxed day of music and gourmet food, sprawled across the beautiful lawns of Brookland Valley, as Houghton Wines celebrates its 185th anniversary and special place as one of the State’s oldest wineries. Set on the banks of Wilyabrup Brook and surrounded by parklands, the free event will have a range Houghton and Brookland Valley wines, and gourmet grazing plates available to purchase from the award-winning Flutes restaurant.

Our 2021 event will be held on Saturday 6 November at the exciting new venue, The Heart from 6pm. Up to 300 guests will bid on more than 100 items of fabulous art. Tickets are $25 and include complimentary supper and a free glass of Margaret River Wine. There will be live music and a Mark Heussenstamm `original` door prize.$7000 WORTH OF ARTISTS' AWARDS ON OFFER. Monetary awards, kindly donated by our event sponsors, will be presented on the night to four exhibiting artists:The Margaret River Art Prize $3500; Brewhouse People's Choice Award First Prize $1200; Nature Conservation Margaret River Sustainability Prize $800; $1000 Packers` Prize and NEW award -Emerging Artist Prize $600. There will also be an exciting new development - A showcase of rare and distinguished wines from the region for auction will be up for auction.

The event weekend will feature three off-road adventure races in south-west Western Australia with each course traversing in and around Eagle Bay, Dunsborough, Meelup Regional Park and Geographe Bay. The Leeuwin Long Course will headline the weekend with a non-stop course covering a gruelling 23km mountain bike, 2km ocean swim, 13.5km paddle, and 12.5km trail run which takes competitors along the breathtaking coastline. The run leg also includes a water jump and 50m swim mid-way through. The Naturaliste Short Course offers a steppingstone into adventure racing with a 13km mountain bike, 1.2km ocean swim, 5km paddle and 7.9km trail run. The Kids Adventure Challenge is very popular with kids aged up to 13 years as they tackle a 4km running and obstacle course. Each event will start and finish at the Eagle Bay Brewing Co which offers sweeping views out to Cape Naturaliste in Geographe Bay, and provides the perfect venue for the all-important post-race celebrations. Close to 5,000 competitors and supporters are expected over the two-day event, from adventure racing stalwarts and previous participants, to local community members, families, first-timers and hundreds of local primary school kids.

PIJF hits the road for its new ‘On Tour’ series and first stop is a day of swingin’ jazz on the Foreshore. Expect world-class jazz from WA’s finest spanning swing to modern jazz and traditional New Orleans as well as a dedicated stage set up for swing dancing. We invite you to bring a rug and a picnic and/or treat yourself to local delights from Rocky Ridge Brewing Co or the permanent food offerings in the area like Shelter Brewing Company, Equinox Restaurant & Bar, Busselton Beach Shack or make a night of it at Amalfi Resort. FEATURING: The Love Rats • Gemma Farrell Quintet • OZ Big Band • Libby Hammer Quartet This free event is courtesy of Lotterywest & City of Busselton For more info, go to: perthjazzfest.com/event/pijf-on-tour-in-busselton

This once-a-year chance to feast, sip and party your way through an array of new fine dining and casual events plus the old favourites, including the Westpac Gourmet Beach BBQ and the Gourmet Village at Leeuwin Estate will be here before you know it! In the past seven years, some of the biggest names in the culinary world have visited Margaret River including the likes of Nigella Lawson, Heston Blumenthal, Marco Pierre White, Curtis Stone, and Rick Stein to help us showcase the region’s finest wines, craft beers, and amazing local produce. Don’t miss out on the chance…. To TASTE fine local produce from Western Australia, curated by culinary talent. To MEET world-renowned celebrity and Michelin-starred chefs. To SIP celebrated Australian wines, beers and spirits with famous critics in the award-winning wine regions of Western Australia. To EXPLORE extraordinary locations in Western Australia.

A collaborative, paddock to plate multicourse lunch featuring the flavours of Western Australia with locally grown produce at Yarri.

A meeting of minds when Restaurateur Palisa Anderson brings her passion for growing fruit, vegetables and herbs on her organically certified Boon Luck Farm in Byron Shire to the Dunsborough restaurant of local celebrated Chef Aaron Carr.

A parentship enhanced by the philosophies of Chef Jo Barrett who has spent the past six months living in and growing, harvesting and cooking food sourced from the Future Food Systems building (we’re talking food metres, not miles here).

Planting is underway in the Yarri kitchen gardens for a November harvest to create a modern Australian feast paired with Snake + Herring wines.