Meeting the Mafia

It was a cold morning and we were in no rush to hit the road so treated ourselves to a second coffee at the Southern Roasting Co in Manjimup.  It meant a 2km cycle in the opposite direction but the coffee was so good that the effort was worth it.  It was doing a bustling trade and the coffee came in takeaway cups. We were tempted to buy some coffee but had already stocked up at the Providores in Margaret River.

We had a quick stop at the pharmacy and Simon got chatting to an elderly gentleman about our planned route for the day.  He recommended that we stop at The Guadagino & Co farm run by his good friends in the mafia. We took his advice on notice. 

Our final stop was the Hound and Hunter for lunch provisions.  However, their homemade pies looked so good that we stocked up on dinner provisions as well as savoury tarts for lunch and an apple and rhubarb tart for afternoon tea.

Finally we were on our way and took the sealed road towards Fonty’s pool, a well known local swimming area and caravan park.  We passed the recommended farm and decided we could do with a few apples so stopped in.  There was a limited selection of fruit and vegetables but lots of apples, bananas and avocados which were exactly what we were looking for. I let the cashier know that we had been recommended to visit by a local man who had referenced the mafia.  She laughed and knew exactly who I was referring to and told us the story of how this man used to visit and loudly proclaim that he was dealing with the mafia. 

Back on the road we enjoyed the sealed tarmac for a few more kilometres before turning onto back dirt roads for the next 10kms of so.  We reemerged to a sealed road a few kilometres before our next destination, Mountford Wines and Tangletoe Cidery where we stopped in for a tasting paddle.  The owner had learnt how to make scrumpy in Devon and we swapped stories of places and times in Devon.  His wife had studied there and he had spent time in a few locations in Devon and Somerset.  We ordered a mix of two ciders and two wines and settled on buying a bottle of the Sauvignon Blanc.

The owner kindly let us enjoy our lunch at one of their lovely outdoor tables and the tarts were absolutely delicious washed down with a cup of tea.  Fortified, we made good time on the undulating sealed road into Pemberton and our accommodation at Vitners Cottage.  We decided to keep the pies until tomorrow and headed into town for dinner at the Treehouse Wine and Tapas bar where we enjoyed some local wines and a nice mix of dishes. 

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