Maze Competition, I Prefer My Chocolate Dark

20/2/2013

The gang, up bright and early ready for our trip down to Margaret River!

Margaret River – an area known for its wine production – was our destination for a long weekend’s stay. The journey south from Perth would cover over 200km using mostly free-flowing freeways to get there in around three hours (including a couple of stops).

By 10am our party of two cars pulled into the quaint town where the Bussell Highway we had used to get into the region, formed the actual high street with shops and restaurants lined up on both sides.

We grabbed a cooked brekkie before Lezil’s entire family (Dad, Mom, brother Jesse) myself, Lezil and Brook (Jesse’s girlfriend) went just south of Margaret River town to A Maze’N. The main attraction there is its imposing hedge maze which was first planted in 1994 and has been growing ever since.

Perhaps because it was lunch time, we were practically the only ones there and so we had free reign to enjoy this real-life Alice in Wonderland adventure. To add that competitive edge, we split into three couples teams.

Arriving at A Maze'N for our hedge maze challenge.

This way to the maze!

There was one entrance and one exit but you also had to reach the central look-out point. And, for extra points, you had to come across eight different benches – each a type of animal or object. To make sure we played by the rules, photos of each bench and one from the middle look out platform had to be taken.

Slapping on some sunblock and armed with bottles of water each, a cloud of dust kicked up as we hurriedly ran into the maze’s entrance.

The hedges were exceptionally well laid out as it was impossible to tell if you were coming to a dead end (as was the case with Lezil and I quite a few times!). Jesse and his girlfriend Brook were the first to reach the centre, noted by their taunts of “We are here…!” In the meantime we played cat and mouse with Lezil’s parents trying to lose them and lead them down wrong paths.

The earlier speed we had gleefully displayed had slowed down to a gentle walk as the sun’s heat was beginning to take its toll. We eventually stumbled across the central lookout point for a breather before launching into the mission of finding the exit. There were a few times where I was tempted to sneak through one of the emergency exits and run around the outside to fake a win, but my moral side told me otherwise. 40 minutes later and we could hear that both other pairs had completed the task.

Getting somewhat lost inside the giant hedge maze.

Going up against Mom Hendricks in the final of outdoor noughts-and-crosses!

Now, it was just the case of saving face by at least completing the maze which, thankfully, we managed to do five minutes later. The winners: Jesse and Brook.

Apart from some paths and gardens, there were other solving-type games including a brick maze (far simpler to complete) and a left-hand maze where you could only get out by taking left turns and going straight – a lot harder than it looked. Over at the hibiscus garden was an outdoor version of noughts-and-crosses. Here, I managed to redeem myself by winning my rounds to become eventual champion.

Escaping the sun’s strong rays we made the short drive back into Margaret River to get some sandwiches and eat them at a nearby nature reserve in the shade of the forest. The great thing about the whole South West area, of which Margaret River is at its epicentre, is that a whole host of attractions are all within short driving distances. The roads are teeming with brown-coded tourism signs alerting drivers of any number of factories or wineries inviting people to sample anything from dried fruit and chocolate to seeing silk worms in action and, of course, local wines.

I absolutely loved our visit to the Margaret River Dairy Company where they had different cheeses to try (hands up, I am a cheese addict). The Port Club Cheddar was the winner for me and I immediately bought one to take away. It had a light but sharp taste, leaning on the mature side. I could already seem myself savouring slices of the stuff on crunchy water crackers with a stick of celery on the side.

Another 15 minutes down a couple of country lanes and we arrived at the Margaret River Chocolate Company – somewhat of an institution in the area.

Wonderful selection of locally produced cheeses.

It's chocolate time!

This place was huge with every conceivable chocolate variety under the sun and moon. I’m not usually a white chocolate person (I prefer my darker varieties – read what you may into that!) but their white chocolate button samples were simply sublime. It was also great to see them stocking chocolate produced from other countries including my native Ecuador which I was particularly proud of. What caught my eye, or my palette to be exact, was the combination of chilli and chocolate – sweet and fiery at the same time.

Having been on the go since 5am that morning, we were more than ready to head to our accommodation. The Bayview Geographe Resort, as its name suggests, is right on Geographe Bay with direct beach access. The hotel is made up of 28 acres of parkland with mostly villa-style accommodation. Ours was a spacious three-bedroom holiday home with kitchen, dining room, living room, TVs in all rooms and ensuite. Other facilities included two swimming pools, three tennis courts and a games room.

As Lezil and I had lost the maze challenge, our forfeit was to make dinner that night.

Our villa for the weekend at the Bayview Resort Geographe Bay, Western Australia.

I rustled up a healthy cous cous salad with cucumbers, tomatoes, spring onions and seasoned with pepper and pure lemon juice. Lezil made a delicious chicken stew to accompany it. With dinner over, we were well and truly ready for some solid sleep.