Watershed Winery, Margaret River, WA – Dog Friendly Eating Out

• September 19, 2019
• by Tarryn Michie

*Update* 19/01/21

New owners have taken over this winery and at present the restaurant has been closed although the winery is still operational and open.

Whilst staying at one of our favourite campsites in Australia – Big Valley Campsite, which is just 10 minutes drive South East of Margaret River, WA.

We decided to pay a visit to Watershed Winery.

We had noticed they advertised as being a dog friendly winery in the Margaret River region, which is a great start for us!

On a lovely sunny day we headed down for a lazy lunch and we certainly weren’t disappointed in this doggy friendly winery heaven.

The Winery

Arriving at the winery entrance, there are grape vines as far as the eye can see.

Beautifully situated with bright green manicured lawns surrounding the stone buildings of the cellar door and cafe.

The Feast

They refer to the eatery as a cafe, but the menu has much more of an upmarket restaurant feel to it.

We enjoyed feasting on fish, pork belly and a selection of side dishes …. and of course wine!

Well, when in Rome…..

We can’t thank the staff at Watershed enough for making it such a wonderful visit. 

They were very welcoming toward us and Ash, ensuring that we were happy and comfortable at the table we were shown to.  

Very quickly bringing out a bowl of water for Ash.

She must have made quite an impression, as there was a steady stream of staff coming out to give her lots of attention.

The VIP Treatment

Ash obviously wasn’t the only VIP at the winery that day.

As having finished our meal and taking a short stroll in the grounds of the winery, she decided to inspect a parked helicopter, obviously hoping for a swift ride home.

Not this time I’m afraid!

We can thoroughly recommend Watershed Winery.

The amazing setting, the fantastic food and wonderful service we received on our visit.

We will definitely return again at some point.

It’s definitely a favourite dog friendly winery of ours in Margaret River.

If you would like to read about other dog friendly eating out venues we recommend you can do this over at our ‘Food Bowl’.

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802 Oyster Bar, Coffin Bay, SA – Dog Friendly Eating Out

• September 19, 2019
• by Tarryn Michie

1802 Oyster Bar – 61 Esplanade, Coffin Bay, SA, 5607

What a setting we had for lunch!

Looking out over the oyster beds in Coffin Bay, South Australia, we enjoyed a fantastic lunch at the dog friendly eating out venue – the 1802 Oyster Bar. 

This upmarket cafe, restaurant & bar specialises in local seafood and obviously the famous Coffin Bay oysters.

The Oyster Bar has tables situated outside which are dog friendly, with some of these under umbrellas and cover.

After being seated, the staff were quick to bring Ash a bowl of water and fuss over our girl.

Coffin Bay Oysters

Iain and I have never really been big fans of oysters, until we started on our ‘Adventures Around Australia’. 

One of the things we both wanted to do as part of our travelling adventure, was to experience the local produce of the areas we visited.

Hence the oyster ordering.

Are we oyster converts?

Absolutely.

They were fantastic and we now are looking forward to trying other oysters on our travels.

Seafood Platter For Two

To really get a feel for the quality of the seafood in the area we opted for the 1802 Seafood Platter for two and a bowl of fries with aioli.

We certainly weren’t disappointed 

The oysters were served naturally, along with grilled sardines, seared tuna, which melted in your mouth, mussels, prawns, fish, octopus and crab. 

We can safely say we devoured the lot, with a rather envious Ash keenly watching every mouthful!

The Wine

All this gorgeous seafood was pleasantly washed down with a bottle of one of our favourite wines, Rockford 2018 Alicante Bouchet, whilst relaxing in the sunshine.

If you find yourself in Coffin Bay, South Australia and hankering for a great plate of seafood, we can highly recommend a visit to 1802 Oyster Bar.

Great setting, great food, great service. Thank you!

If you would like to read more about other dog friendly eating out venues that we recommend around Australia, you can find these here.

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1080 Bait – The Legal Killer

• August 12, 2019
• by Iain Michie

NB: In this post, there will be NO pictures of animals suffering from having ingested 1080 bait.

For any animal lover this is an extremely emotive subject.

My wife and I, like the informed majority it appears, do not sit on the fence on this subject and are totally against its use everywhere, not just in Australia.

I have spoken to a number of dog owners who, concerningly, were completely unaware of 1080 bait and how it can affect companion animals.

I must admit, that it is only since starting our travels, that we have become more aware and knowledgable about this issue.

1080 Bait, or to give it it’s chemical name Sodium Fluoroacetate is a manufactured poison used extensively to kill so-called ‘pest’ species.

In Australia these include foxes, rabbits, wallabies, cats, feral pigs, and wild dogs.

It is colourless, odourless, and tasteless and is therefore easily ingested by companion animals.

Worst of all, it has no antidote.

It was first tested in New Zealand as far back as 1954, and by 1957 was in widespread use all over NZ.

Reporting states that it was first used in Australia in the early 1960’s.

At the time of writing this, the NSW National Parks authorities are currently actively laying bait, until December this year (2019), in all of the National Parks.

It would appear that the use of this poison is Australia wide regardless of Territory or State.

Reserves, farmland and bush can also have bait put down on it.

1080 bait is a disgustingly inhumane way for any animal, dog or otherwise, to die from, yet the governing bodies still continue with its use. 

It appears that certain supporters of this poison take the stance that the use of it to cull the designated ‘pest’ population is completely acceptable and that it causes minimal suffering to the animals that ingest it.

On the other hand, there are numerous accounts from people that have witnessed first hand animals that have ingested this poison and it would seem to completely contradict the supporter view.

To the extent, that animals eventually die having gone through devastating mental disorientation and excruciating agony.

There are 3 ways that bait is laid.

These deployment methods include aerial baiting, trail baiting and mound baiting.

Aerial baiting involves the dropping of baits along transects, usually from a helicopter.

Trail baiting is similar to aerial baiting in that baits are distributed from a moving vehicle.

Mound baiting involves the burying of baits up to 15cm at bait stations.

Baits for herbivores, granivores and omnivores are usually grain, carrots or pellets prepared from pollard and bran

Baits for carnivores and omnivores are fresh or dried meat

The National Parks and Wildlife Service has a website, link below, which allows you to find out where and when the 1080 bait is being laid.

However, please be aware that this bait may not be solely retained within the designated area. Birds have a tendency to pick it up and drop it wherever ?.

Plus there is the possibility of secondary poisoning, whereby a poisoned animal that has died, is eaten by another.

Bearing in mind that this poison has been manufactured and used to kill In Australia for practically 60 years, you might have thought that it may have had the desired effect by now.

Obviously not!

A quote regarding the definition of insanity is “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”.

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House & Pet Sitting

• September 9, 2019
• by Tarryn Michie

Why We Love House Sitting

After spending the first year of our travels around Australia living out of our caravan 100% of the time, we were craving the comforts that come with having a home, but we didn’t want to settle down just yet, as we are still loving travel and exploring new places.

We had heard from others that we had met whilst travelling that House-sitting for others when they were away on business or holidays was a great way to enjoy the base of a home for a short time whilst we explored a new area.

Both Iain and I (Tarryn) love animals and have enjoyed volunteering regularly at a Shenton Park Dog Refuge in Perth, WA when we were living there, so we also thought that Pet-Sitting might be something we would both enjoy and it would also give Ash the chance to socialise and spend time around other dogs, and animals, as I’m sure she gets bored with us ‘hoomans’ some times!

So after doing a number of stints House & Pet Sitting we can safely say we LOVE IT and would highly recommend it to others travelling also.  We are avid fans of Aussie House-Sitters website.  When we first looked at House & Pet Sitting we joined a number of websites to post our profile on, but we would have to say that Aussie House Sitters has brought us the best connections and has a website interface that is effective and efficient to use to regularly check for new opportunities.

To learn more about House & Pet Sitting take a look at the Aussie House-Sitters website as they have compiled a wealth of information explaining how the agreement works between both the sitter and the home owner.

We were also members of Mindahome.com.au and Housesitters.com.au.

Our Availability

We are currently unavailable to House & Pet-Sit, although who knows what the future might bring if and when we are to resume our travels.

Contact Us

Any question please feel free to use the Contact Us form and get in touch. 

"We can't thank Tarryn and Iain enough for the care they gave our girls. Coco and Mindy have been well and truly spoiled and were sad to see Tarryn, Iain and their lovely Ash go when we came home. We received constant updates and photos as to how the girls were behaving. Our house was spotless, it was a pleasure to have had them stay and we hope they will come again."

Coco & MindyKurri Kurri, NSW

"Tarryn, Iain and Ash (their dog) were wonderful house sitters. Their communication was like no other- putting our minds at ease at every step of the way with frequent photos/videos and details of our beloved dog. They went the extra mile in terms of keeping our house in top condition, with attention to detail- cleaning out the fireplace, mowing the lawn and weeding the garden. When we arrived home, we could tell that Lucy had been well taken care of. She had as wonderful a holiday as we did! Thanks to Tarryn, Iain and Ash for treating Lucy and our home as their own. We would HIGHLY recommend them (and Ash) as a fantastic choice of a house sitter."

LucyUlladulla, NSW

"Tarryn and Iain are the ideal house sitters. As soon as meeting them we felt comfortable and confident in the knowledge our home and cats would be well cared for and we weren't disappointed. We came home to find a sparkling clean house and two very happy and contented cats. I would have no hesitation recommending these two lovely people as house sitters and hope they will be able to sit for us again in the future."

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