A revolution in the hinterland

By Kim Murray
People who use Margaret River Online are obviously interested in visiting the district and knowing more about it. Coastal areas are always a major attraction, but let us point you at a revolution that has been happening in the hinterland.

Quietly some of the towns of the south west have been developing into really interesting, diverse and beautiful places to visit and stay. 

The three towns of Nannup, Balingup and Bridgetown have for decades held a special appeal to me with their unspoilt rural ambience and their classically beautiful examples of early Australian architecture.

And the gardens! If you are a gardener be prepared to leave home! The soil is so fertile that folks who battle on coastal sands will certainly join the throng looking in the real estate windows of dreams.

These three towns, that I have long called my Golden Triangle, have in recent years grown in sophistication and have managed to retain their community and their rural sense of being.

They are pulling together, organising associated festivals and other cultural events, and bringing to the south west more and more layers of interest for visitors and residents.

While we were putting together this section for MROnline we visited Balingup and were stunned to find that it now boasted a French restaurant and attached patisserie and coffee shop actually run by a middle-aged couple who have escape there from Paris!  As a lover of French pastries I nearly cried at the sight of pain chocolate and overwhelmingly big coffee cups!

But really, why would we be so surprised? There’s so much to discover in this area and for me the best part is just driving through the stunning landscape.

There is something Tuscan about the steeply rolling hills of the triangle, yet the panoramas live on in my memory as unmistakably south west West Aussie. You won’t be disappointed in a day trip, or a holiday in this lovely part of the state.