Howdy folks, Happy Friday!

It’s the end of the working week so sit back, relax and watch the last in the series of four short films all about the food and drink scene in Perth. This time I’m taken on a trip from the ocean to the city with food writer and blogger Whitney Ng.

Starting the day at Leighton Beach over eggs and coffee I learn about the breakfast culture in Perth, before heading to the city and an appreciation for how Perth does fine dining, with a relaxed al fresco lunch.

En route we stop off at the suburb of West Leederville to discover the meaning of the often used term “hidden gem”.

Originally from Singapore but now based in Perth, Whitney covers her food experiences in the City and further afield to the Eastern States of Australia and Asia on her blog www.dinewhitme.com

Look out for Whitneys guest post on my blog next week!

Hello there Taste Master fans, I’ve just come back from a motorhome exploration of the Great Southern region (Albany, Denmark, Mt. Barker and Walpole) and I tell you what, they’re not short of things to do down there!

The Great Southern is the largest and most diverse region within Australia’s South West. It has wild, untamed coastal scenery created by the sheer force of the Southern Ocean, idyllic seaside towns that remind me of Cornish fishing villages back home and national parks with some of the world’s rarest species like the endangered Malleefowl.

There’s also significant historical importance linked to the area, with King George Sound near Albany being the first European settlement in Western Australia, and the city of Albany itself being the departure point for the majority of ANZAC troops leaving for Europe in World War 1.

Now, do you remember at the beginning of this blog me saying they’re not short of things to do down here??! Well here’s a photo gallery of my first 24 hours in Albany, hold onto your hats.

Wow, what a mammoth introduction to the city of Albany, but it warranted it because there’s loads happening down here. Look how tired I got though.

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Howdy folks, I’m on my first Taste Mastering trip of 2014, a six hour self-drive adventure from Perth up to Kalbarri National Park and Geraldton on Australia’s Coral Coast.

One of the many highlights of the drive was the devouring of a Caltex service station award-winning pie in Dongara.

Ladies and Gents, I can honestly say this was the best pie I’ve eaten in Western Australia. It ticks all the boxes in my Good Pie Guide, deep filled, plenty of meat, real tasty, and most importantly of all HOLDS ITS FORM! No hot pie filling dripping down my arm for me, no Sir.

If you take the Indian Ocean Drive to Kalbarri you get to really appreciate the dramatic coastline and can imagine the Dutch trading ships sailing round the coast hundreds of years ago (with a lot of them not making it). There’re a lot of shipwrecks and stories out there, one of the most famous being the notorious shipwreck, mutiny, executions and punishments which surrounded the wrecking of the Batavia. Gruesome, chilling and heroic stuff.

Another in 1839 saw Lieutenant George Grey shipwrecked near the mouth of the Murchison River and having to WALK back to Perth, and that’s where we start our adventure folks. Not walking back to Perth, but at the Murchison River.

It’s a bit dry at the moment, but depending where and when it rains can change the Murchison  into an unforgiving, raging torrent overnight…

…and I wouldn’t mind having this view from my window at home, it’s Nature’s Window!

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