Food, friends, fire, and a great reason to visit the Southern Forests before the crowds do.

Traditionally winter in the Southern forest region is very popular. People seem to gravitate towards sitting by cozy fire with a nice glass of wine. It's romantic, peaceful, relaxing, and something that you would not normally do.

But Covid changed a bit of that, and I think people are forgotten the beauty of this quite time with the rain on the tin roof, in the forest, the smells of fungi and compost tickling your nose. It's truffle season, with fungi in the forests and you can see the start of spring wildflowers emerging from the wet ground.

The rivers and tributaries are flowing fast and every second social media post seems to be some influencer taking photos of Beedelup Falls, Big Brook or the Cascades and other secret locations

We escaped into the rainy wet weather for a bit of R&R and to tantalise our taste buds. The delightful crew at Silkwood winery tempted us with their beautiful presentation and delicious food which delighted our taste buds from the moment we read the descriptions of the menu. I am partial to their rose in winter. It's made with Zinfandel grapes and is a little smoother to others.

There are a few wineries to choose from if you're after a meal, then the platters or food options at Ampersand estates make a great way to while away a few hours.

Local cheeses and olives are servde with your tasting paddles at Mountford winery and together with their home-made mud brick walls and the huge steel fireplace, it's a warm, cozy place to reconnect.

I've mentioned Silkwood but they do mention deserve a mention again.

Hidden River Estate have opened up their restaurant to be bigger and better than before with food, wine and local beer on tap.

So make sure you book in as it's hard pressed to find somewhere nice for lunch when town is full.

Mind you, people have started finding cheap holidays overseas so the chance of getting in at the moment are quite decent.

So if you like to holiday without the crowds, just head on down south, there's plenty of options of places to stay. You can call the visitor centre for more assistance or visit their website for online bookings where the money stays in the community.

We look forward to seeing you down this way