Cinema Paradiso

When it comes to chain stores, sameness rules. But visiting a foreign chain can give you a real sense of just how unique a place can be. Nowhere is this more true than Canada, where restaurants slather their fries in gravy and hockey gear takes up half a floor at department stores. Even the coffee tastes different--in the wonderfully same way. Shopping Canadian retail begins with the huge department store the Bay, part of the Hudson's Bay Company, a massive chain with multiple floors (hbc.ca/bay, 98 locations). It sells Canada's must-have souvenir, the woolen Hudson's Bay Company blanket, similar to the ones the first explorers traded (from $205). Winners is Canada's answer to Ross: designer clothes for the entire family, at bargain prices (winners.ca, 168 locations). Laura Canada features upscale women's clothes; check here for the London Fog coat of your dreams (laura.ca, 141 locations). And make your yoga class gasp with envy after your trip to Lululemon Athletica for earthy, flattering gear and workout clothes (lululemon.com, 14 locations). There are two names to know for books and records: Chapters, Canada's answer to Borders, with British titles added to the mix and an extensive magazine selection (chapters.indigo.ca, 72 locations). And A&B Sound is a record store staffed by the types who can list the B sides of every hit single from the last 50 years (absound.ca, 22 locations). Food For cheap and tasty coffee and doughnuts, locals head to Tim Hortons (timhortons.com, over 2,400 locations). U.S.-owned Wendy's bought the chain in 1995--and there are a growing number of locations in the States--but it remains a Canadian breakfast institution. Eggspectation's Eggwhat? Breakfast (yes, that's the name) will fill you up: corned beef hash, eggs, potatoes (eggspectation.ca, nine locations in the eastern provinces). For lunch, White Spot's fish-and-chips is only $7 (whitespot.ca, 57 locations, western provinces); or try Earls for its famous cedar-planked salmon (earls.ca, 50 locations in the western provinces). And prime rib at The Keg Steakhouse & Bar provides the making of a nice evening out (kegsteakhouse.com, 72 locations). Thanks to their British roots and cold climate, Canadians truly understand and value the importance of a good cup of coffee or tea, as Murchie's demonstrates (murchies.com, five locations, western provinces). Its Golden Jubilee tea was blended specially for the Queen (50 bags $9). Hotels Canada lacks large nationwide hotel chains, but it does have some fine local mini-chains. British Columbia's Accent Inns have big rooms in three-diamond properties with the kind of thoughtful touches--drawer of business supplies, nice bathroom amenities--you'd expect in hotels twice the price (accentinns.com, five locations). Stay close to downtown Victoria and Vancouver for as low as $64, or head to their property in the Okanagan Valley (Canada's Napa), which offers winery tour packages. In the east, string together stays at Coastal Inns for a family-friendly Atlantic Canada road trip (coastalinns.com, seven locations). Think of it as a Best Western with all the sports channels showing hockey. Or treat yourself to a night at Rodd Hotels & Resorts: 13 eastern locations, with a suite in a four-star property starting at $161 (rodd-hotels.ca). How does VAT work? Visitors to Canada can get a partial refund on GST/HST sales taxes, or value added taxes (VAT), on most purchases and accommodations. Here's how it works: If you spend more than CAD $200 and leave the country within 60 days, hang on to your receipts and have them stamped at the departure airport or border. (The refund only covers items over CAD $50.) Submit them with form GST176 (available from banks and tourist-info centers, or download it from cra-arc.gc.ca). It may take up to six weeks to get your refund, but the 7 percent discount is worth it.

Forget Napa. These days, it's all about Sonoma. This magical wine-producing valley sits to the west of the Mayacamas Mountains an hour north of San Francisco, and shines like a beacon to those seeking excellent and unusual wines, awe-inspiring landscapes, and good old-fashioned peace and quiet. Even though Napa is a short, half-hour drive away, it's worlds apart, less crowded, and much more affordable. Unlike its corporate-owned neighbor, many of Sonoma's wineries are smaller and family owned. You're guaranteed to see more pick-up trucks than Hummers in Sonoma, and blue jeans not baubles are the norm. "While Napa was busy becoming the wine capital of California, Sonoma's smaller vineyards were quietly vinting away, making great wines but just not shouting as loud about it," says Katharine English a wine collector and former Bay Area resident. "I've always preferred going to Sonoma." Sonoma Valley makes an ideal getaway for lovebirds, true escape artists and all those smitten by the grape. It's even worth traveling cross-country for a long indulgent weekend among the vines, or the redwoods. Because Sonoma and its elevations range between 800 to 1,200 feet, it's possible to travel through fog, sun, forest and valley meadow in just a few short miles. The region's cooler micro-climes have served well for producing certain varietals, especially pinot noirs. Harvest time (September and October) is when Sonoma kicks into high gear, but the truth is, it's beautiful any time of year. Springtime is still considered "off season" but it's an excellent time to visit. Not only are plum trees, quince, and yellow wild mustard flowers in bloom, you're almost certain to land a good deal at an area hotel. And there's plenty to do year-round. Like sister its regions in Spain and Italy, Mediterranean-like Sonoma also produces olive oil. The Olive Press (14301 Arnold Road in Glen Ellen) is a terrific spot to learn about the pressing process (and to sample the goods). The recently renovated Sonoma Valley Museum of Art (551 Broadway, Sonoma) shows works in a variety of mediums by locals and world-renowned artists. And, Bacchus Glass (21707 Eighth St, Sonoma), which uses traditional glass-blowing methods from Italy, is worth a stop, if only to watch a nail-biting studio demonstration. It's quite a colorful spectacle. And then there are spas, many of which take advantage of local hot springs and veins of therapeutic mineral waters that flow underground. Sonoma's annual film festival is in its eighth year. Scheduled to take place on the near horizon--from March 31 - April 3, it celebrates indie film, food, and wine. Not surprisingly, it was named one of the "Top Vacation Festivals" by the Ultimate Film Festival Survival Guide. This year Aidan Quinn and James Woods are among the tribute honorees. (Visit Cinemaepicuria.org for the lowdown on festival passes and details about special festival lodging and restaurant promotions.) For more information on the valley's best attractions and goings-on, stop by the Sonoma Valley Visitors Bureau, housed in the Carnegie Library on Sonoma plaza (open daily from 9am to 5pm). The bustling town of Sonoma is one of the valley's most popular enclaves, and reminiscent of small-town Mexico. Mexican general Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo, who oversaw the town in the mid-1800s, made sure of that. A picturesque central plaza ringed with historic sights, boutiques, tasting rooms, and gourmet food shops drives home the Old World feel. Pick up a Sonoma Walking Tour map (available for $2.75 at the Mission) and set out on foot to take the town in. Where to dine, inside and out Ask anyone where to eat in the valley, and you'll surely get one consistent response--the Girl & the Fig. It's conveniently located right in downtown Sonoma, and serves California country cuisine dressed up with French accents. Black mission figs are well-represented (warm fig and thyme crisp with port ice cream, anyone?), along with garden-fresh vegetables and local meats. Dinners run $30 per person (without wine), and its passionate owner, Sondra Bernstein, makes expert wine suggestions. If you want to keep it casual, head to the Black Bear Diner in Sonoma--in addition to its heaping portion and affordable prices, there's a jukebox chock full of oldies. Another valley favorite is the welcoming and more upscale Glen Ellen Inn Restaurant. Its wine cellar is stocked with 550 bottles from Sonoma and Napa valleys. Picnicking is one of Sonoma's favorite pastimes, so if the sun is shining, grab a basket (or ample-size bag) and load up on gourmet provisions and head to Sonoma's plaza, the 800-acre Jack London State Historic Park, or a winery, and settle in for lunch this bucolic corner of the world. Few things are more enjoyable than sipping a good wine and nibbling on stinky cheese and crusty bread among the grapes in a sun-dappled vineyard. There are numerous places to stock up on edibles, and they're ready-made for hungry picnickers. Sonoma Cheese Factory (home to Sonoma jack cheese, and it also sells hearty deli sandwiches to go) is a good bet and located on the plaza. (Just a word of note: Lines at the Sonoma Cheese Factory can snake out the door, so be sure to grab a number before you shop.) Alternately, try the Cheesemaker's Daughter or Vella Cheese (in business since 1931), and Artisan Bakers for chewy sourdough baguettes and other breadstuffs. Near the southern gate to the Sonoma Valley (Arnold Drive) sits Viansa Winery and Italian Marketplace, another ideal stop for lunch provisions. It sells all kinds of Tuscan treats, including homemade focaccia. Where to wine Everyone loves the Gundlach Bundschu Winery. This old (and legendary) winery is located just a few miles from downtown Sonoma, and in the free spirit of Sonoma, its staff pours without pretension (its reds are best, try its 1995 Cab Franc), and more than a few rowdy sippers have been known to ignite impromptu parties in the tasting room. Its vineyard is laced with paths for strolling, and there are ample spots for picnics. There's a welcome trend in Sonoma to make sampling and learning about wine fun. Charles Creek Vineyards has a tasting room right on the historic Sonoma plaza (483 First St; open daily from 11am - 5pm) that, in addition to some terrific vintages, also features a rotating exhibit of works by local artists. And Castle Vineyards (122 West Spain St. in Sonoma) invites visitors to play pétanque in its garden while they sip a pinot. Roshambo Winery (in Healdsburg, in Sonoma County) also pairs art and award-winning wines, and its conceptual contemporary art exhibits are anything but run-of-the-mill. It even once featured a Shrinky Dink installation. Super-friendly, down-home Ravenswood Vineyards (known for its bold zinfandels) allows you to "blend your own no wimpy wine" for $25 and take the bottle home. And, on weekends between Memorial and Labor days is serves up BBQ and live music. End (or begin) your tipple tour of Sonoma by swinging by the Gloria Ferrer Champagne Caves for a glass of one of its famed sparkling wines--they've earned over 100 gold medals in the last five years alone. (Note: The price of tasting room pours can range from free to a $5 flight of samples to $15 for four generously filled glasses.) And although it runs counter to common sense, it can often be more expensive to purchase bottles at the winery. It's only worth buying bottles and lugging them home if you've fallen in love with a wine that you know won't be likely to find at your local liquor store. Where to sleep For better or for worse, Sonoma is not over-run with hotels. There seem to be just enough places to stay for those who visit, and enough variety to match. If you'd like to stay in the town of Sonoma, you're your best bet is the charming Sonoma Hotel, perched right on the leafy central square. Housed in an 1880 building, this property smartly blends history with modern amenities. Extra niceties include complimentary coffee and fresh-from-the-oven pastries in the morning, and wine tastings in the evening. Its restaurant, the girl & the fig, is one of the valley's best. Doubles start at $110 in the warmer months, and less in the off-season. Down the road on East Napa street is the Victorian Garden Inn, a B&B that prides itself on its turn-of-the-century touches and springtime blooms. It's cozy and comfortable with an inviting wraparound porch. Rates start at $139, and include a continental breakfast. Finally, just outside of town, lies the Pink Lady, the grand dame of Sonoma accommodations--the Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa. It's difficult to imagine a visit to sybaritic Sonoma without a splurge or two. If you're looking for a truly special spot to stay, there are two choices that stand head and shoulders above the rest. The Gaige House Inn (in Glen Ellen) and the Kenwood Inn & Spa (in Kenwood) are destinations in and of themselves, however they possess vastly different personalities. Both properties regularly offer promotional packages, but their best rates fall in the off-season--now! The former crash house of Timothy Leary is now an extraordinary B&B. The Gaige House Inn is run by two partners, Ken Burnet and Greg Nemrow, who lovingly restored the structure to its present day elegance. Their fastidious and unpretentious service, chic Asian touches, and creative gourmet breakfasts (artichoke and pistachio blini with home-smoked salmon--you get the idea) are just a few reasons the inn has a reputation as one of wine country's best lodging choices. Just this year, it opened eight new creek-side spa suites with private enclosed gardens and massive granite soaking tubs inspired by ryokan inns of Kyoto and the countryside onsens of Japan. Conversely, the nearby Kenwood Inn & Spa is Italian to the core, and an excellent place to hide away with a special someone for an indulgent weekend. The Mediterranean-style rooms are ready made for romance, and many come with baronial fireplaces. The inn exudes an ultra-casual elegance, and guests mill around in robes, hopping from pool to hot tub to the Caudalie Vinotherapie Spa, which incorporates treatments using vine and grapeseed extracts. In California style, robe-clad guests even belly up to the inn's wine bar, which is tended by the inn's affable (and hands-on) owner/manager Terrance Grimm, who pours hard-to-find boutique wines nightly. Weather-permitting, breakfasts are served outdoors around the lush courtyard. If you have to stay a night in San Francisco If you embark on a weekend getaway in Sonoma, chances are you'll have to spend at least one night (probably your first) in San Francisco. The Orchard Hotel, located between Union Square and Nob Hill, is easily the best accommodations value in downtown SF. The stylish boutique property, which consistently gets stellar reviews on Tripadvisor.com, is family-run with much TLC, the staff exceedingly helpful, and incredibly, one of its spacious rooms can be had for as little as $135. What makes the Orchard Hotel especially appealing is that it's within easy striking distance of major attractions, as well as the up-and-coming SoMa area (South of Market St.). Should your plane arrive in the evening, drop off your bags and duck into Oola (860 Folsom Street), one of the city's best new restaurants, and arguably SoMa's hottest nightspot. Try a toothsome late-night burger or the excellent all-natural baby back ribs with ginger soy glaze from its American bistro menu, which celebrates San Francisco cuisine by leaning heavily on local purveyors. Artisanal cheeses, boutique wines, and organic meats and produce are all well-represented. The people-watching's fun too. Right now, the Orchard is also partnering with the Camellia Inn near Healdsburg's historic plaza in Sonoma and offering a "Best of Town and Country" package, which includes two nights at each property (four nights in all), full breakfast, museum and city passes, and more for $725. And here's some more good news: Spring airfares to San Francisco are still affordable. Here's a list of sample airfares from major US gateways for travel the weekend of April 28 - May 1:   $189--Seattle (Alaska Airlines)   $216--Chicago (ATA)   $266--New York City (JetBlue)   $285--Miami (American)   $288--Boston (AirTran)   $297--Denver (Alaska Airlines)   $366--Dallas (Frontier) Want to speak sommelier? Check out this mini-glossary of need-to-know wine terms   Attack The first impression or impact of a wine   Bouquet A wine's aroma or "nose"   Breed Wines made from the best grape varieties   Corked Wine that has a musty smell   Decanting The technique of pouring wine into a second vessel to remove any sediment   Finish A wine's aftertaste   Greeen Describes wines produced with under-ripe fruit   Legs The liquid rivulets on the inside of a glass after the wine is swirled; legs indicate a high concentration of alcohol   Lush An adjective for wines with above-average quantities of sugar   Tannin The bitter taste caused by grapeskins, seeds and stems

What you'll find in this story: Australia travel, Australia culture, Australia attractions, Australia itineraries, Australia lodging, Australian dining Our intrepid reporter takes us into the red centre, down the great ocean road, and to the remote southwest corner. 1. Into the Red Centre If Australia were folded in half like a book, the Stuart Highway would be its spine, forging through emptiness for 2,000 miles. Driving half of it is plenty, so I've flown to the dead center: the desert town of Alice Springs. North of "the Alice" there's barely a stoplight for 1,000 miles--about the distance from Dallas to Chicago--until the asphalt meets Darwin, on the Timor Sea. Like Germany's autobahn, the Stuart has no speed limit; unlike the autobahn, it's virtually barren. Every 45 minutes or so, a roadhouse appears mirage-like on the horizon, offering gas, beer, motel-style lodging, and a little "Where ya from, mate?" Aside from that, the land presents itself the way God made it. Hour by hour, sandy red earth gives way to spindly trees, brown escarpments, termite mounds as tall as kindergartners, and not much else. No cell phone coverage, no radio stations. There's nowhere else on earth to be so isolated while on good roads in your average rental car. A drive on the Stuart Highway evolves slowly, with developments marked by the odometer. Kilometer 36 north of Alice Springs: cross the Tropic of Capricorn. At 54: spot two wedge-tailed eagles feeding on kangaroo roadkill. At 83, 443, 906, and 1,222: nearly hit a kangaroo myself. At 142: tank up beside a "road train," Australia's superlong tractor trailers that pull three or four long trailers. At 202: Ti Tree, "the most central pub in Oz." No one blinks when truckers drain their beers and get right back in their cabs. Periodically, I pull over and cut the engine, just to feel the nothingness. I consider walking deep into the scrub but never make it more than 20 feet without worrying about snakebites--and being picked clean by wedge-tailed eagles. The pleasure of a Stuart drive is partly in stumbling across artifacts from man's attempts to make use of the bush. Beside the gas station in Barrow Creek (kilometer 294), a wooden telegraph repeater station from the early 1870s stands abandoned but perfectly preserved by the dry desert air. There's another in the expanse north of Tennant Creek (541). Barely rusted bits of telegraph wire and antique bottles still litter the grounds of both. The eerie ruins at Gorrie Airfield (1,103) once housed 6,500 personnel in World War II. Today, there are ghostly scraps of gray bitumen leading to an old fighter runway that's over a mile long. The walls inside most of the bush pubs along the highway are stapled over with bras, underwear, foreign currency, and business cards--a few of mine included--left by visitors from around the world. Basic rooms cost about $35; given the volume of cold Victoria Bitter on tap, by bedtime most customers aren't in a state to quibble over thread counts. Just about every pit stop is run by someone who could pass as the main character in a novel. The proprietor of the roadhouse at Wycliffe Well (393) has lined the walls with newspaper reports of local UFO sightings. The owner of the Wauchope Hotel (411) abandoned a 35-year career as a firefighter in Adelaide. The night before I arrive, 40 guys from a remote cattle station drove two hours over a dirt track to have a birthday party there; it lasted until dawn. At the pub inside the Daly Waters Historic Hotel (986), road-trippers gather nightly to be entertained by 14-year-old singer Patrick Webster, who brazenly flirts with waitresses 10 years his senior, and by Frank the Chook Man, who does renditions of folk songs as live chickens roost on his hat. Even the highway's banner sights seem like something a science-fiction writer might have cooked up. The two big ones are the rock that looks like Winston Churchill's head (652) and the Devil's Marbles, huge, rounded boulders jumbled together improbably in the desert (422). The wildlife is similarly otherworldly. Some visitors think, at first, that the stirring in the cabbage tree palms and paperbarks above the turquoise Mataranka Thermal Springs (1,220) comes from a bird of some sort. In fact, it's the squabbling of hundreds of thousands of flying foxes, big as beagles and hanging upside down while flailing their leathery wings. The gassy creatures poop everywhere, but that doesn't stop people from jumping in the water beneath them (750 miles of desert scrub will make anyone desperate for a soak). Around kilometer 1,575, the world comes sufficiently alive enough to drizzle. By the time the Stuart Highway terminates in Darwin (1,646), the humidity edges toward 100 percent, and I'm confronted with Internet cafés, traffic lights, and too many people for my Zenned-out brain to handle. Lodging   Wycliffe Well south of Wauchope, 011-61/8-8964-1966, from $30   Bluestone Motor Inn Paterson St. South, Tennant Creek, 011-61/8-8962-2617, from $75   Wauchope Hotel Wauchope, 011-61/ 8-8964-1963, from $55   Daly Waters Historic Hotel Daly Waters, 011-61/8-8975-9927, from $38   Barrow Creek Hotel Barrow Creek, 011-61/8-8956-9753, from $55 Food   Ti Tree Roadhouse Ti Tree, 011-61/ 8-8956-9741 Attractions   Devil's Marbles north of Wauchope, free   Mataranka Thermal Springs Mataranka Homestead Tourist Resort, east of Mataranka, 011-61/8-8975-4544, free 2. Great Ocean Road In the convict days, ships from Europe shortened the five-month journey to Sydney by sailing along Australia's southern coast, threading between Tasmania and the mainland near Melbourne, a perilous route through the rocky Bass Strait. The irony is that many ships went for months without seeing anything but water, only to literally crash into Australia. Just south of Melbourne, where I start my road trip, is enormous Port Philip Bay, which has 161 miles of coastline but a mouth that's only two miles wide. The channel roils with so much tidal water that seamen dubbed it the Rip. The area is notorious enough that when Australia's Prime Minister Harold Holt vanished while taking an ill-advised dip nearby in 1967, the government didn't launch so much as an inquiry. A few years later, the parliament did feel inspired to take action of a different sort a few miles south, at Bell's Beach, designating it a national surfing reserve. From a bluff I watch surfers in wet suits doggedly bob and paddle the same waves that host the annual Rip Curl Pro competition. The Surfworld Australia museum is in the adjoining town of Torquay. In front of the building, teenagers slam the pavement on beat-up skateboards, aware that this is one property they won't be chased off of. Inside, there's a hall of fame, a meticulous history section, and a continuous film festival of classic documentaries. The Great Ocean Road begins in Torquay and swerves along forested cliffs and swirling waters for 200-plus miles. I quickly learn that meals will be nothing fancy; the staple of the road's bakeshops is the meat pie (I like to dip them in tomato sauce like the locals do). Against my better judgment, at the Louttit Bay Bakery I try the Mitey Cheese Scroll, a platter-size swirl of cheese and moist bread that leaves me yearning for greens. My favorite stops for grub are at the pubs, where entire families hang out together. In an Airey's Inlet pub, I order a gin and tonic (it comes premixed in a can) and spot a boy no older than seven. He's perched on a bar stool, eating cheese puffs and chatting with the bartender like one of the gang. Cimarron, a B&B high above the town of Airey's Inlet, was designed and built in 1979 from native eucalyptus wood by Wade Chambers, an American-born professor. Scanning the thousands of books that line the walls, I tell Wade that I could get into the idea of moving, like he did, to this peaceful Aussie Malibu. Wade is an eager talker, and before we know it, it's past midnight. I switch on the TV--you can learn a lot about a place by what's showing late at night--and catch ads for livestock sales and lungworm poison. In the morning, wild parrots and white cockatoos peer into the windows. As I pull out of Cimarron, three bemused kangaroos blink at me before hopping into the trees. Several miles past Apollo Bay, another tiny vacation town, there's an easy-to-miss signpost: mait's rest. A path leads to a rain forest gully, trickling with streams, layered with ferns as big as beach towels, and pierced by shafts of sunlight. Australia is 70 percent arid, and it's shocking to see how much vivid green the other 30 percent of the land is able to muster. After an hour, an elderly couple appears. "Never seen anything like it," the woman says, craning her neck. It's a sight that would be famous elsewhere. Next stop is Otway Fly, one of the world's tallest treetop walkways, which opened in September 2003. Its steel catwalk system is 2,000 feet long, rising as high as 147 feet into a rain forest canopy of beech, blackwood, and ash. Seeing centuries-old forests from above, at bird's-eye level, is surprisingly compelling. Back on the coast, the Twelve Apostles finally come into view, like great sailing ships returning from a voyage. Fat, beige limestone pillars in the slate-blue water, the Apostles are worthy of their postcard fame. Crowds gather for the sidelong photo op from a promontory at Port Campbell National Park. A plump Australian blows cigarette smoke out his nose and says what we're all thinking: "They're so beautiful I could look at them all day." Meanwhile, hornet-like helicopters incessantly chop through the air. They're less annoying the minute I actually get in one. A 10-minute ride costs $58, and seven minutes after laying down my credit card, I'm snapping photos of the rumpled sheet of ocean below. The walking trails at Loch Ard Gorge, a mile or two on, explore the land above sea-worn tunnels, blowholes, and arches that have wrecked many a luckless ship. The gorge is named for its most infamous disaster--the Loch Ard went down in 1878 with 52 out of 54 passengers, even though it came to grief only about 20 feet from land. The air wheezes with sea mist as waves pummel the rocks and splash skyward. You can actually feel the earth tremble when the surges strike land. Lodging   Cimarron 105 Gilbert St., Airey's Inlet, 011-61/3-5289-7044, cimarron.com.au, from $115 Food   Louttit Bay Bakery 46b Mountjoy Parade, Lorne, 011-61/3-5289-1207 Attractions   Surfworld Australia Surf City Plaza, Beach Rd., Torquay, 011-61/3-5261-4606, surfworld.org.au, $5.60   Otway Fly Lavers Hill, 011-61/3-5235-9200, otwayfly.com, $9.30   Port Campbell National Park 011-61/13-1963, parkweb.vic.gov.au, free   PremiAir Port Campbell National Park, 011-61/3-5598-8266, premiairhelicopterservices.com, flights from $58   Great Ocean Road Tourism 011-61/3-5237-6529, greatoceanrd.org.au 3. The remote southwest corner I'm as far away from home as I can get without swimming--on the opposite end of the planet, with New York City somewhere beneath the soles of my feet--yet few places on earth seem more American. Driving south out of Perth, a city of skyscrapers, suburb tracts, car dealerships, and gas station mini-marts, things rhyme far more with Houston or Miami than with the pseudo-British settlements of eastern Australia. After a bland 100 miles or so, just below the town of Bunbury, the southwest tip of Australia juts into the Indian Ocean and the landscape bursts into a thousand shades of green. In the 50-odd miles between the northern and southern capes of the bulge is Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park, a coastline of thundering waves, untouched beaches, and death-wish surfers who brave curls with names like the Gallows and the Guillotine. In Yallingup, I check in at Caves House, amid gardens high above the moody sea. It's a creaking manor with a sweeping veranda, antique white-tiled bathrooms, and dark hallways lined with 1930s photographs of the staff dressed for tennis. I'm so enraptured by the time warp that in the morning I can't help gushing to the desk clerk. She nods sadly. "Glad you liked it," she says. "We got the word last week that we're all getting the boot." In a month, Caves House would be handed over to a company for conversion into a luxury resort. I drive to the coast's far southern tip, near Augusta, where the Indian and the Southern Oceans meet and chew furiously at the shoreline. Humpback and southern right whales are known to frolic in the foamy waters beneath the Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse. When I ask about the seas, the lighthouse's middle-aged, cardigan-wearing ticket attendant mistakes me for a surfer. "Redgate Beach is going off today," she reports. "Be careful. There's a nasty rip." This remote corner of Australia is home to more than 60 wineries, which flourish thanks to sunny summers and surrounding waters that ward off frost and drought. It's called the Margaret River Wine Region, and the town of the same name is a laid-back artists' retreat of coffeehouses and galleries. Encouraged by raves from several people at a coffee shop in town, I lunch at VAT 107, which uses local organic ingredients for dishes like spicy quail, honeycomb ice cream, and grilled marron--a cobalt-blue freshwater crayfish that is native only to southwest Australia and can grow to more than a foot long. I rent a cottage for the night at Burnside Bungalows and Organic Farm. It's run by Jamie and Lara McCall, who fled Perth for the wine country a few years ago with their three young sons. Guests stay in airy, hand-built cottages with kitchens, woodstoves, and views over the paddocks, and they're even welcome to help themselves to food from the harvests--olives, macadamias, avocados, apricots, and mulberries. What really drew me to the region are the ancient, mammoth trees. The pale-bark karri trees are 150 feet tall, as big around as foldout couches. I cruise along on empty roads that undulate over hills, around pastures dotted with contented cows, and into miles of forests that feel as sacred as Gothic cathedrals. Now and then, brief bouts of rain appear, and the clean scent of wet soil pours through the open windows. It's car-commercial good. The forest hides some cozy lumber hamlets--toy-town-like and tinged with the aroma of freshly cut timber, where chimneys smoke and carpenters deal in exotic woods such as jarrah. Many village names use the Aboriginal suffix -up, which means "place of," lending the vicinity an endearing, fairy-tale euphony: Nannup, Manjimup, Balingup. Then there's Pemberton, home of one of the area's most prized attractions: the enormous Gloucester Tree, which for years served as a lookout tower for firefighters. Anyone may climb to its platform, which is 190 feet up, but the means of ascent is a helix of slippery metal pegs spiraling perilously into the branches. As evening sets in, I check into a two-room bungalow at Pump Hill Farm Cottages, stoke its potbellied stove, and uncork a bottle of Margaret River red. Out my back door, in total darkness, a cool rain rustles the leaves. I may be far from where I live, but I'm utterly at home. The chatter of the forest is a little unsettling at first, but by the time the fire dies out, I'm fast asleep. Lodging   Burnside Bungalows 291a Burnside Rd., Margaret River, 011-61/8-9757-2139, burnsidebungalows.com.au, from $125   Pump Hill Farm Pump Hill Rd., Pemberton, 011-61/8-9776-1379, pumphill.com.au, from $82 Food   VAT 107 107 Bussell Hwy., Margaret River, 011-61/8-9758-8877, vat107.com.au, tasting plate for two $22 Attractions   Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park 011-61/8-9752-5555, calm.wa.gov.au, free   Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse Quarry Bay, Augusta, 011-61/8-9757-7411, lighthouse.net.au, tours $6   The Gloucester Tree Burma Rd., Pemberton, 011-61/8-9776-1207, calm.wa.gov.au, $6.70 per car   Pemberton Tourist Centre 011-61/8-9776-1133, pembertontourist.com.au