South West Australia Foodie Trip - Britz

Five nights and 1,066 kilometres in a loop from Perth in a campervan, through the Great Southern and Margaret River, built around what the region grows and makes.

Albany comes first on the south coast, the oldest European settlement in Western Australia, with cool-climate vineyards inland and a working fishing fleet in the harbour. Denmark follows, where the Scotsdale Road runs past cheese makers, cider houses and berry farms within a few kilometres of one another.

Pemberton comes next in the karri forest, which produces some of the best cool-climate pinot and chardonnay in the country alongside truffles in winter, and Margaret River closes the loop, where the vineyards, the breweries and the cheese and chocolate makers are concentrated enough to be reached on foot from several of the campsites.

Britz supply the camper and the day-by-day plan, and the hire is priced live per vehicle rather than per person; campsites, fuel, ferries, park fees and activities are all extra, with a nil-excess insurance pack available at booking. Six days and a thousand kilometres leaves time to stop properly, which is the point of a trip like this one. Cellar doors across the region mostly close by five, so the days want planning around that rather than around the driving. A camper also deals with the obvious difficulty, which is getting back from a tasting. The Great Southern is also a good deal cooler than the rest of the state, which makes it the one Western Australian region that is comfortable through the summer, and the distances between the four stops are short enough to leave whole afternoons free.