Travel can be gathering a few friends together, jumping in the car and heading out to investigate something new. Living in the South West of WA, I am spoilt for choice in terms of nearby day trip destinations. Here, there are bespoke businesses and attractions opening regularly, not to mention a stunning coastline that provides endless walks and vantage points from which to admire the beautiful Indian Ocean.
My new mission is to get out there and enjoy them….. So this week, The Travel Bee went to visit bees at The Colony Concept in Metricup! This is a new shop/cafe that has recently opened to showcase Southern Forest Honey.
When you enter, you are greeted with an array of honey and honey products. You can taste and compare a variety of honeys from different local flowers and trees. It is quite surprising to discover the distinct tastes of Manuka, Karri, Marri, Jarrah, Forest and Wildflower honeys.
In this well stocked shop, you can purchase honeys, meads, shampoos, soaps, beeswax food wraps, candles, bee keeping equipment and much more.
For me however, the most interesting part was the room next door, the ‘Bee room’. Here, you are able to see inside a hive and discover the real meaning of the saying ‘Busy Bee’. Staff explain how the hive works and the roles of the bees. It is fascinating to watch the nurses, builders and cleaners going about their business. If you are lucky you can find the Queen in amongst all the worker bees and see baby bees emerging.
There is plenty of information about the plight of the honey bee, their importance to our ecosystem and what we can do to help maintain their colonies. You could spend hours here learning about these interesting and crucial creatures.
When exiting the bee room be sure to stop and taste the infused creamed honeys and meads. My favourite was the ginger creamed honey, which I purchased to take home to the family. I wasn’t sure whether the kids would like it, but it turns out Miss 9, Master 12 and Mr travel bee all loved it, it’s subtle ginger taste not overpowering the honey but rather perfectly balancing it.
My friends and I settled out in the alfresco area over looking the dam for a spot of morning tea. I was impressed with all the finishing touches from bees painted on the walls to the bee inspired crockery.
We opted for the scones and a coffee each and were treated with an unusual selection of toppings. Here, instead of just jam and cream, there is fresh butter, apple and cinnamon infused honey, homemade plum jam and whipped cream. The scones were a generous size allowing for them to be cut into quarters to enjoy each different topping.
And enjoy we did! We all had a great morning tasting, learning about bees, enjoying morning tea and some great conversation.
For those with children there is also a nature playground featuring logs and tyres (no plastic), designed by kids. We didn’t try it out but all have kids and agreed it looked pretty good!
A highly recommended south west day trip both for visitors and locals alike. 20 minutes from Busselton there is something here for everyone.
TTB
The Travel Bee 