Blogs from Barossa Valley, South Australia, Australia, Oceania - page 6

We had a long drive yesterday. We left Mildura in the rain, entertaining campers no end as the motor home slid all around in the mud as we tried to drive up the next level of the caravan park. People were outside with umbrellas watching and offering advice - not a lot happens in caravan parks! Once we'd finally left the park, we went into town and into Stefano’s cafe for morning tea and delicious cake. The shelves were full of breads, pasta, sauces and all sorts of interesting food in jars - I bought some Mildura pink salt and we also bought some tasty honey and beer sourbread. Attached is his bar and bottle shop and behind that, the art gallery which I think is managed by his wife. On the walls were canvases of ... read more

DAY 148 We both slept like babies again last night, no not sucking our thumbs, but the sleep again takes over entirely and we wake at 8.00; again!! Andy dreamt all night about estimating, how sad is that we are on a year off and Andy is thinking about work, I dreamt heavily but I cannot remember what I dreamt about, probably weird stuff, which is about usual for me. Today we leave the Barossa Valley to head towards Woomera, which is nearly 500k’s from us. So the plan is to get a good start on the day, well in our terms that means leaving the campsite before 10:00. We are all packed, breakfast done, showers done (& shave in Andy’s case) and we are away for 09.50. I navigate us away from Nuriootpa and heading ... read more

Today was very different we traveled to a well kept secret; The Whispering Wall in Cockatoo Valley, near Tanunda. And this is truly a magnificent piece of engineering, as from one end, you whisper something and it can be heard at the other end. I really wished that “The Choir” was here with me, splitting the parts at each end and be able to hear would have been some wonderful experience for everybody in the chorale. From there we visited Chateau Yalumba, then via Eden Valley to Hahndorf, and the Adelaide Hills. It is most interesting for me to note that, as I program Tom Tom, a GPS devise, I always ask for the shortest routes, and always avoid Highways and Motorways, but of course, this takes me via the very little known routes to the ... read more

On this day we visited a lavender farm, just outside Tanunda, a very interesting drive. To get there, you drive via Tree Hill Valley, on a gravel Rd that is really winding and climbing for 4 Km, but as history will tell you -what goes up must come down-. It was really interesting; in fact the photos will not do this justice, as it is difficult to see. The farm has many different species of lavender, and many products are made from this, the best for me is a spray that acts like a moisturiser. John bought some shampoo, and this leaves the hairs very silky, indeed a trip worth doing. Chateau Borrosa. The most beautiful of all the wineries (in my opinion), with a very interesting history, as in 2002, the rose gardens were opened ... read more

Today we went to the Barossa Valley wine region for some wine tasting! We stopped along the way at some friends in Gawler for a coffee then headed to one of the Chateau's. First stop was Chateau Yaldara. Then we went to Kabminye, where we had lunch. Beautifull traditional food of the area from the first settlers here. The host here was the most generous with the wine tastings - maybe a little too generous if you are hopping between wineries!!! Sheila bought a bottle of Kerner wine, a new white wine, which is the first time it has been grown here in SA. She loved it a very dry white with flavors of lychee.... We then stopped down the road at Rockford, beautifull wines here. I tried the Alicante Rose, which is made from red ... read more