Blogs from McLaren Vale, South Australia, Australia, Oceania - page 2

"God's own country" - the Germans have Bavaria and they also found this part of the world. It is so picturesque with vineyards in small square fields beside hay or olives or almonds or fruit trees. The overall picture is a tapestry of colour covering the hills. On Monday we had a drive to the Mouth of the Murray. From McLaren Vale you travel south east to Goolwa and then to Hindmarsh Island (controversial Bridge - secret women's business - do you remember? ) which leads to the edge of the southern part of the mouth. Huge sand dredging tugs stand at the mouth apparently working all the time to ensure the salts, minerals and sand have an escape route to the ocean. In 1981 for the first time the Murray stopped flowing and since then ... read more

Friday 23-4-10 we got away about 11am & followed Paul & Kenny to Lakeside Caravan Park at Mclaren Vale ($26 a night) . We set up & went to the pub for lunch, & then we all had a rest. Collin & Jenny arrived at 5.30 just as we were going to dinner at Terry, Sandra & Ally’s place at Morphett Vale. At the moment they are renting a house together while they subdivide their land & Ally will build next to Terry & Sandra. Ally has 4 kids , so it was nice catching up with them. We had a BBQ & it was a nice night. We got back to camp at 9.30pm & all the couples were in bed, so we had an early night. Saturday 24-4-10 Jenny had arranged a mini bus ... read more

After a short flight to Adeleide I was greeted there by my good friend Tim, who I meet in London many years ago when he was living there, and we went to many many parties together. He was with his girlfriend Marion and we went straight to have some lunch in Adeleide by the sea at an oysters bar, where we had a dozen each with a bottle of white wine. We were enjoying our lunch at the pier when we saw a couple of dolphins swimming around the boats. From there we drove a pub near their house in the McLaren Vale (one of the wine regions here in South Australia), and we had another bottle of wine whilst the sun was setting on the sea. During the drive from Adeleide I saw many the ... read more

McLaren Vale turned out to be a fantastic "home base" for exploring Adelaide and surrounds. Camping amongst the vinyards a 10-minute walk from the charming village, we lazed away the days swimming in the caravan park swimming pool, enjoying local wines, olive oils, and taking in the small-town ambiance. Dinner at the Salopian Inn, a fine dining experience in a country-house atmosphere, was a real highlight. We took a quick trip (20 minutes) into Adelaide for a treat at Cocolat, a chocolate cafe in the city. While there we escaped the heat (it was 40+) and took in a movie. Maslin Beach was another treat, though it wasn't until we had been there for a while that we discovered there is an "unclad" streach of beach a bit further up. No-one was game for a naked ... read more

Came within inches of getting knocked off my bike at 90 kph yesterday by a motorist in a hurry, Almost decided I’d had enough right then and there. But the afternoon was much better and today was beautiful blue sky all day. Cannot believe how good if feels tonight. We’re in McLaren Vale. We’re here not so much because it is a major wine centre (though that certainly helps sway the logic), but because McLaren is Helen’s maiden name. How could we miss having a glass of wine here? The night before last we were in Mt Gambier where there are a series of amazing crater lakes right in town and last night we were in Meningie where we saw the most spectacular sunset with herons and storks on Lake Albert. Crossed the Murray River ... read more