Wildlife and wineries
After the big move to our new place, it was nice to take a break for a week to visit the Great Ocean Road (third trip for me - with great memories of two previous trips with Andrew in ‘05 and Amit and his parents in ‘04) and two wine regions in South Australia, Coonawarra and the Barossa Valley - even though the spare room was still full of boxes and other paraphernalia without an obvious home.
First two nights we camped, first in the Otways (love the towering gums) with koalas overhead (apparently the mating call of a male koala sounds like a pig grunting which we heard during the night as well as the lulling tones of heavy metal music until 3am from a 30th birthday party being held at the campsite) and a goat which peed and pooed all around the tent. Ahhh - camping!
Second night was at Penola in the Coonawarra region, a quieter campsite but our patch was located next to the main road where big trucks passed from 5am!
Still, you can’t go past relaxing in a camp chair with a book after a BBQ meal and the sounds of nature all around you. Visited a couple of cellar doors there - a nice one was Balnaves in a lovely setting with vines hanging over the verandah next to a small lake and a rose garden.
The next three nights we spent in the Barossa Valley - the self-contained accommodation seemed like luxury after camping. We caught up with our friends and their children who left mid-week for the US for 3 years. I have to say the Barossa must be one of the nicest wine regions in Australia with field after field of grapevines, picturesque cellar doors and the gorgous Adelaide Hills nearby.
We hired a bike and visited Turkey Flat, a great boutique winery and one of the oldest in the area. We also visited Seppeltsfield, a large and iconic, old winery with distinguished buildings and parkland. Had planned to stay at Stawell in Victoria on the way home but decided to push on home instead so we could get more unpacking done before the return to work next Tueday. However we did manage to stop at the Giant Koala betweem Horsham and Stawell. How very Australian! (Anyone read Bill Bryson’s ‘Down Under’? Almost finished it, very funny and he delights in the Australian obsession with big things).
Yes, was a nice trip! Bought back half a vineyard worth of wine!
The camping was interesting - especially at the Ottways which is such a gorgeous setting. That Big Koala was such a kitsch tourist spot - in the middle of nowhere as well, which reminded me of the Big Lobster at Kingston (also in the middle of nowhere). The wine regions were excellent! Need to wait a while till the next big trip though…
What fun you had with all the noises in the night. The countryside must be a delight to see. I hope to visit Vic one day and also SA. Oz is such a massive country.
I hope there is some wine left when next I visit you so I can do some tasting.
I was interested in the unusual names of the places you went to.
I must read Bill Bryson’s book too. That was an appropriate read for your tour.