Clare and Ross - a van, no plan.

Walked from our campsite up  Mount Ohlssen Bagge....uphill all the way to gain 450m and quite a rock scramble. On top it was freezing and blowing a gale but the views in all directions were expansive and amazing  The whole dish of the Pound was infront of us, surrounded by mountains. Difficult to show in a photo... We admired the view for as long as we could before turning into icicles  Then made our way carefully down.....a great walk.

We have driven 300km North today leaving behind the wheat and vines. They have been replaced by sheep, grazing on rather poor land. We had several stops to walk up and down the main streets of small towns. We saw a family of emus with about 6 metre high chicks. Crossing the road we saw a snake and several dragons. Arrived at Wilpena Pound and we were lucky to get a powered site. It's school holidays and all of Adelaide is here. Each site has a fire place so we were very happy sitting outside with our camp fire, cheese and bickie's and a glass of wine, as the very young bikies all whizzed by. Tomorrow we will do some walking to explore.

We have spent today back in the Clare Valley.....it is a good halfway point to The Flinders Ranges and we loved cycling The Reisling Trail  This time we started at Auburn and cycled to Waterford. It was a bit of a dismal day so an excellent way to spend it  Cycling again through vineyards, farmland with sheep, cattle and alpacas happily grazing. Nice lunch then back we went....again all downhill home......fantastic!

Horseshoe Bay at Port Elliot is beautiful, the sun was shining and it is Sunday. Lots of people were out enjoying themselves. A very nice cafe overlooking the bay for lunch then we walked up to the headland for a great view. went on to the Barrage at the end of the Murray River. It is a weir and a lock to allow boats pass through with a change of water depth. The Pelicans were having a ball catching so many fish and on the weir having a rest were many seals sunning themselves.

We drove around to the other side of the Fleurieu Peninsula for a very special lunch. The restaurant was in a historic mill that has been renovated. Lunch was amazing, courtesy of our lovely family.....Thank you.......Happy Birthday!! After our beautiful long lunch we went further down the valley to the coast....sandy beach on one side and smooth beach rocks on the other. Perfect rocks for skimming.....try as we might we could not get more than 4 skips. Look at these amazing rock layers in the cliffs. On our way back we called in to Cape Jervis.... pronounced as it is written rather than how we pronounce our Jervis bay. This is where the ferry to Kangaroo island departs ...the island was not far away....clearly visible.

Drove into Adelaide for the day with a stop on the way for a quick blood donation from Ross for a lucky person. Met up with Julia at her house, she has a nice spot with lots of open space despite being not far from the centre of town. We were able to meet Sweety the cat. We cycled along the Linear path....a walking/ cycling path along the Torrens river going for over 30km to the ocean.....we only did a short section but it was very nice. We were introduced to the local community garden and also met one of the locals trotting down the path ahead of us to find a new tree. Thanks Julia!

Paid this little town a visit today, it is on the coast just north of Robe. It has a very long waterfront but no beach....there are cliffs of seaweed. As we were looking at the seaweed there was a little movement and a little seal appeared on top...watching us watching it. As we walked up the jetty it hopped in the water and followed us out to the end. It was rolling around end over end and sideways then poking it's head up to check where we were....it only looked like a pup.....very cute! Walked on up to a lighthouse that used to be on a reef 8 km out to sea....it was constantly manned by 2 lighthouse keepers....they did 2 weeks on one week off.....how lonely! It is no longer used and has been dismantled and rebuilt on the shore as an exhibit.

Robe is a very popular summer holiday place with many beaches, cafes and nice shops. We rode our bikes along the cliff tops behind the beaches from the caravan park to town and on to an oblisk on the cliff top, built after there were 30 shipwrecks off the point in one year. After lunch we walked on Long Beach.....it is very very long....no end in sight. All over the beach were little balls.....like small tennis balls They were soft like a sponge, blew about in the wind and appeared to be made entirely of fibres.....what are they? Fur balls from a seal? Eggs from a strange shark? A wierd type of seaweed?

Explored the other volcanic lakes in Mt Gambia...the main one is Valley lake...again in an old volcano cone just next to Blue Lake. We walked up to the top of Mt Gambier and had a magnificent view over the lakes, the town and surrounding districts.....a very steep path up there  then drove 20km out to the coast at Port MàcDonnell.....it was blowing a gale with driving rain....the seas were huge...no surfers today. Nice cafe for lunch it was warm and the food was good. A pause in the rain and we went to Cape Northumberland....the most southerly point in SA....3000 Km to Perth, 1200 to Sydney and 5500 to the South Pole. It was a very narrow walkway out to the point...we were lucky not to have got blown off. The South Pole seemed much closer than in the sign.

Moved further south to Mt Gambier today. The town is quite large....infact it is a city....and right in the middle is a sink hole....quite deep leading to a cave.... apparently there are lots of them in the limestone around here. Steps led down into the hole and gardens around. Very nice and quite unique. After setting up the caravan did a lap of Blue Lake....a lake in an old volcano cone.....there is a path all the way around the cone....looking one way is the lake and the other way beautiful farmland out to the coast. The water was more grey today than blue as it was quite overcast. The nice looking house on the side of the lake is infact the pump house as the lake is the water source for the city....it refills from the water table.

The Coonawarra area joins the Pathway region so acres and acres of vines....all beautifully tended and just starting to bud. The area is famous for Cab Sav and Shiraz.....we are in our element. Walked the Coonawarra Wine Trail....a 5 km loop that includes 5 vineyards. We started well tasting everything on offer at the first cellar door.....at the second we had further tasting and a glass of our choice with a delicious Plowmans Platter to share. After that we rolled along the trail.....Ross decided to cut out the middleman and went direct to the source.... We completed the loop.... beautiful buildings....but no more tasting for us. You will be glad to know we got home safely.

Walked along the creek side and through a nature reserve for several kms. It has been a beautiful sunny warm day. Town is spread along 2 streets and all 4 big banks have branches here....this is very unusual....many towns have no banks!..... There must be a lot of money or massive loans in the area  After lunch visited the caves just outside town....world heritage listed. The caves contain the fossilized remains of megafauna that fell into them through shafts 500,000 years ago. They have recreated Diprotodons, ,Marsupial lions, giant short faced kangaroos that ate leaves 3 metres up and a monster snake.....all of which they found in the caves. Enjoyed exploring their display and one of the caves....The Tomato Cave!!

Started the day at the world's biggest rocking horse....a wooden toy factory. Just like a monster size Dobbin....the rocking horse we had as kids. Found the toys on offer a little disappointing though. Wound our way through the hills...past cherry, apple and pear plantations to Mount Lofty. Huge view from the top looking down on Adelaide and out over the coast....the CBD was quite clear with big parks around. Last stop was Stirling....not bad but the pick of the little towns is definately Hahndorf  We returned to our seriously sloping caravan....hoping it does not flip over in the night....we have survived 2 nights just one more. It is a very sloping site and we are not very good at wedges!

We have made our way to the Adelaide Hills along winding narrow roads....climbing high with wonderful views then wiggling down again. Fortunately we did not hit any rock walls or caravans going the other way. Sleet and a gale with a " feels like)1° greeted our arrival. Hahndorf is everything German.....Cookoo clocks, sausages, beer, wooden toys and Christmas decorations. We have had a lovely day exploring the shops along the main Street. It was cold, drizzly and windy so the open fires in the pubs was very nice.

Great trail that runs along an old train line from Clare to Auburn winding through the vineyards and beautiful countryside. Being on a train line the slopes are very gradual....it was very popular....lots of cyclist out enjoying the sunshine. We were swooped by magpies at several spots....no damage done  thanks to our helmets but it gives you a fright! Lunch stop at Watervale where the pub was very very busy....lovely outdoor area. When the menu arrived we discovered we had arrived at one of the highlights of the Epicurean Way...lucky us...tasty tapas type dishes...yum! Back home....coffee and cake halfway and mostly a slight downhill. A great day...thank you Clare Valley.

30 min drive from Burra to Clare through beautiful rural countryside. Clare is quite a big town and busy...it appears prosperous. There was lots of advertising for a French Festival at Auburn this weekend. Auburn is a little further down the Clare Valley so we decided to go and see what celebrations were going on. The village was decked in red white and blue banners but there were no stalls or market place....it seems it doesn't really start until tomorrow. Nevermind....we were sitting having lunch on the verandah of an old pub when Robyn and Tony appeared....friends who had been travelling with Deb and Les. Very nice to catch up and soak up some sunshine. We went on to a local vineyard and found some reds we liked in this centre renown for Riesling

Drove via Morgan which sits on a bend in the Murray. Nice riverfront Park where there used to be a railway station when the town functioned as a port....The railway station has been nicely renovated but no trains now. Another car ferry crosses the river here and was busy as we watched. Many houseboats! On to Burra, another old copper mining town where lots of people came from Cornwall to work as miners....the same as Moonta that we visited on the Yorke Peninsula. The cafes were all closed when we strolled around town but all were advertising Cornish Pasties....some a mix of neat and vegies at one end and apple at the other.....a gluten free option at one cafe.....had to opt for the pub for a drink. The town is full of beautiful old bluestone buildings including the one Julia was the owner of for a short time ( we think this is it) It looks lovely. Burru is bustling small town now, a far cry from the height of the South Australian lockdown.

Visited Barmera today which sits on Lake Bonney....very nice but absolutely no watercraft or people on the lake. Nice walking trail along the shore around town...many plaques commemorating local waterskiers who had broken world records and competed at various events representing Australia. No waterskiing going on today.  Lunch...of course in a well positioned cafe. Drove around the lake then back to Berri by a back road. Closest we got to a cruise on the Murray was the local car ferry crossing. Reminded us of home....but much shorter than Berowra Waters.

Tried out the natural grass tennis courts at the local tennis club....the bounce was very low. Walked along the river then through the wetlands next to the river ....pelicans in the trees, lots of tiny ducklings, red rumped parrots, yellow rosellas ( just like crimson rosellas....only yellow), a pond alive with frog mating calls. After all that time for a rest!

Happy Father's Day and happy 90th birthday Eric! Lovely to have a such a good chat yesterday. Walked along the river for lunch in a cafe overlooking the river then drive to Renmark a little further up river......discovered "The Big Orange" Huge fruit growing area. Renmark had several large paddlesteamers moored....a sign of a summer time activity but no-one on the water today....it is very cold and windy. Further down the river bank was a most amazing barge ......it must have taken years to assemble this amazing collection.....it had music going and a gold coin collection.

We have driven to the Riverlands today. En route we had to bin all our fruit and vegetables as this is the food basket of SA. Orange trees, lemons, mandarins and grapes, grapes, grapes. Stopped off at Waikerie where we got our first view of the Murray....impressively wide. Silo art on display. Berri is also right on the river..... houseboats lined up on the shore tell of a busy summer season. The caravan park had a pizza night tonight. $5.50 for a base, tomato paste and mozarella cheese and bring your own topping to add to it. 2 wood fired pizza ovens going...BYOG..... excellent!!

Went exploring vineyards today. It was hot (30) very very windy so left the bikes behind. So many vineyards along Sepeltsfield road....the one we chose for lunch had a wedding going on...plenty of guests and not a mask in site. This was our view as we ate lunch. It is a very long road marked by palm trees all along its wiggly course. We did some tasting in the Dorrien region......and the winner was....warm spicy Mead made from honey....delicious!

Rode along a dedicated cycleway to Angaston....it goes along an old train track so very gradual gradient to gain almost 100m.  We were cycling through vineyards with well tended grapes extending on both sides....they are just starting to shoot. We rode through several cuttings and ended up at Angaston railway station which has been beautifully renovated. Plenty of choices for lunch. All down hill on the way home....the sun was shining.....the Barossa is very picturesque.