clare and barossa valleys

clare valley

wine. wine. and more wine. the clare and barossa valleys are 2 (of many) wine regions in south australia. clare is a quaint germanic tourist town in the heart of the valley. it's big enough to have everything you need but small enough to make you feel like you've stepped back into time.

conveniently, the clare valley has a 25km walk/cycle trail called the riesling trail. it follows the old train line and ambles from clare to auburn. we were told at the tourist centre that there weren't many wineries along the actual trail, so we chose to follow a few other routes before catching the trail on our way back. for 5 hours, we cycled through the rolling hills (some feeling less rolling, more steep), stopping in at the occasional cellar door to taste a wine or two before setting off on our way again. not all of the vineyards were open for business as it was midweek (which, clearly we had no idea. losing track of time is my favourite part of being on holidays) but we did manage to find a few lovely, smaller vineyards.

we also stopped at a place called Sevenhill, run by religious brothers. they have over 50 000 tourists who stop in. the wine wasn't all that good (so john told me) but the place itself was quite cool- a museum, underground cellar, church and crypt for people to explore.

underground cellar at Sevenhill wines

after the ride, we drove down to the barossa valley. this region of SA is currently under siege by locusts. not quite a plague of them, we're told. but enough to be disturbing and destructive. locusts eat most greenery (luckily for the wine makers, they don't like the vines) and generally avoid the hay crops. but anything else that might be green will be eaten. they stop at nothing. it is absolutely disgusting to be driving though a veritable cloud of locusts (they're rather juicy when they hit the windscreen).

the barossa is another splendid area with dozens of vineyards (much larger then in clare. also more "famous") and a variety of small germanic towns to explore, all of similar nature to clare only a bit bigger. we stayed with one of john's friends at her family farm- it was nice to have a solid bed and shower without flipflops on! the farm sits on 100 acres and is nestled between some vineyards and other farmland- feels like you're in the middle of nowhere, when in fact, you're right in the heart of wine country.

we left the barossa today and made our way to adelaide. john's friend showed us around glenelg, a really nice beachside area in adelaide (i had no idea adelaide was on the beach....sad, i know). we saw the most awesome looking activity- which we didn't do because the line was so long and it cost 10$ for 5 minutes- but it was essentially people in "hamster balls" rolling around in a small pool. it was hysterical. and i really would have loved to try it. next time. next time.

and now i sit here at john's friend's place, watching what might be the worst movie i've seen in a really long time. "rogue"- something along the lines of an australian version of Jaws, but using a croc instead. it's terrible. well and truly terrible.

but at least i'll get another shower without flipflops :)

xo