So after spending time finally fixing the hot drum on the caravan which was a combination of brake dust and too tight brakes, changed the gearbox oil on the Disco as per requirement of the Modern Motors who installed the new box early in our travels, 10,000km comes up quickly. Whilst doing all that the kids were able to catch up on school work which they enjoy so much.
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Having completed all that we were now free to check out some of the local area being the Barossa Valley, anyone out there that drinks wine would have heard of this area and it really is a huge industry in this region. First stop was the Whispering Wall this is located at Barossa Dam, just outside of Williamstown. It was only after the dam was completed that engineers noticed the perculiar acoustics of the curved dam wall, standing at each side you can whisper into the wall and someone on the other side can hear you quite clearly..jpg)
Another lead from Simon was the bakery and in particular the pies at Lyndoch, this small town had most facilities and a very nice area opposite the bakery to eat your selections, they do make a good pie in case you were wondering, I even had my first taste of Metwurst a locally made German inspired salami like meat. Our next stop was to be for wine, following another tip we made or way to Bethany Wines which was just outside Tanunda, funny sight on arrival was a 4wd with an 'I love Hull' sticker on the back, after we finished the wine tasting and procured a couple of bottles we met the cars owner. Andrew Hull is the new chemist at Bethany Wines and proceeded to give us a quick tour of the wine making process from where the grapes are unloaded and into the large storage tanks.The next stop was another of those cases where the proof is in the pudding, or in this case vanilla slice!, the bakery at Angaston claims theirs are the best, I think Scottsdale in Tasmania still holds the title, why people use so much cream is beyond me...
Our final stop for the day was to be Maggies Farm owned by the TV personality Maggie Bier, just outside of Nurioopta this is a farm shop with lots of jars of sauces and pickles, only a few fresh food items which I was expecting more of but what we sampled tasted pretty nice.
We really liked the towns of Tanunda and Nurioopta, certainly places to come back to to explore this region more but for now this was a nice insight into what the Barossa has to offer especially if you like wine and good food.
Leaving the Barossa we still had unfinished business on the Fleurieu Peninsular and not wanting to drive through Adelaide we took the more scenic route to get there, it also allowed us to tick off another attraction for Fred and I. Last year we crossed the Simpson Desert and in planning the trip we read and watched a lot about Tom Cruse, not the Top Gun actor, the Mailman of the Outback character, and when I say character by all accounts he was very much just that. Anyway one of Tom's old mail trucks had been restored just before he passed away and it's sits at the Transport Museum in Birdwood SA, convieniently this was just a short drive from where we had been staying. After 3 hours of checking out cars, trucks and motorbikes from every era and manufacturer plus of course seeing Tom's old truck we had managed to see all the items on display, certainly worth a visit if you are in the area, just seeing the Holden roadstar prototype was a treat.
It was now early afternoon and we had some distance to cover, driving south via Hahndorf which was very busy but unfortunately not well setup for caravan parking so it's was onwards towards Myponga. Stopping to grab some bread we noticed the brewery signs, another favourite of ours we went to check out their offerings. The Smiling Samoyed Brewery http://www.smilingsamoyed.com.au/ is a small craft brewery which is only open Friday to Sunday and has a selection of bar snacks on offer, I grabbed a tasting paddle which gave me a taste of the brews available, have to say the surprise beer was a wheat beer from Lobethal, that was one very tasty brew. On leaving the brewery we spotted the namesakes of the company, three smiling Samoyed's lounging about in the shade, many pats later we could move on.
Back in the car and we needed to decide on a spot to stay, being a long weekend in South Australia we didn't fancy our chances of finding a quietspot but I had seen Wirrina Caravan and Camping site in the Wikicamps app http://www.wirrinacoveholidaypark.com.au/, we called ahead and left a message to reserve a spot and were happy to hear they had sites available. This park is under new owners since late last year, the park was part of a larger resort which was broken up and sold as separate concerns, the resort being one and the marina being another. Although a little dated the new owners are looking to improve the facilities and attract more people, along with the caravan and camping sites they also have a number of one bedroom chalet type units available for reasonable $100 a night, the van sites are $35pn which is good value for families. We decided to book in for four nights to take us through the long weekend, but as is often the case we stayed five nights as it was such a nice spot.
There was one issue for two nights of our stay a large group of 3/4 families setup in the sites next to and around from us in tents, personnel space was not something they appreciated when we returned on day to find them setup under the shade of our van, literally under the wheel arches. That and the constant drone of their chatter throughout the time they were there, we were quite relieved when they left.
From Wirrina we were able to explore the Fleurieu Peninsular as we were quite central, just nearby was the small settlement of Second Vally, this is a really nice location with a good beach for kids and a small jetty which is popular for diving/snorkelling and fishing. Further along the coast you arrive at Rapid Bay, again a nice little place with a large jetty which is connected to a disused mine, the old workers cottages stand empty just crying out to be tidied up and made available for holiday lettings.
South Australia Colonial Surveyor General Colonel William Light made his first landfall on mainland South Australia at Rapid Bay on 8 September 1836.[2] The site was named after Light's ship, the 162 ton brig Rapid. To mark this historic landfall the Colonel's initials, "W.L.", were carved into a large boulder – a replica is visible in the township, while the original is stored in the South Australian Museum, in Adelaide.
Last stop at the end of this peninsular was Cape Jervis, a ferry leaves from here which takes you to Kangeroo Island, other than that there is not much else to the towns save for a boat ramp with a rather cute seal patrolling the waters, standing on the jetty the seal would swim around literally under our feet.
Our final day out took us to the Deep Creek Conservation area, one of the more popular places for people to come to camp, swim and fish. The roads into the park are all good quality dirt and you have a couple of camping options, only Stringybark really has the space to get a van into but otherwise lots of space for tents and camper trailers. Within the park is Deep Creek Blowhole beach, to access they recommend 4wd only as the road down to the beach involves a fairly steep desent and some well placed rocks across the track to stop your standard car in its tracks. At the end of the track there is a small car park and you can then walk down to the beach, there is also a longer coastal walk that comes through this area for those feeling more adventurous, from here the views out over the water are very nice and you can see Kangeroo Island in the distance.
Returning to camp we called into Second Valley to have a go at catching squid, now we have never tried this before so grabbed a couple of squid lures and headed to the jetty. Squid fishing is best at sunrise/sunset and using the special lures we started casting out, after a bit of time I managed to bring one in which meant squid for dinner, slightly later on Kellie had another, this one was a bit different and was in fact a cuttlefish. It was fairly late by the team we got back to the caravan but we prepared the catch and fried them in breadcrumbs, for our first caught meal it sure did taste good.
And so ends our time on the Fleurieu Penisular, this is a very nice area to visit, the small towns and attractive beaches make for a nice holiday location.
The next short stop of the trip we travelled back to Adelaide as it was our wedding anniversary and we fancied some nice lunch in the city, this also gave us chance to sort out some school work with the kids and restock before the next part of the trip being the Yorke Pennisular.
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