From Port Augusta, we drove through scenic countryside passing through several small historic towns. Really happy with our decision to base on the outskirts of Barossa Valley's town of Tanunda, which enabled us to visit several well-known wineries, and travel to Adelaide and surrounds within a radius of less than an hour.
The Jesuits were among many emigrants searching for a new life in the mid-1800s. After purchasing the land, originally inhabited by the Ngadjuri people, the Catholic order named it Sevenhill, in honour of the seven hills of Rome. The first grapevines were planted in 1851 with a focus on producing sacramental wine for faith communities in the region.
With its Gothic style architecture, this magnificent church, within the grounds of Sevenhill, was completed in 1875. The church has a crypt attached to it, which is the final resting place of 41 Jesuits who have passed away at the property.
We've seen this wine label on menus and enjoyed it in more than one restaurant back home. But most importantly, because my husband's name is Mick, this winery was the obvious choice for our first lunch in South Australia's wine region! Both child and dog friendly, we were welcomed to sit at a lovely table next to the wood fire, blankets supplied and the tasting came to us. We were also not disappointed with the menu which included crispy pork belly and twice cooked potatoes which we highly recommend.
The Barossa Valley is the traditional land of three First Nations: the Peramangk, Ngadjuri and Kaurna. These peoples used the region's natural resources for food, shelter, tools, medicine and ceremony. Early Europeans to the region in the mid-1800's introduced both agriculture and viticulture, the latter being of particular interest to us! Being the start of the winter season, many vines had already lost their leaves, with only a few autumn fields remaining. Riesling and shiraz appeared to be the most popularly grown white and red grape varieties, featuring on all wine tasting menus. With so many wineries to visit, we narrowed it down to four over two days where we tasted some very nice drops. Call us bias though, there's just something about our south Western Australian wine makers we can't go past!
Sited on Peramangk country, Hahndorf is Australia's oldest surviving German settlement, established in 1839 by Lutheran migrants fleeing religious persecution. The bustling main street with its original buildings is now occupied by cafes, galleries, restaurants, pubs and specialty stores. My favourites were an artisan shop selling a magnificent range of cuckoo clocks, and the German Haus where we washed down a tasty wiener schnitzel with a Bayreuther Helles!
Only a short trip from Hahndorf through Adelaide Hills, we popped into the South Australian capital to visit some family! Also having trammed it in for a drink at Glenelg Beach once before, we knew we couldn’t go wrong here for a stroll down the jetty and a seaside sunset.
Having now ventured to different parts of South Australia, during the winter, it's not surprising to hear it is officially the country's driest state. With fresh water flowing from tributaries in the Eastern Highlands of southern Queensland, New South Wales, the ACT and northern Victoria, the Murray River is the life-blood of the state, just as it has been for the Ngarrindjeri Nation, including its 18 Laklinyeris (tribes), which have occupied and managed the river region for tens of thousands of years.
We really only stopped by this town to gain some relief from the repetitious, "I'm hungry," coming from the back seat and were pleasantly surprised. Waffles and Jaffles on the Duke's Highway, run by Belgian couple Claudia and Rachid, was both reasonably priced and oh so delicious! Despite bringing our children up to share, sadly, no sharing of waffles took place on this occasion. As an added bonus, Just across the road from the shop is the silo art initiative for rural renewal, the first of its kind in South Australia. It was painted in 2017 by world renowned artist, Guido van Helten, who chose to paint five Coonalpyn primary school children, reflecting community spirit, culture and local identity.
Every now and then, breaking up the farmland, we came across a stretch of road lined with glorious gumtrees which met us like a guard of honour. So beautiful!
Sheep and cattle grazing on intensive farmland were another soothing sight between small historic towns, including Padthaway, Naracoorte and Coonawarra, well known for its vineyards. If we'd driven though Naracoorte earlier in the day, we would have stopped to explore the World Heritage fossil caves which reveal Australia's unique megafauna that roamed the continent as far back as 500,000 years ago.
Visiting Penola was a lovely surprise, because although we knew of this town, we had no idea it was out here until we looked at the map. This small town has special significance because it is the place where Mary MacKillop, Australia's first saint, and Father Julian Tenison Woods established the first free Catholic School in a stable in 1866. The schoolhouse was built a year later to accomodate growing numbers of pupils from the surrounding rural areas, where Mary taught with her sister Annie.
It's hard to believe that South Australia's second largest settlement is sited on a volcano! The area was known as Berrin to the Boandik people for many thousands of years before British surveyors sighted it from the coast in 1800 and named it Mount Gambier.
The volcano itself hasn't erupted for more than 4300 years and its large crater is now filled with water, constantly changing through different shades of blue, depending on the time of year and the day - and we got to see many of them over the two days we were here. Including stopping for pics at the multiple viewing platforms, it took us around 45 minutes to walk the pleasant 3.6km loop with our pooch.
Only 15 minutes after leaving Mount Gambier, the Welcome to Victoria sign was suddenly upon us! And just like that, our South Australian adventure was over. We've really loved this humble state and hope to return some time in the future!