For The Love of Travel

We stayed at the Ocean Crest motel….very cheap accommodation, dog friendly, but oozing fumes from its ‘take away kitchen’ at night…..not one we’ll EVER return to.

Victor Harbour, known by the Ramindjeri people as Nulcoowarra, is a coastal town. Since 1860’s, horse-drawn trams have transferred goods across the causeway to the Granite Island settlement …..home to a wild penguin colony. Lynne and I booked to be transported to Granite Island on the first morning trip, but discovered they had rescheduled the tramway timings by an hour…so we walked across instead. I loved seeing Rebecca Rose’s ‘In Awe’, comprising 56 oars collected from rowing clubs across NZ – reflecting on the circumstances that precipitated ancestors to pick up their oars and make those journeys. Good exercise for the morning and we got to catch the first horse back….haha!

We picked Stef up and headed for a walk of a section of the Victor Harbour Heritage Trail, from Petrel Cove towards Kings Beach, probably about 4kms return. Absolutely breathtakingly beautiful coastline……a challenge for photos because of the angle of the sun. Stef, Lynne and Mitzy really enjoying the environs!

A short drive from Victor Harbour to the Hindmarsh Valley, and there’s a short walk down about 200 steps to the official lookout to see the Hindmarsh Falls, but you can peep through the trees on the descent, to see water cascading over numerous pools.

Off to Goolwa the following day, a historic river port on the Murray River, where the Murray mouth and South Ocean meet and gateway to the Coorong National Park – of enormous cultural significance to the Ngarrindjeri people, with ancient mounds of discarded shells throughout the park revealing archaeological evidence of campsites over thousands of years. Also where ‘Storm Boy’ was filmed in 1976.

Saltwater Cafe for lunch, with Mitzy in our bad books, because of her barky behaviour vis-a-vis other tethered (and ‘chilled’) canines.

We did a lovely drive along the Goolwa waterways towards the Barrage, a dam constructed in 1940, to restrict salt water ingress into the river during tidal events, as well as maintaining water levels in the lower lakes. Lots of birds gather here: we saw terns, grey herons and pelicans.

Then across the bridge to Hindmarsh Island. Captain Charles Sturt stood on the highest point on the island when he identified and mapped the mouth of the River Murray. We looked for Cape Barren geese but alas, none in sight. Just did a stroll along the waterfront.

We stopped off at the award-winning ArtWorx gallery, just out of Goolwa. Fantastic paintings by local and interstate artists, indoor and outdoor sculptures, jewellery, ceramics and artisan timber works – so much to see and delight in. I had to get “the Climber”…and 3 flying pelicans for Lynne.

Another highlight of our trip was the beautiful Port Elliott, situated on sheltered Horseshoe Bay, a small bay off the much larger Encounter Bay. The port was established to provide a safe seaport for Murray River trade which terminated at Goolwa. Goods and passengers were carried between Goolwa and Port Elliott on the first public railway in Australia completed in 1854. We strolled over a part of the Harbourmaster’s Walking Trail with delightful coastal views.

Overnighter at Victor Harbour, with a delish dinner at the Golf Club bistro.

And bid a fond farewell to the area next morning @ Qahwa Coffee Roasters Espresso Bar for brekkie – with a view of the Fleurieu volleyball courts next door! Only in SA!

Barossa or McLaren Vale as winery areas to explore??? Decided on the latter….it produces softer, more approachable wines with great fruit intensity and spicy complexity. Set along the Fleurieu coastline, Mc Laren Vale offers lush rolling vines and hill top views over the valley and to the sea.

And we’d booked into another dog-friendly accommodation site, ‘Friends’, this time a B&B. The owner was very welcoming and made sure we were stocked up on brekkie provisions. We discovered we had a whole half a house to ourselves.

We stopped off at the information centre and armed ourselves with winery maps….from which my fellow sweet wine aficionados devised a small group tour…including the “D’Arenberg Cube experience” for myself.

I was the designated driver for most of the time (oh, the magnanimity of it all!). But I did have a modest tipple where there was a decent dry red or bubbles to sample.

Maxwell wines for its honey mead was our first stop. Mead is thought to be the oldest fermented drink, originating in China in 7000BC, when the ancient Greeks discovered it. But better known as the drink of Vikings. Hard working bees visited about 1 million flowers to produce each bottle and flew 44,000 km…. and probably was the healthiest form of alcohol we imbibed on tour. We ordered a “flight” to sample….honey mead, spiced mead and liqueur mead. Ugh, too sweet for me, but lapped up by my companions.

Discovered Australian Boutique Premium Wines run by a husband and wife team – apart from introducing us to their favourite selection of brews (Stef and Lynne particularly enjoyed Harrison’s Sparkling Moscato and Frontignac, Sparkling Shiraz and Delight Cream Liqueur) – they also mentioned a boxing/postage service if we ran out of room in our car to transport wines purchased. Unsurprisingly, we had to make use of this :)!

Battle of Bosworth next, with organic vineyards. The owners, Joch (viticulturist) and Louise (marketing guru) met while working for Joch’s father and took over the reins on the estate in 1995. Lynne was particularly taken with the ‘Spring Seed Sweet Pea Moscato’.

I returned to one of my favourite wineries, Coriole, where I had first learnt about the practice of planting roses at the end of a vine to check the alkalinity/acidity of the soil. I purchased some verjuice, reputed to be even better than Maggie Beers’, and Stef/Lynne enjoyed the port.

Set amongst a tranquil lake, and 200 year old gum trees is the 300 acre Serafino. There’s a restaurant, 4 star accommodation, solar heated swimming pool and conference/function facilities.

Steve (Serafino) Maglieri arrived from Italy in 1964 as a passionate teenager full of dreams. He now owns this estate with his daughter. As we enjoyed a few drops, there was a sound of a chopper coming in to land….a couple just wed, enjoying a helicopter tour around McLaren Vale, descended to slake their thirst with some cold champagne.

Onto Foggo Wines, the “home of the fortified”! Stef and Lynne immediately zeroed in on ‘Figjam Topaque’, a cheeky new addition to the fortified collection – rich smooth caramel and buttered popcorn. Also ‘Golden Muscat’, layer upon layer of plump brandied raisins, candied citrus, brown sugar and spice. Christmas cake in a bottle! I enjoyed the sunshine and watching passers-by 🙂

Hugh Hamilton wines were next on our list. “Our rascals, ratbags, drama queens and many other characters are all bottled up in some of Australia’s finest wines”, is the marketing claim. ‘Goldilocks Moscato’ and the ‘Ruffian Liqueur Muscat’ were purchased to take home. Mitzy and I had a lovely walk down the pencil-pine driveway and introduced ourselves to the sheep in the vineyard close to the carpark 🙂

The idea to build the d’Arenberg Cube came to Chester Osborn in 2003, inspired by the complexities and puzzles of winemaking. Each of the 5 levels have been designed to entice and excite the senses – a wine sensory room; a virtual fermenter; a 360 degree video room; Alternate Realities Room; Eat@Polly’s for a delish lunch and to appreciate the amazing wood/glass decorative wall divider.

Stef and Lynne did a tasting; while I took myself off to experience quirky art – a surrealist exhibition of 25 of Dali’s bronze sculptures and graphic artworks; a visit to the colourful loo that’s totes OTT!

Between us over the 2 day sojourn, we managed to collect 3 boxes of different wines, one sent by post and two transported back by car. Very modest of us.

Onwards to Victor Harbour and Port Elliott…..

Accommodation at the Discovery Park was simple but amply met our needs. It was located right on the beach, so easy to stroll and for Mitzy to get her required exercise.

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Brunch @ Coffee Institute, Walkerville Terrace – corn nachos with soy mince, coconut yogurt and jalapeños; super green omelette on sourdough; eggs, tomatoes and mushrooms. Yummy yum!

Adelaide’s Royal Botanical Garden walk for 2 hours, including the Waterlily pavilion, dahlia garden and sunken garden. Lynne had perfectly colour co-ordinated for the day’s activities 🙂

It was a hot day and it felt like we had covered every inch of the garden’s 50 hectares but in reality, only a fraction of the offerings.

We had parked on Plane Tree Drive – check out the root system on this humongous shady tree.

Dinner catch up with some old friends of mine at Melt @ Henley Beach and a stunning sunset (don’t know the couple but they foreground well). And then lunch @ Joe’s with giant friends again the following day @ Henley – popular spot for catch ups!.

I had to return to experience the beautiful Himenji garden in the city centre – it comprises two classical styles, the ‘senzui’ (lake and mountain garden) where water and imagination create images of grandeur; and ‘kare senzui’, (dry garden) where rocks and sand evoke the presence of water.

Took my camera out one night for a lazy drive-by in Adelaide and discovered the Entertainment Centre, its concert and theatre venue, in full glow (the Arena’s capacity is 11,000). Then wanted to see the celestial sculpture, ‘The Life of Stars’ outside the Art Gallery of SA, a permanent installation as a tribute to departing Gallery director Nick Mitzevich! It reflects the city by day and illuminates the city by night. Rundle Mall offered ‘Mall Balls’ and ‘A Day Out’ featuring life-sized bronze pigs (Horatio, Truffles, Oliver and Augusta) digging through bins for food scraps and greeting passersby. I think I took a pic of Truffles!

We were spoiled terribly and royally hosted lunch by Stef’s friends Nick and Heather in the Adelaide Hills – incredible views from their lofty perch while we supped on delicious offerings and enjoyed their company.

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