Thorn Park Country House Clare

... and a underground cellar for the fathers that have passed on and lay at rest in the walls. The vines were planted prior to 1860,t hey arrived from France. Many of the vines are still on average over 40 years old. This is the oldest vineyard in SA.

We drove onto a historic township Mintaro this place is very old and has also got many buildings that date back to the 1800s as well as a few recent ones.

Great to catch up with a friend on our journey.

... Port Wakefield, which has the most sensational bakery & chicken place at the entrance of town. In the 20mins it took us to eat an enourmous amount of food, the wind had shifted to a SW'r. Then the road out of Port Wakefield swung N-NE, the surface went to fresh hotmix, and suddenly life was sweet. Good group, TAILWIND !, swooshing down the road at 32kph with almost no effort at all, all good. Then we got the first hill for about 100km, and the stronger ...

... 25minutes into our trip, 2 seconds after passing a kangaroo sign the big bugger jumps out of the salt bush. An enormous bang, thud, suspension shudder front then back then the trailer jumps, then it all settles down OK. Owen stops to check. Hmmm, Skips in a lot pieces this morning. Car seems OK other than a little adjustment of the bumper ...

... wat het zou moeten zijn, was het niet echt.... Ik heb wat boodschappen gehaald, heb de auto eens gewassen want de rooie bende en modder van het westen zat overal nog en ben over wat kleinere wegen (in plaats van de snelweg) door de Flinders Ranges gereden. Bij een uitkijkpunt (Hancock's Lookout) gestopt, maar de view was niet heel bijzonder... heb er zelfs geen foto van ;D In de avond gestopt bij een parkeerplek. De foto bij dit verslag heb ik ...

Red Banks Conservation Park...a great place, and home to the deadliest toilets in this world. Arachnophobes beware (although that is a somewhat redundant warning for those who know Jess), these toilets had some serious spiders in them. On the first trip to the toilet I noticed at least 7 large female redbacks (the Aussie equivalent to the Black Widow) sat in their webs on the toilet and around the pedestal ...

... a simple steak sandwich ... the guys all ordered separately, but we all ended up ordering the same thing. :-p Jim Barry Next up, Jim Barry wines. From the names of the wines, you'd know the winemaker has a good sense of humour. You'll have to see for yourselves to appreciate it ... difficult to explain. Apart from that, the quality of Jim Barry wines are well known. The Armargh Shiraz retails for more than $100 tells you how ...

... falling grain prices and one locus plague, the farmers in the immediate vicinity have not had one bad year since I have lived here (17 years). However, it is still a compulsory and necessary part of being a farmer to complain anyway. The name Hoyleton actually refers to a small settlement in the middle of the farming district of Hoyleton. The township of Hoyleton is growing steadily, some would even say booming, but I'm not quite sure why. It consists of a pub ...

... at dusk, drinking wine and listing to music on my laptop, the harvesters are awake and bringing havoc to the vines.

The house is in the tiny hamlet of Watervale, renowned for its vineyards of riesling grapes. A one pub, one store town founded in 1847, Watervale is surroundedždefinedžby vines. It's quaint, quiet and, well, boring. I'm not sure what most of the 500 or so residents of Watervale do for fun, but can only assume it's something more ...

... too slowly. The whole bike began to wobble and as it veered to the left I bailed to the right, less out of coordination than velocity.

It happened in an eye blink. No life flashes, no slow motion, just a sudden, sickening collision with the road. I took most of the impact on the helmet, so my hands and arms were saved, though my right leg was dragged under the bike and my knee badly scoured.

Back on my feet I tried hard to pull it together, harder to pull the bike ...

... fellow vintage rookie. Little Ben's on his fifth vintage with Jeanneret, and I'm his *****, even if he is six years my junior.

Benny V and I are the young Turks of the winery beside the able if ponderous Craig, whose mutt Monty may just be the fifth man on our team. I soon learn that Aussies are mad about their animals and take their dogs everywhere they go. At times there are half a dozen or more visiting mutts running amok through the winery.

Ben's wife ...