WWW vol.2

Monday was just a stiff day off really. Stiff just because of the tense physical day that just had passed. However met up with a German girl Iris who had a plan of going to Barossa Valley for a wine tour. As I had not yet been there myself, we decided to book the day trip for next day, it’s always better to have some company than no company. And as also nobody from my hostel, at least who I had been talking to was very keen about this idea then I just grabbed a chance of someone to go together with. The good thing about these organized trips is that you do not have to worry about getting there, not tasting too many good wines because you’re driving nor choosing out the wineries – everything has been done for you. So Tuesday morning at 8am I was picked up by the tourbus and after picking up the rest of the happy wineenthusiasts we were good to go. Almost. As it turned out the busdriver had some kind of a health issue which resulted in waiting for another driver to arrive. 

At Jacob's Creek

First up was well-known Jacob’s Creek winery, owned by Pernod Ricard Group. From there I bought myself a 2008 Limited Release Sangiovese which is not being sold in retail, just at cellar door. Good stuff!! Next up – Kies, a small family estate. From there I got a 2010 Sparkling Moscato. After that we paid a visit to Richmond Grove, another winery owned by Pernod Ricard. They ofcourse had some lovely wines there, but nothing of too much interest at that point because tummies (read: stomach) were already empty and a nice meal in a pub in Tanunda town was waiting.

Seppeltsfield 100yo

After lunch the highlight of the day – Seppeltsfield! This place is amazing! As you make your way towards the cellar door you drive along a few kilometers of road bordered by long palmtrees, over 2000 of them alltogether. The story behind those palmtrees is that when Australia was suffering from the Great Depression back in 1930’s the owner of the winery did not sack the employees but kept them occupied by planting the trees. As the economy got stronger, Seppeltsfield did not need to worry about finding and training necessary employees, instead they were quickly back on tracks. According to themselves, Seppeltsfield is the only winery in the world to have a barrel of fortified wine of every vintage since 1900. They actually sell them even dating back to as far as 1880! For tasting they offer exactly 100 year old wine, costing 30aud.

On the way back we did not make it without any problems either – the bus broke down and it resulted is all of us waiting for about 1 hour for a replacement. Made it back in one piece though, so all in all it was a good day out in the Barossa Valley!

On Wednesday I decided to head out from the city and booked another YHA hostel for 2 nights in Port Elliot, about an hours drive south. En-route I went through another popular wine region McLaren Vale and obviously could not resist stopping there. Went to Wirra Wirra and Leaconfield / Richard Hamilton Wines. Both again exceptionally good producers, at the first one I was very close to getting my hands on one of their awarded and noted The Absconder Grenache from 2010, but the pricetag of 65aud just set me back a little. Next stop Leconfield and I left the cellardoor with 2 Rieslings – 2011 Noble Riesling and 2011 Leconfield Old Wines Riesling. They were good and fairly different to those Rieslings you might usually get in Australia. Sweeter, yet still crisp and full of citrus characters. Got to love a good wine! J Next stop was Victor Harbor, which is here known for quite a few attractions – 

Fairy Penguins

Granite Island

Granite Island with the worlds’ smallest penguins; Horse Drawn Tram connecting Victor Harbor and Granite Island, it’s one of the few still left in the world for public service and a Cockle Train – a steam locomotive connecting Victor Harbor and Goolwa, including the oldest rail route in Australia, between Port Elliot and Goolwa. Also between June and September it is a popular place for whale spotting as they come to these waters to calve and mate. The town itself was nothing too special, just another nice costal town, the Granite Island without the Fairy Penguins (that’s what they are called) would have been just the same. However the penguins can usually be spotted during late hours as they return from sea, but the island also has a small research facility where penguins that have been hurt and cannot be release back into the wild are being taken care of. About 14 of them were out and about when it was due time to get a nice meal of fresh fish. The penguin is about 30cm tall and weighs 1,5kg, but some with less that 500g have also been spotted (and saved).

Just on the cliff there is a good hostel

Port Elliot YHA hostel is located on a B-E-A-utiful spot looking just over the Horseshoe Bay. It was a good escape from busy city life. Booked myself surf lesson for next day and enjoyed the evening with some tasty beers I bought along from Seppeltsfield (yeah, they also brew their own beer). Surfing however is good fun! Luckily our group that day consisted just of 3 people + the trainer, the weather was nice and sunny but not too warm and waves big enough for beginners. Another activity in the ist of „got to find time and equipment to improve my skills“. J And honestly, it is a good effort to spend 2 hours in the water trying to get the wave, stand up on the board and stay on there. That evening was quite a short one, just tired, but great emotions! As I drove back to Adelaide on Friday I caught myself thinking that this country has just too much to offer, too many great and extraordinary places, people, things to see and do.

On Friday I also got confirmation about me not going to travel to Melbourne on my own as I got a call from Stefania and Johann, a couple from Iceland who were interested in coming along and did not have a tight schedule. We met up in Port Dock Brewery in Port Adelaide to go through some details and agreed to head out Monday morning. Good stuff! J