Relaxing in the wine region

We have entered the serious fruit fly exclusion zone and also South Australia.  Luckily we were pre-warned in Broken Hill and managed to plan our meals smartly to avoid having to throw out too much good food.  Obviously we saw on the map, but as it was titled “fruit fly” we just assumed it was for all fruit.  Nope, it also includes potatoes, garlic, pumpkin and apparently even things like broccoli.  Anyway due to some internet re-search we didn’t have any trouble getting through and the lovely gentleman at the check point trusted us.  Realistically none of us wanted to have to put the van up so he could check, though we were willing to offer him a torch and let him crawl down to the fridge and food cupboards!

See the dotted boarder line.

The welcome sign - couldn't stop as Kayla was asleep.

It took us a bit longer to get going in the morning, probably due to the lack of help Jason got from me the night before when packing up. I mean one has to maintain the blog don’t they? J . So another lesson learnt, no blogging the night before we leave (hence I am doing it this afternoon). It was a relaxing drive down to the Clare Valley and we couldn’t get over the vast country side and lack of trees. I really feel for the stock down here, on a hot day there isn’t much to seek shelter on.

 

Open road - literally.

 

Clare is a pretty little town with some beautifully restored colonial buildings. Yesterday we hired two bikes, a baby seat and kiddie cart and set off riding down to the next little town and some wineries. It was relatively easy with only the slightest of inclines (so decline on the way home). We called into the bakery at Sevenhill for lunch. It serves the most delicious food and is a most stop place if you are ever down this way. Riding the bikes was a relaxing way to see the countryside and it took away any guilt (in case we had some) when we stopped at a winery and indulged in a wine and cheese platter.

Jason and his "load".

 

Nothing like quality bonding time for the kids.

 

Jason now has alot of respect for the Subaru towing our van.

 

The afternoon was spent driving around the local country side and picking up the wine we liked (weren’t keen to cart it around on the bikes). Then it was back to the van for some domestic duties of folding the washing and going food shopping as obviously we had no fruit and vegetables. We were all in bed early, especially me who crashed when settling Kayla. At least I managed to do sparklers with Hamish and help cut up the vegetables to roast for lunch for the next few days.

The sign says it all.

 

Hamish obviously thought their floor needed sweeping.

 

One big barrel (wine not Hamish)

 

Afternoon tea of wine, crackers, cheese and dried fruit.

 

Another beautiful morning and I am happy to report that daylight saving ends tomorrow (yay). I just can’t adapt to it. Every morning Kayla starts to stir and I am like no not yet it is still dark! Only to find it is about 7 am (local time). We took a while to get going but when we did we were off to the maze in a small historic town of Mintano. Hamish made some little friends there and it was hard to get him to leave. Luckily like any true male, the promise of lunch in the park was all he needed! 

Hamish in the maze.

 

Making a wish in the fountain.

 

We found the fountain, now to get back out.

 

We also stopped in at a local winery and got a bottle of Riesling – I mean you have to since that is what this wine region is known for. We then headed down to Auburn before heading back up to Burra. Burra is another beautiful town and had an old fashioned lolly shop, so again Hamish was in heaven. We went to the local park for afternoon tea and Hamish showed off his true “pick-up” line to a little girl. His words were “I have money” (he had a few coins in his pocket) to which she replied “Wow – you have money. My Dad doesn’t even have money.” And then they were friends. She was actually a beautiful little girl and when she saw him standing to the side watching them all play, she came over and invited him to join. I think Hamish is really missing his friends back home. Not a day goes by that he doesn’t mention “Connor and Yulim”. He has even renamed some characters in his Batman DVD to be Connor, Yulim and Hamish.

Happy little girl waiting while Hamish plays on yet another playground.

 

Walking in the park in Burra.

 Now we are just chilling back at the van drinking one of our reds that we got yesterday. Just watching other people set up their vans and tents and contemplating where we should go tomorrow. The plan originally had us going to Murray Bridge however we haven’t heard great things about the town so whilst we are going to still head there we want to have a backup plan if we don’t get a good vibe from the town.

Glamping (new word) - outside movie time.