Port Augusta
to Melbourne
Clare Valley is 205 Kilometers from Port August so we decided to
take the scenic route to Clare via Crystal Brook and Gulnare. Crystal Brook is a very neat and tidy
town; a good spot for lunch. Arriving in Clare mid afternoon, we made our
way through the town to the 
Clare Caravan Park. This park is run by the council and is a very
clean and appealing park, so we booked in for a couple of nights. The Clare Valley
offers so much, from
fine wines, to gourmet food producers, beautiful old stone houses, 
rolling hills and it was a pleasure to spend a couple
days exploring the area.
The wine and food area covers five valleys
along the 40 km region. In our short two
days, we toured to the small historical town of Mintaro and
visited Reilly’s Wines and
Restaurant (left) for tastings and morning
coffee. The village is part of the State
Heritage Area and it reminds you of the Cotswolds in England. There are small wineries, B & B’s,
the Magpie and Stump historic pub, a hedge maze, several cosy
restaurants and two beautiful limestone churches (right). A must see if you are visiting 
the region as it is only 11km from Clare.
There are so many wineries to visit so
choosing a few was quite difficult. As
well as Reilly’s in Mintaro we also visited Jim
Barry Wines, Leasingham (right) and Quelltaler (Annie’s Lane). On our last night we went for dinner at The
Citadel, an Italian restaurant in a converted church in Clare to finish our
visit here. Next morning, with the rain
falling, we packed up and traveled the 134 kms into Adelaide and the Adelaide
Shores Caravan
Park at West
Beach and close to the Adelaide Airport.
This park is a 5 star park and one of the best parks that we have stayed
at in Australia. It is close to Glenelg,
the city and the beaches of Adelaide.
Rob made sure that we had very good
television reception for the preliminary final of St Kilda and Sydney Swans match which
was being played on the Friday night.
There was back up in the Games Room in the caravan park, but we had the
perfect picture and we watched the Saints unfortunately lose to the Sydney Swans. Oh well, 
there is always next year.
A visit to McLaren
Vale wine region was a must and a visit to one of our favourite
wineries, Scarpantoni Estate Wines (left). We have enjoyed their wines over many years
and again we were not disappointed. Parri Estate and d’Arenberg
were also well worth visiting, before it was time for lunch and then a return
back to Adelaide.
We decided to catch the tram from Glenelg into the city.
This was like stepping back into time, with the old maroon tram rattling
along the line into Adelaide. You still buy your ticket off the conductor
who punches in the amount, takes your money and issues you with a ticket. It was like stepping back into time when Melbourne trams still had
the conductor and the bag of money and tickets.
It was still very unique and it would be a shame to lose this to
technology. We had a look around Adelaide city and after
lunch returned to Glenelg. Unfortunately the weather
had turned for the worst and we were getting wet.
Our visit to Adelaide was the final leg of our trip. From Adelaide
we headed for home with an overnight stop in Horsham. After 4 months and 3 weeks we are finally
home. For those that are interested
here are some facts about our trip.
Time Away: 144
days
Kilometers Travelled: 22,040 km
Cost of Fuel: $5210
Average cost per litre: $1.37 (Petrol was $0.98/litre when
we left home)
Dearest Fuel: Kulumbaru
$1.80/litre
Average Cost per Day: $145.00 (Includes all expenses associated with the trip
except the Kimberley
Quest Cruise)
Thanks to everyone for following our travels
via the web site. We have really
enjoyed receiving your emails and phone calls and receiving feedback on the web
site.