23rd Nov

A day of wine tasting!!!! Lucky for Ollie Clare Valley does not really have my taste in wines – I drove he drank. Not sure what Mr GP got up to.

At Crabtree winery. What a Cab Sav. Excellent. One to visit.

After wine tasting we had lunch at Reilly’s in a small village called Mintaro. Really old and quaint.

 

Then we we stopped off at Mintaro Maze – played garden Jenga. Brought back many memories.

The coffee was excellent. Mintaro is well worth a visit.

Can you spot Mr GP

Mr GP with friends

our last stop of the day was Martindale Hall. An English building in an Australian setting. Mr GP thought he’d arrived home!!!! Ha ha.

view over Clare Valley from Polish Hill

For the geologists

24th Nov

Golf at Burra. We were invited to compete in their comp. Thank you Gus and Andy for great company . Burra has just 60 members and they all pitch in to maintain the course and the clubhouse. Lovely 18 hole course. Liz won a ball for nearest the pin on hole 11.

We then looked at Burra. Apparently in 1880 it was the largest inland town in Australia – due to copper mining. Lunch of Cornish Pastie at Burra Fresh. Another good choice.

The open cut copper mine

Our caravan with the new sun awnings attached

Supper – full roast pork, roast potatoes, peas, gravy and crackling. Apart from the peas and gravy we cooked it all on the Cadac BBQ. Can’t believe we got crackling off the BBQ!!!

Here’s reminder of the size of the BBQ

Amazing piece of kit. We use it every day.

The last 2 mornings have started at about 7 degrees. Thank goodness for my Big Bear hug!!! The shower in the caravan is called Big Bear.

25th Nov

much warmer today 35 degrees and windy. Unfortunately great for bush fires. Locally there is one heading for Mintaro. Hope they get it under control. Mintaro now safe but the Pinery bush fire is horrendous. Travelling 50 k in 4 hours with a 41 K front. Horrific. Lives lost, stock and houses, crops everything in it’s wake destroyed. Our hearts go out to all those affected. We hitched up the caravan overnight as it could come this way

26th Nov

we are safe but not so others.  Off to Port Victoria now.