Yorke peninsula road trip (2)

Saturday 14th February - Minlaton

Minlaton in the middle of the peninsula was our destination for an overnight stay but we fully intended to take in other places en route - and first stop - only 15 minutes from Wallaroo - was Moonta for breakfast coffees etc. The Tourist Information centre advised us to take the short drive to Moonta Mines where a small narrow gauge railway runs round the remains of the old copper mines:

Jo probably thought she had escaped climbing on this trip but we did come across a flight of weeoden stairs that took us to the high point of the old mines - basically, a hill made of slag:

We took a tour of the old school there which was now a museum:

Time was marching on and we still had to visit Moonta Bay - and another jetty to walk:

Eventually we made it to Minlaton, which seemed like a bit of a ghost town to us, save for the fine brewery and tap room. It was a 15 minute walk from our hotel and I don't think we saw another human being - until we arrived here:

So this is where everyone is? Nice place - lots of open and shaded outdoor areas.

Back at the hotel, we opted for pizza:

We know how to celebrate Valentine's Night!

Sunday/Monday 15th/16th February

After a nice breakfast at Ye Olde Cafe, we were back on the road again. We had booked self-catering accommodation at Marion Bay Holiday Villas for 2 nights at the most southern part of the peninsula - the bottom end the locals would call it. (Darwin is known as the Top End) - but we had loads of time to get there so we took a couple of slight detours, including one to Point Turton which had been on the news for a while due to the algal bloom, which seemed to be worse here than in other places in South Australia.

No sooner had we parked the car than we spotted a local with a barrel full of fish - all dead - which he dumped in the waste bins beside the jetty. That didn't stop us notching up yet another jetty walk, nor taking advantage of another photo opportunity:

We were early arriving at our cabin next to the Dhilba Guuranda-Innes National Park but it was ready and so we piled our stuff in:

Once settled we decided to take a beach walk along to where the local store/filling station and hotel were. Lots of pelicans around:

I don't think they'd heard the news about the algal bloom.

Another shore, another jetty, another photo opportunity:

We ate sparsely that evening in our cabin - baked beans on toast with cheese - promising ourselves that we would dine at the hotel the following evening.

On Monday morning we took the (very) short drive to the national park. Entry is free but you have to register your car at the park office. Another jetty and fine views of Kangaroo Island. Lots of trails including one round what remained of Innestown. When we came to the end of this trail, at the head of the small lake where gypsum used to be mined, I spotted a couple of heads popping up - "oh look" said I "geese". Jo said "no - it's only ducks". As we got closer and the necks grew longer we realised we were both badly wrong:

As we got nearer we seemed to spook the emus and they came dashing out of the water and ran round us - now it was Jo who was spooked. We moved gently away and the emus eventually returned to the water.

We did eat at the hotel that night.

Tuesday 17th February - Ardrossan

Our final night on the Yorke peninsula was to be spent halfway up the eastern coast. Again we stopped on the way and - guess what? - another photo spot:

Port Vincent was an ok-looking place but Ardrossan - when we finally got there - was not. It felt run-down and short of money. We tried to do the usual jetty walk but were thwarted - no entry - works ongoing:

We decided to head out of town - to what is probably the only commercial vineyard on Yorke. Barley Stacks Wines is only 20 minutes from Ardrossan. We were their only customers and they took good care of us as Jo sampled their 5 Shiraz vintages. (I managed a half glass myself).

Dinner was back at the Ardrossan Hotel/Motel - and what a dinner it was. Rump roast, beautifully done, but the portions! Dare I say it - they were American sized. I managed just 4 of the 7 large slices/chunks on my plate - but it was lovely.

Wednesday 18th February - Adelaide then Bridgewater

The drive back was uneventful. We dropped our hire car at the airport in good time and picked up an Uber to take us back up the hills to Kelly's. A quiet evening followed. We were sleeping in Asher's room. Miller was away on a school camp so Asher had the option of Miller's bed, Chris' and Kelly's or, the one set up for him in what is occasionally used as the projector room.

Yorke peninsula road trip (1)

Wednesday 11th February - Tanunda

Uber to airport was easy but I wish I could say the same about the car hire pick-up - very seldom is it a pleasant experience. Anyway, we were soon on the road north to Tanunda, one of the first places Kelly took us to on our first trip to Oz 15 years ago. Then there was a fairly popular brewpub at the start of the town but we knew that Barossa Brewing had since gone out of business, but on our afternoon walk up and down the main street we stumbled across a brand new place - only open four and a half months - Old Mill Brewery. Based in an old building, it had had a bit of a makeover inside:

That was a welcome respite from the heat but we moved on after we'd tried most of their beers. Across the other side of the street there was what almost looked like an antique shop, with Chesterfield sofas. Turns out it was a local wines and food sampling place:

Now it was time for proper food, so back to our hotel which had looked very quiet earlier on. We got a bit of a shock when we walked in this time - the place was mobbed. We grabbed a couple of bar stools and ordered some starters - and more wine. Now time for bed.

Thursday/Friday 12th/13th February - Wallaroo

Breakfast was had at a local cafe - Darlings - then we were off again on our travels, stopping very briefly at https://www.maggiebeersfarmshop.com.au/, another place we remember Kelly taking us to back in 2011:

Driving in to the Clare Valley brought back memories of another road trip that Kelly and Chris (and Miller) took us on in 2015 - to a former sheep station at Bungaree:

Nice memories but the actual town of Clare was a little disappointing - busy but difficult to find a nice coffee shop for a short break. Back on the road, we headed through Blyth to the north west coast of the Yorke peninsula and the town of Wallaroo.

We stayed at the fairly modern Marina Apartments there - the same place that Kelly had taken the boys not long ago. The location was good and the apartment was ok - apart from terrible wifi.

We took an orientation walk. The area is called the Copper Coast for a good reason - copper was mined nearby and huge smelters - now gone - dominated the skyline of Wallaroo. It definitely had a post-industrial feel about it - but the beaches were nice, although we stayed clear of the water due to the health warnings about the ongoing local algal bloom which was killing off marine life.

Eventually, we came across a fairly new place - https://www.bondstore.net.au/ - a microbrewery, distillery and restaurant. So we had to do a paddle again, didn't we? Which one, though? We opted for beer this time, promising ourselves a return visit the following day to do the gin one. We love an outward-looking window seat for people watching:

Dinner that evening was at the Cooper's Ale House adjacent to our hotel. We ate outside overlooking the water but had to keep a beady eye open for the ever-greedy seagulls.

Back in the Adelaide Hills

The flight from the Gold Coast was straight-forward and we jumped in an Uber at Adelaide airport to take us up to what we imagined would be the outskirts of Stirling. It transpired that "The Retreat at Stirling" was several miles away and we had no car so our plan to walk in to the town was immediately scuppered.

The accommodation was nice though - Jo was delighted to see that there was a bath, identical to the one in Surfer's Paradise, with armrests! We also had access to a fine pool - available all day Saturday and Sunday but it was Monday before we got round to using it, by which time it had to be an early start before the Aqua classes arrived.

Chris and Kelly picked us up later on Saturday afternoon and we high-tailed it to Uraidla for Chris' (pre-) birthday celebrations. Miller and Asher were there as was cousin Abby and her relatively new boyfriend Dan - although none of the younger ones were at the table when I took this selfie:

On Monday, we had use of one of the cars to pick the boys up from school. Asher showed us a toy gun he had made out of Lego and then took us on a private tour of his school:

Chris' brother Matt joined us in the evening as we all went down to a lovely waterhole spot:

Jo and I had done the shopping for the picnic, including the cake, which got a little spoiled in the heat and the travel:

We had use of one of the cars on Tuesday so Jo and I took a run up to the summit of Mount Lofty, stopping first of all to take in the vast Botanic Gardens, which were lovely but involved a lot of effort as we started at the top, went all the way down and then came back up the steep slopes in mounting heat:

In need of refreshment we went to the cafe at the summit and then surveyed the city and surrounds from above.

That was the end of our brief second visit to Adelaide for the following morning we were Uber-ing again to the airport to pick up a hire car for our 7 day road trip down to the Yorke peninsula.