CLARE VALLEY, SOUTH AUSTRALIA

After another lovely night with Neil and Sue in Kadina we headed off to Clare to catch up with Gloria and Geoff. Along the way we were again amused by the road safety signs which we had seen all over South Australia. It took us a while to work out the “anchor” one and despite the apparent preoccupation with certain parts of the male anatomy, they certainly do grab your attention. What do you think?

 

Our route took us through Bute and Snowtown, where we pulled into the local camping reserve to empty our loo. The atmosphere in the town seemed rather sad and eerie but this might just be a preconception derived from what happened there. It is hard to imagine how such events might affect a town.

At Blyth we called in to take a look at Medika Gallery, an old church which has been transformed into a gallery and studio by artist, Ian Roberts. His specialty is birds and flowers and he has some lovely prints for sale, as well as prints, jewellery and artistic works by other artists. Blyth itself is a lovely old town with many fine examples of old architecture. The wildflowers etc in the area were also beautiful.

 

We decided to stay in Auburn when we arrived in the Valley itself, as there is a lovely caravan park at the local recreation reserve which we knew was dog friendly. It was also well placed to allow us to do a circular tour through all of the places we had been advised to visit. If you are into cycling, it is also a brilliant spot to access all of the fantastic cycle tracks which take you throughout the whole area. As in Victoria, the old railway lines have been utilised for this purpose and the tracks vary in length and difficulty. What a wonderful way to explore the hundreds of vineyards and keep fit at the same time.

First stop on our tour was Mintaro, a lovely little village where almost everything is made from slate. This is because there is a slate mine still operating there which produces the flattest slate available in Australia. In the days when slate was used on pool tables, all the tables produced in Aus. were topped with Mintaro slate.

Mintaro RSL

Slate has even been used instead of the usual rocks in the walls of the buildings.

One of the many large slabs of slate which are used as pavers all around town. Note the lovely rock wall in the background.

Next it was on to the old mining town of Burra where many of the original miners’ cottages are still being lived in. It is a bustling, picturesque little town with lots of interesting old architecture – and a pretty good bakery as well.

This imposing war memorial stands in the middle of Burra.

Rock fence and water pipeline between Burra and Clare.

We then drove back into Clare where we did a little grocery shopping before heading south again to Sevenhill. I particularly wanted to visit the vineyard here as we had been gifted some very nice wine from there many years ago while we were camped beside a little creek on the Mitchell Plateau. At that time the wine was made by the Jesuit monks who lived at the winery and I remembered it as being a very nice drop. Things have changed somewhat now and while the monks are still involved, there are also professional vintners employed. I must say the wines we tried were not that impressive but the museum and the old church were well worth the visit.



The original grape press used at Sevenhill.



Sevenhill grape press - Mark II

The underground storage cellar is lovely and cool.
Note the slate floor, no doubt from Mintaro.

 

We were thrilled to be able to go inside this beautiful church at Sevenhill.

 

The roof shingles can clearly be seen from inside the church.

Like the Barossa Valley, there are any number of vineyards to visit in the Clare Valley as well as an abundance of gourmet food establishments and places of historical interest. We also visited Taylors and a couple of smaller vineyards. It really has a vibrant atmosphere about it and again, you can’t help but wonder where the acres and acres of grapes go.