Some changes here

We've been back in Canberra a bit over a week now and we're feeling like our life has lifted a couple of notches. First of all Spring is in the air - a time of renewal and blossoms and new growth sprouting everywhere. Then there is a lot of talk about the pandemic receding as a threat to our collective well being (woohoo ???) and Sydney has opened up to us again with the departure of our Coogee tenants, enabling us to move back into that space again - for the long term.

And Canberra is looking particularly beautiful on these sunny Spring mornings ....

First blush of leaves appearing on our park trees ........

We'd only been back in Canberra 5 days before we took our first load of furniture etc up to Coogee (in a ride share van - a first for us). The public holiday to commemorate the death of QE11 had a few unintended consequences for our planning but we went ahead anyway. Hauling a Queen size mattress, new QS bed and assorted boxes of bedding and kitchen effects up three flights of stairs to our top floor apartment proved quite challenging and exhausting for us .... but we did manage to complete the job.

Our tenants had left the apartment in a clean and well cared for state - no issues there, but the place looks worn after four and a half years of constant use and the windows are definitely past their use by date. We have big renovations planned so our "move back in" will be very minimal for now - just enough furniture for us to sleep in comfort for a night or two and make a cup of tea or coffee and eat a bowl of muesli, that's about it!

But we're very happy with the new bed and mattress - definitely worth all the effort!

Overnight accommodation in Coogee was scarce and expensive due to the public holiday so we stayed overnight in a beautiful heritage listed boutique hotel in nearby Randwick - "Avonmore on the Park". It was beautiful - we couldn't believe our luck!

There's been some recent changes for the young things too - especially for Abi, who is now able to call "Harry" the Brumby pony "hers" for half the week anyhow. We met Harry for the first time today, out past Bywong, and he is just as beautiful a pony as Abi had described him to be.

It seems that wherever there are horses, there are cats .... and cats always find Rob .....

At the end of every session there's some grooming and de tacking and rugging to be done - and time for treats!

A nice profile shot of Harry and Jody, who along with Josh are just as involved with "Operation Harry" as Abi is, although it different ways!

 

Mt Lofty and Adelaide Markets

We woke to unaccustomed sunny skies this morning, so it was extra exciting to be heading up the range to Mt Lofty House as soon as we had finished breakfast. Judy and Jurgen's friends were staying there so it was a great excuse for us to visit this iconic (and historic) luxury hotel and have a look around. 

Mt Lofty House was built in 1852 by Arthur Hardy, the patriarch of the famous winemaking Hardy family, as his family's summer house. After it was sold by the Hardy's the house fell into decline over time and was then burnt to the ground in the disastrous 1983 Ash Wednesday fires. 

Since then, it has been fully rebuilt and faithfully restored to its former glory and is now an iconic luxury hotel and 3 Chefs' Hats dining destination (Hardy's Verandah Restaurant). 

 

There are beautiful views from the garden terrace over the Piccadilly Valley and the Adelaide Hills winemaking region beyond ......

After wandering around the public areas of the hotel and its gardens we took a walk through the nearby Mt Lofty Botanic Gardens. Plantings dating from Arthur Hardy's time formed the Gardens originally but these days its borders are extensive and would take most of a day to fully explore. We chose a fairly strenuous walk today through the rhododendron gully, past the duck pond and up to the very steep inclines of the Heyson Trail as it wound through native bushland.

This part of the walk got the heart pounding.

Adelaide CBD is an easy, less than half hour drive from Mt Lofty House so we headed there for a grazing lunch at the wonderful Adelaide Central Markets. It was crowded of course at lunchtime but we managed to find a table for 6 and plenty of foodie delights to make the trip into the city worthwhile. 

We head back to Canberra tomorrow - at the end of this fabulous, extended road trip, covering four state border crossings, 3,500+ kilometres of driving, two three-hour flights halfway across the continent and so many different landscapes and experiences enjoyed - all wonderful. The weather has not always been kind to us, but the rain has made the country look green, damp and bountiful, with blossoms outs everywhere. We live in a beautiful, amazing country and it is such a privilege to see it and learn more about it.

d'Arenberg in McLaren Vale

The d'Arenberg winery and "cellar door" is about a 40 minute drive from where we're staying in Mt Barker - in the heart of the McLaren Vale wine region.

McLaren Vale is one of Australia's oldest wine regions, specialising in Shiraz, Cabernet and Grenache grapes. d'Arenberg is an old winery in the district, but its current fourth generation family winemaker Chester Osborn is responsible for setting new directions that have given the label a whole new level of recognition. It's a winery destination we didn't want to miss this visit!

For one thing it was Chester who dreamed up this Rubik's cube inspired five story building for the d'Arenberg estate, "The Cube", which opened in 2017. It houses tasting rooms, a restaurant and an art gallery. You can't miss it!

We did everything in our extended visit today - marvelling at Chester's whacky Alternate Realities Museum and taking a slightly cynical view of the very commercial exhibition of Salvador Dali (high class) reproductions and associated retail opportunities in the "art gallery". 

The highlights were our excellent (and comprehensive) tasting experience of Chester's quirkily named (but beautifully made) wine styles and our fabulous lunch at Singapore Circus on the 4th floor level (formerly named Polly's!). 

We had the Chef's tasting menu which included delicious Asian fusion flavours highlighting braised pork belly, mussels and local cockles, quail and King Island oysters. We all agreed it was the best meal we had eaten at a restaurant in a very long time. We had a selection of petit fours for dessert - the absolute favourite was the black garlic, miso fudge (with gold dusting) - an amazing meal accompanied by a beautiful glass of d'Arenberg d'Arry's Original Grenache Shiraz. 

An unforgettable meal and setting, in great company!

Every aspect of The Cube has been influenced by Chester Osborn's whacky, surreal sensibility. These were the urinals in the male toilets (photo credit: Rob)

It was another wet, windy, cold day today (again!) but the McLaren Vale vineyards still looked beautiful under the weight of the regular downpours. The vines are only just beginning to sprout.

 

To Hahndorf in the Adelaide Hills

Rob and I struggled to remember a lot about our first visit to Hahndorf in the beautiful Adelaide Hills - about 45 years ago. It was January and Adelaide was in the middle of a torrid hot spell and we were camping - so different to this visit!

After driving up from Langhorne Creek this morning we took a guided tour of the beautiful house and studio of Hahndorf's most famous citizen, the artist Sir Hans Heyson (and his remarkable daughter Nora Heyson). The house has changed very little since the 1920s, with much of the family's furnishings in place just as they were when the family lived there. There are also over 200 original works of Heyson's (and others) hanging on the walls of this beautiful old home.

We entered Nora Heyson's small sunny studio first, probably my favourite space in the whole complex. ..... This was where Nora's mother would do her family sewing - in amongst the art books and easels (and paint no doubt!).

I wish this was my studio!

No photos were allowed inside the main house - which still retains a powerful presence of this richly artistic (and entrepreneurial) family.

This was Sitr Hans Heyson's main studio - a large purpose built stone building looking out over a very Heyson style Australian bush landscape.

We found the Shady Pool area below Heyson's studio. Its intense green pond vegetation and the massive white trunked eucalypts were among Heyson's favourite subjects. 

I'm sure Heyson would have loved to paint Harrison Redford at the "Shady Pool".

The gardens around the family home were looking at their Spring time best today.

Afterwards we enjoyed a late-ish lunch at Hahndorf's Haus Restaurant. Rob was super happy to enjoy a meal and a beer, drawing on this town's strong German heritage. Our friends Jenni and Wayne returned to Murrumbateman this morning, but we have a few more days of adventures ahead with Judy and Jurgen. We also have lovely new b & b accommodation on Flaxley Road in Mount Barker which is in the Adelaide Hills too - a great base for the final days of this road trip.

Bleasdale to the Coorong

Bleasdale Winery is only a few minutes drive up the road from where we were staying in Langhorne Creek so it was an obvious choice for our wine tasting experience yesterday morning. Bleasdale is one of the oldest wineries in the district, with the first vines being planted around 1860. Frank Potts, the original founder of Bleasdale made great use of the River Red Gums growing on the property and there was still plenty of evidence of his efforts around the beautiful old winery.

One of the early timber grape presses Frank designed and built was still in operation as recently as 2010 ..........

We spent around two hours here - a generous, lengthy tasting session that was well rewarded by us with many purchases ...

From here we drove SW to the port town of Goolwa in time to pick up our cruise to the beautiful Coorong National Park. The Coorong is at the mouth of the (once) mighty Murray River, where the river meets the Southern Ocean. It's an extensive wetland area of Intenational significance. The whole Lower River Murray was the most densely populated area (the Ngarrindjeri people) in Australia prior to European settlement, but it's certainly not densely populated these days.  

We set off from the Goolwa Wharf around 1.00pm, starting with a light lunch and an introduction to the rich history of the port area. We were soon making our way through the Goolwa Barrage, site of the resident seal population that relies on the ready food source that seems to go with the constant water movement caused by the lock system.

It was so interesting to see the actual mouth of the Murray River - just a small opening between the Sir Richard and Younghusband Peninsulas. It needs constant dredging these days of reduced flow.

The point where the waters of the River Murray meet the Great Southern Ocean.

A unique setting for national park signage ........ and near the area of the dunes made famous in the Storm Boy book and film (1976 and 2019 versions) - (book by Colin Thiele).

We pulled up at a sandy landing for a guided walk through the dunes to the 90 mile beach facing the Southern Ocean. Sarah our guide was active, enthusiastic and very well informed - she made it really memorable for us. This stumpy tailed lizard crossed near our path on cue and she caught it - allowing us a really close look. An echidna almost got caught too - Sarah tried her best. We saw an emu and 4 chicks, amazing bird life (including the Coorong pelicans), plenty of bush tucker, ancient shell middens and lots of evidence of the cockle farming for which the area is noted.

The sight of that 90 mile beach, extending all the way to Kingston SE on the SA south-east coast, was suitably awesome.

Three and a half hours later we returned through the barrage back to Goolwa Wharf........ we'd loved this opportunity to see more of this unique area of our country. It would be great to do the full day tour next time!