A glorious rainbow appeared as we began our drive along the Great Ocean Road! I had driven a portion the Great Ocean Road back in April 2003 and was excited to see the spectacular coastline again. Renting a car in Melbourne we drove south, stopping for lunch in Torquay and then realized we could not afford too many stops if we wanted to make sunset at the famous 12 Apostles in Port Campbell. A few times, we did pull over as the scenery was too gorgeous not to take a photo. We arrived at the 12 Apostles in time to take the boardwalk out to the viewing platforms as the sun was setting. The limestone cliffs have eroded over time and broken off to form arches which eventually broke off and became solitary rocks that have the appearance of haystacks in the water. Despite the name, there are only eight remaining rock formations, the last having fallen in 2010. After the beautiful sunset, we drove into the town of Port Campbell and stayed at The Waves hotel with dinner in the restaurant as well.
The next morning after a nice breakfast, we headed back Port Campbell National Park to view Lock and Gorge, London Bridge, the Arch and Bay of Islands under cloudy skies but still spectacular.
Driving on about 45 minutes to Warrnambool, we discovered at the information center that we had at least a 7 hour drive to Adelaide, if we did not stop. The information centers in Australia are well marked and in each town, with good intelligence, recommendations and tips for travel. Many of the brochures are free and there are items for sale which are unique to each location. Leaving Warrnambool around noon, we drove through Port Fairy and tried to keep a good pace. In Casterton, birthplace of the Kelpie, a breed of Australian sheep and cattle dog, we stopped for a late lunch. We had an excellent meal at ‘Say Grace’ that was recommended by the information center. I enjoyed a wonderful salmon tart and salad with coffee and dessert.
Arriving in Coonawarra in the late afternoon, most cellar doors were closed or closing. We were able to stop at Zema Winery for a tasting and it persuaded us to buy a nice bottle of Shiraz. We left this famous wine growing region after sunset and as we drove north, a bright full moon was rising. About three hours later, in the dark, we descended down into the city of Adelaide and could only imagine how scenic it must be in the daylight.
The next morning, we were up early for our Barossa Wine Tour. Our first stop was the Seppeltsfield Winery, established in 1851 and known for their Centennial Collection, 100 year old single vintage Tawny port produced every year since 1878.
The second stop was the famous Jacob’s Creek Winery which provided a very interesting and informative tasting experience. They also had a 250 year old gum tree on the property which was a popular point of interest.
Our third stop included a great lunch in the barrel room at Barossa Chateau. Prior to lunch we were able to walk through the Art & Antique Gallery, the private collection of winemaker Hermann Thumm (1912-2009) with rare porcelain, glassware, furniture and oil paintings comprising some 1500 items. After lunch we took a quick walk through the rose garden that was opened by HM Queen Elizabeth II in 2002.
Our final stop for the day was Hahndorf in the Adelaide Hills. It claims to be the oldest German town in Australia and we spent the afternoon checking out the German food and handicrafts in the local shops. Returning to Adelaide in the late afternoon, we descended down the same route that we had driven in the dark the night before. It was beautiful, just as we had imagined and we were happy to have experienced it in the daylight.
The city has the Adelaide Hills to the East and is close to some of the best wine growing regions in Australia. On our final day in Adelaide, we drove to Penfolds Winery, just outside the city of Adelaide. One of the best and most well known wineries in the Barossa Valley, we enjoyed a delightful wine tasting and then a tasty lunch in the newly opened cafe. Afterwards, we took a drive out to McLaren Vale, another popular wine growing region, and enjoyed a couple wine tastings there too. A few more days here would have been great but we already had 6 bottles of wine to take on the flight to Sydney!
