Thursday was our last day of holidays with only the trip to Adelaide Airport left. Adelaide is about 70kms from Tanunda, so we decided to head back via the Adelaide Hills, which is one of my favourite places in this part of the world. Once again the weather was pretty ordinary with the showers blowing in a bit more regularly and a bit more heavily. Our first stop was a brief one in Williamstown and we found a church or two.
Not far down the road from Williamstown is the town of Birdwood, the home of the National Motor Museum. It’s also the endpoint of the of the Bay to Birdwood run, where vintage car owners drive their cars from Glenelg to the museum. Birdwood was originally named Blumberg by the original German settlers but was renamed to Birdwood in the First World War as the government sought to anglicise many of the towns with German names.
It seemed every time we got out of the car the rain would come again and it wasn’t decent Queensland rain, it was cold, windy rain. The mercury had not yet made 14 degrees. Our last stop before heading into Adelaide was Hahndorf, which is Australia’s oldest surviving German settlement. I’ve always liked Hahndorf for it’s village feel, although these days is a bit busier and commercial than my previous visits. It is still quite authentic though.
We took our time to wander through the galleries and shops and were impressed with some of the local artists displayed in the Hahndorf Academy. On the disappointing side there was a gallery that was selling rip-offs of some great paintings, likely to have been imported in bulk from China. Soon enough it was time for lunch and where better than a German Pub.
With that it was left to drive the 40 minutes or so to the Adelaide Airport and home. Overall, despite some inclement weather it was another great trip. Our top fives:
Rob:
1. Seed Restaurant in Clare.
2. Seal Colony in Ardrossan
3. Photography experimenting – especially Corny Point Lighthouse
4. Clare wineries – Especially Skillogallee and Good Catholic Girl wines
5. Revisiting the Adelaide Hills by train and car
Deb:
1. Seed Restaurant
2. Bec Hardy Restaurant
3. Photographing 76 churches
4. Seals at Ardrossan
5. Sampson Tall winery in McLaren Vale
Looking forward to your company on the next trip, which at this stage looks like being Canada!
Until then … thank you and goodbye!
Rob's "Beats Working" Blog 