From there we carried on through Clare which is quite a large wine growing region. Beautiful old buildings, green fields, and vineyards. Maybe another trip. We left the highway at Auburn and cut over to Balaklava. From there we carried on to Mallala which is a small town near Gawler. We pulled into a free camp at the Mallala Sport Grounds. Nice setup with good toilet block. There is also a shower which you pay $5/day for and collect the key from the local IGA. Not a lot of room and we were lucky we got there when we did. Seems to be a number of people taking advantage of the free camp setup to live long term. I would suggest the council bring in a maximum stay of a week to move along some of the long term residents and free up for new tourists. The Ransleys arranged for shower access but we didn't require as are pretty much self contained. I'll give the amenity blocks a 3 Star rating as were good and clean especially for a free camp.
We enjoyed a somewhat relaxing afternoon around the camp. The weather was not bad but cool and a bit windy. We didn't put the awning out. Both the Ransleys and ourselves arranged for car services during our Adelaide stay as well.
Wednesday morning was sunny but cool. We jumped in with the Ransleys for a trip to Adelaide. Stephen ended up dropping the 3 of us downtown and taking the car back to the Entertainment Centre to park and take the free tram back into the city. The girls and I did a quick exploration of the Adelaide River area. Lots of construction taking place and was quite pretty.
Rans had a bit of difficulty with the parking as he didn't take any money with him. Eventually he got it sorted and caught the tram back to City Centre where we joined him on the Tram heading to Glenelg. We had arranged to meet our friends Phil and Donna at the Glenelg Jetty for lunch. We had met them on our last trip and keep in touch with them. We had a wonderful visit and lunch with them. They haven't changed a bit and we enjoyed lots of laughs. We took the tram back the the Entertainment Centre and then drove back to Mallala in the late afternoon.
Thursday morning the Ransleys had their Ranger in for service at Elizabeth. We picked them up at the car dealer and headed off to explore the Barossa Valley for the day. We stopped at the Visitor Centre in Gawler to prepare for our day. The guide there was very informative. Our first stops were a couple of Chateaus just before Lyndoch including Chateau Barossa. The girls bought a few gifts and Rans purchased a few bottles of wine. The buildings were fairly impressive.
We traveled through Lyndoch to Tununda where Rans and I enjoyed a meat pie at the local baker. Best one I've ever had to be honest! A quick visit to the Tununda Chateau which again was a beautiful building with a lot of history.
Next stop was Mengler Hill Lookout and Sculpture Park. We got a nice view of the valley but was a bit hazy and quite cold with the wind blowing. We had planned for our picnic lunch there but decided to find somewhere a bit warmer.
We headed back down the hill and on to the historic Seppeltsfield Vineyard. This is a a huge vineyard with a number of shops etc to explore. We enjoyed our lunch in a private picnic area which was quite sheltered from the wind. This is one of the most famous Barossa Vineyards but we felt it was a bit touristy and expensive.
Our last stop of our tour was the Barossa Valley Cheese company in Angaston. Mostly soft cheeses are their specialty and Sandra and I purchased some nice Brie. Back in the car for our return trip. We dropped the Ransleys off at the Ford Dealer before heading back to Mallala via Gawler. We enjoyed our day but would probably do an organized tour next time. Also we didn't find the area as nice as the Hunter Valley or Margaret River. A bit more history than either of the above though.
Friday was our turn to have our Jeep in for service at Salisbury Park. We dropped it off in the morning and jumped in with the Ransleys to do a bit of shopping. From there we returned to Mallala for an easy afternoon. Rans gave me a ride back in to pick up the Jeep about 3PM. All was good with the service and it actually cost a bit less than what they had originally quoted. Good news! The day was rainy and cold and more was promised for the night and following day.
We enjoyed Adelaide so I think Sandra and I will make a return trip sometime to have a better look around the city itself.
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