The Adelaide Hills closely flank the eastern side of the city so just 15 minutes after leaving home we were out of the suburbs and into the winding hilly roads. We were in no particular hurry so when we came across the renovated and refurbished Inglewood Inn (established in 1857), and saw it to be open for brunch, we pulled in. Cappuccinos and hearty breakfasts later we hit the road again.
Australia, just like Canada, has a bit of a fascination with BIG things as roadside attractions. We had purposely opted to take the lesser travelled scenic route from the city to the Barossa as it passed through the region in the Adelaide Hills that I grew up in as a kid and as such made for a trip down memory lane of sorts as well. With that having been said, just a few kilometres further up the road in the little town of Gumeracha was what is stated to be 'The Largest Rocking Horse in the World'.
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| The Big Rocking Horse - you can see some people standing above his tail |
The Big Rocking Horse stands at the entrance to a toy factory where they make all sorts of wooden toys. Next to the Rocking Horse is a busy signpost where you can find the distance and direction to many cities around the world. This revealed us to be standing about 17,000km from Toronto and 'just' 13,873km from Vancouver.
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| It is a long way from here to Canada! |
In contrast to how far it was to Canada, we were now just 30km from the Barossa so we chose to continue as planned.
Next stop en route was a water reservoir where the design of the dam wall has resulted in some interesting acoustic effects.
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| The Whispering Wall |
While standing on one side of the curved wall and speaking normally, or even whispering, you can converse easily with someone standing on the far side of the dam wall some 140m away as if you were standing next to them. Bernard was pretty confused when I called his name which he obviously heard clearly but he could not see me nearby - good for a bit of a laugh. The wall is known as The Whispering Wall and makes for a pleasant 15 minute stop and a leg stretch.
Once in the Barossa we stopped at a couple of wineries to do a little tasting (I drive, Heather tastes, Bernard waits). First stop was at Rockford's Winery.
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| Entrance to Rockford's Winery and their free Cellar Door tasting rooms |
Not only do they produce a nice drop, we got married nearby and had our wedding photos taken at Rockford's so it was another nice trip down memory lane for us.
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| This press used to produce Rockford's Basket Press Shiraz |
Last stop was Peter Lehmann's winery. The 'cellar door' is situated in a very large park like setting where you can enjoy a glass or two on the grounds in a picnic setting. The day was perfect and as a result there were several groups of people spread across the area doing just that. We took Bernard out for what we thought would be a quick walk in the park before heading home. However, as he does, he captured peoples' attention and drew a small crowd (like ants to the aforementioned picnic). He shamelessly lapped it all up until his public had to leave to get to the next stop on their winery tour.
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| Bernard draws admirers at Peter Lehmann's |
After an enjoyable outing we made the short 65km trip back to Adelaide - it is all rather too convenient (I can see how these winery visits could easily develop into a habit!).
You are now up to date with Where The Farrows have been and What The Farrows have been up to so that's all for this edition of 'WTF? - Where are The Farrows?'. Surely it must be time to raise a glass and say 'Cheers to living the good life!'
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