We had a reasonable buffet breakfast at the Country Club. The cockatiels are not nearly as noisy in the mornings thankfully.
We set off on a beautiful morning down to the township for coffee, which we drank in the small square beside the market. It actually is more of a small town than a village. I hadn’t realised the extent of the main street when we walked to dinner. Possibly the size of Morrinsville.
There were plenty of young people around with cowboy hats. Apparently visitors at what appeared to be a rodeo. We saw quite a big campground on our way in on Saturday, which was full with both campers and horses but was largely empty by the time we rode out. Except for the groups of blokes practicing their whip cracking. They need practice. We had heard the rodeo commentary on our way home from dinner. I guess it’s a lot cooler for all involved in the evenings.
Our ride was back along the same trail which meant downhill and mostly with a wind behind us. Yay. There are quite a few of our group with varying degrees of germiness. Sore throats, coughs and sniffles. Decidedly suspicious but we are all soldiering on.
The tour had booked a tasting at Sevenhills Vineyard. It’s a bit like Mission in that it was established and is owned by the Jesuits. It’s quite a complex, with a big convent/Priory with church next door and then the winery itself.
Not far from Sevenhills we called into a small family run vineyard up on the hill just a short way off the trail. We tasted a variety of wines and I bought a bottle of 50:50 Grenache and Shiraz which is easy drinking.
It was pretty hot by the time we left Crabtree so it was good to get biking again.
Lunch was not far away at a vineyard called O’Leary Walker Wines. Again up on a hill with commanding views all around. There was a storm coming (it didn’t get us) but the sky was amazing.
We ate outside under this big veranda and sampled some lovely platters of cheese, meats, pate and pickles. I can’t believe I forgot to photograph the feast.
Our driver had arranged to pick us up from the lunch stop rather than riding the last 5 km so that we could get to Hahndorf in time to look around. We were staying in Hahndorf which is in the Adelaide hills area. What we hadn’t appreciated was that it was a 2 hour journey and Hahndorf closed at 4pm on a Sunday. We might as well have completed the ride. But I guess Brett got to go home a bit earlier!
Hahndorf is a quaint town settled by German immigrants and is quite reminiscent of Arrowtown. It’s a pity we didn’t have a chance to have a good look around.
We saw very little of the village as both had some work tasks. The group had arranged to meet in the courtyard of our accommodation, which had some tables under umbrellas, and we trooped to the nearby IGA and bought some cheese, crackers and ham etc. It was more than we needed given the amount of food we have consumed.
The accommodation was clean and roomy which was all we needed. The shower was arranged oddly in front of the bathroom door though, so you had to step into the shower to get around the door into the bathroom, which was quite roomy and I’m surprised there wasn’t a better layout available. All of the accommodation has good aircon though.