Clare, SA

Clare, South Australia, is 136 km north of Adelaide and is one of the oldest wine producing areas of Australia.  We spent the long weekend in this beautiful town, with our family, all staying in the caravan park.

The Knappstein winery 

The Enterprise building was established as a Winery in 1976 by the Knappstein family and was later known as the Knappstein Enterprise Winery.  Originally it was a brewery established in 1878 by the eldest daughter of the founding father of the township of Clare, Edward Burton Gleeson.

Lovely old stonework

We arrived in Clare just after lunch on Friday and got ourselves set up in between a few short showers.  Michael, our son in law arrived  later with our granddaughter Amelie and her friend Lily, as they both had an exam in the morning.  Later, our daughter arrived with our grandson who had a full day at school and our daughter had to work too, so they drove up later.  Our grandson is a Learner Driver so he drove some of the way but as the weather was very wet and the traffic very heavy, as well as quite a few roadworks,  Kirsten drove  most of the way, and arrived after dark and we were relieved that they arrived safe and sound. 

Saturday morning was again cold and damp so we ventured out after breakfast to a cafe for our morning coffee.  This is something we like to do with the family when we go away together and the teenage girls wanted to do some shopping and Clare has a very good main street for that.  We got back to the van and enjoyed sitting under the awning and deciding what to have for lunch!  Food is an important part of our caravanning and camping and we usually do most meals on our Weber bbq.  This trip we cooked for everyone on our bbq as Kirsten & Mike left their's home - it's not a camping trip unless someone forgets something! Saturday afternoon was spent sitting around and chatting and a trip out to a wood yard so we could have a campfire in our portable fire pit. The others drove to Blyth, a small town about 30 km away where they all went to an "Escape Room" for a bit of fun while we babysat Banjo, the spoilt Cavoodle.   

We had a late bbq tea as there was a band playing in the camp kitchen so the girls enjoyed some time there and I think they wanted to check out the boys too. 

Sunday morning was a cooked breakfast with everyone and then we got a phone call from our son to say they had driven up in their new motorhome and were in Clare.  We didn't expect to see them as their two teenage children were working at their part-time jobs, but their youngest wanted to come so it was great to have some time with them as well.  In the afternoon  we went to the Seven Hill Winery for some wine tasting and pizza.

 

Left to Right - Lily, Amelie, Noah

 

Seven Hill winery

Around the campfire

Banjo having a rest

The weekend went too fast and on Monday morning the caravan park was busy with everyone packing up and leaving.  So we said goodbye to our family and we stayed on for another day - one of the perks of being retired.

The next photos were taken on our drive around the Clare Valley in the afternoon, and of course Ron found some "rusty stuff" to photograph.

Melrose Park has a model railway in a very pretty park setting, but unfortunately it was closed on Monday but we have been there before when I had my 60th birthday and all the grandchildren were much younger.

  

The last of the autumn colours

The vines are waiting to be pruned

We stopped at another park and found these little birds flitting around, they were hard to photograph, but I have cropped the photo and they are a little easier to see.  I am not sure what type they are so hopefully you might be able to identify them.

I hope you are all staying well, with no problems with the Covid or the flu.  We have had all our vaccinations and are still wearing masks in busy public places as our age and medical problems make us feel vulnerable.

The one and half life sized statue of Curio being successfully ridden by Alan Wood during his 10 second ride in 1953 is a tribute from the Marrabel Rodeo Committee. The statue was commissioned in 1991 and created by sculptor Ben Van Zetten. It is made of cold cast bronze weighing 2 tonnes.

Curio, the famous buckjumping horse in Marrabel

The one and half life sized statue of Curio being successfully ridden by Alan Wood during his 10 second ride in 1953 is a tribute from the Marrabel Rodeo Committee. The statue was commissioned in 1991 and created by sculptor Ben Van Zetten. It is made of cold cast bronze weighing 2 tonnes.

On our drive home, we came across these lovely camels,cows, and alpaccas in a paddock😄

At Eudunda, we stopped to view the silo artwork.

The silo art in Eudunda was completed in September 2021. This was a huge undertaking, with artwork done by Sam Brooks. The silos show two different children sharing stories. On the left is a book from Colin Thiele, a local author well known for books such as Sun on the Stubble. (Storm Boy is another well known book). on the right is an Aboriginal boy telling a local Ngadjeri story. A local Ngadjeri elder, Quentin Aegius, helped ensure the imagery and message was accurate. You can see a really great explanation from the artist. [Exploring South Australia]