Too quickly we are at the other side of town and I ask Jase if he would mind turning around so we can get a closer look. Penola is historic and gorgeous. It's also where Mary McKillop formed the Sisters of St Joseph.
In unison we say "Let's stay."
I think that's the beauty of our trip... so little is planned, we can stop any time we find something unexpected.
Walking down the main street we learn we are in fact in the Coonawarra wine district, which specialises in Cabernet wine (red wine). Two shops in the main strip offer tastings so we indulge a little time in each; sampling both red and whites, and quickly realise that we REALLY need to go to some of the local wineries to get more of a "taste of the area", so to speak.
So we hired a couple of bicycles for the afternoon and took ourselves to 5 or 6 wineries, all staffed by very friendly folk who were happy to provide extremely generous tastings to poor wandering travellers (sometimes resembling 1/2 a glass!) Oooo we like Penola :)
We collect our bikes from the Koonara wine & gift shop.
This photo was taken from our campsite at the Penola caravan park. The park has many dilapidated caravans which are home to 20-or-so immigrant workers, here from Asia and India. They stick to their own circles but seem very happy; of an evening they drink wine and eat together and you can hear laughter and music coming from their little area.
We seem to be 'grey-nomad-attractant'. On 3 separate occasions, a couple in their late 50s introduces themselves to us; make recommendations on where to visit next; and we compare notes. We are all so like-minded so I really enjoy this aspect of the journey; we are all here to see and breathe in the countryside.
The freedom to stay where ever you want, for as long as you want. I'd call that heaven! love Mum
ReplyDeleteWe did this trip last year and are going back to do it again. Koonara's bike hire is a fantastic idea.
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