Hancocks Lookout (Mt Remarkable... again)

An eagle flies overhead, between us and Port Augusta.

The view from our campspot. We are totally alone, just us, and this view.

The sight of our beautiful rig, finally with a little red dust in its cracks, is worthy of a gratutious photo.

Eve takes time out and absorbs the view with a magazine and glass of Clare Valley wine in tow.

A million bugs join us at sunset to enjoy the view.

A serene foggy morning delights us.

Jase grabs the camera to catch this magpie in flight above the cliffs.

The red banks of Redbanks

A beautiful day for a bush walk....

Clare Valley: cowboys and wine

The Clare Valley is the last major wine region of South Austrlia for us to visit, having already supped and sipped our way through Coonawarra, Mclaren Vale and the Barossa Valley. The Riesling Trail is a walking & cycling path which runs along a disused railway line. It is sprinkled rather liberally with olive trees, fruit trees, and pepper corn trees, amongts its aged eucalypts, pines and elm trees. The weather today is pleasant, cool and refreshing, mild and sunny. Perfect weather for a walk, after I build some shelves in my wardrobe in the caravan (hey, it's been about 6 months since I built anything okay!). We bring along Craig and Allison, a couple camped next to us at the rodeo showgrounds, and who are taking a year off work to consider their options (after 3 months they too have decided that country life is for them, plus they already own a small vineyard in Mudgee so the transition from Sydney burbs to country should be easy). Along the Trail there are a couple of wineries which have access to pedestrians right off the trail, and even a restaurant. The first winery, Killibirri (or something like that) offered wines not to our liking (too much sulphur, not enough flavour...?), however, the next winery was more our style, with big boastful reislings, semillions and shirazes. Upon our meadnering return to the showgrounds, we noticed many horse floats were being set up in readiness for the night's rodeo. Promise of an unforgettable evening was at hand...

Clare Rodeo

$20 entry, free camping, and $5 sausage sandwich is enough to draw almost any kind of crowd to a place like Clare... but throw in a rodeo.... and you have an entirely different situation altogether. We were told that the Clare Rodeo is a "small" event, relatively speaking, when compared to other rodeos, but what it might lack for in size, it made up for in "wow factor". From ferocious bulls covered in spittle trying to hurl a cowboy from his back, to the sight of a truly "country AND western" band doing all manner of covers from the country music scene (that's right, all your favourite country hits from the 70s and 80s in one night!... and Cold Chisel's Khe Sahn twice!!), this was a day and night of enjoyment and amusement. At one point, my prolific photo-taking was interupted by a couple of locals who wondered which newspaper I was working for (and when I asked if I could take their photo, they quickly realised I was a tourist!) and later in the night Jase and I were swept away by the all-night-western-dancin' concert and even found ourselves dancing cheerily amid toe-tappers and boot-scooters. Aah, but the actual rodeo events... absolutely amazing. To see a (perectly-normal-looking) man hop on a bull and let his brain be rattled and testicles squashed by a furious bull for love and money...?? Absurd!!! Please enjoy our photos.....

And a very happy birthday to cousin Lee!!!!!

Here's wishing you are spoilt rotten and covered in kisses on your special day!!!

Burra Beautiful

The Burra Town Hall has been restored to former glory, and is a must-see if you are in the Clare Valley. "Feel free to walk into every room, and even up the stairs," was the advice given to us by the friendly volunteer who was present this day. We quickly discovered that upstairs has a kooky collection of period costumes with a sign inviting to us to "Please have fun dressing up. Ask one of our volunteers to take a photo!" I think it took Jase roughly 3 seconds to strip his top and quickly dress in a tunic and cap, calling me "gov" and adopting a rather silly ye-olde-english accent. I was wasn't far behind, perhaps 60 seconds, and together we laughed and giggled our way through a bit of fun on the stage.

"Orright Gov!"

" This tea is for ladies."

Underground huts were used by workers when Burra was first colonised in the mid-1800s. They were built into the banks of creekbeds, so as you can imagine, when the creek flooded, so too did the workers' homes.

Below you see the chimney of one of the huts.

And this is the view of the hut (see below), not far above the level of the creek.

Burra Town Hall kitchen

The rooms of the Town Hall are splendidly ornate.