WE’RE IN HAHNDORF AND THE YORKE PENINSULA

 TUESDAY 19TH AUGUST   -  We left Nuriootpa in The Barossa and drove 98 kilometres to Belair National Park Caravan Park in the boundaries of Belair National Park .  It was freezing cold and windy yet again 10 – 12 degrees.  It was a beautiful drive passing by lush green hills and valleys and climbing up the narrow winding road through the Adelaide Hills to the caravan park.  The park was in a bush setting beside Belair National Park.  It was an older style park with clean facilities.

We took Sally for a long walk through the National Park.  We were stunned that dogs were actually allowed within the park – a real first for us – probably the one and only time in Australia. We did the Lorikeet Loop trail along a path full of beautiful big trees with lots of lorikeets and rosellas flying around.  There were lots of picnic areas,  tennis courts and ovals with plenty of people using the facilities.  It was also home to Government House with Victorian gardens, the summer house of SA’s earlier governors.  It was open for tours at weekends and available for weddings and functions.

DUCK UP A TREE

Belair National Park was the first National Park in South Australia and the second in Australia.  It is set in the Mount Lofty Ranges and covers 2,060 acres.

WEDNESDAY 20TH AUGUST   -   We went to Hahndorf the oldest surviving German settlement in Australia 20 minutes from Adelaide CBD.  The streets were lined with 100 year old elm trees.  There were lots of clothes, gift and souvenir shops and pubs and cafes offering authentic German fare.

The first Lutheran settlers arrived in Hahndorf in 1839 on a ship called The Zebra commanded by Captain Dirk Hahn.  He helped the pioneers get settled and befriended them.  They were so grateful that they named the settlement after him.

ONE OF THE MANY CUCKOO CLOCKS IN THE GERMAN SHOP

THE GERMAN  VILLAGE SHOP

We went to the Beerenberg Farm and sampled a variety of jams, chutneys and sauces which were delicious.   We also saw the bottling process through a viewing window and discovered they bottle around 4,000 jars per hour.  We ended up buying some satsuma plum and blackcurrant jams and a tomato relish.  We’ll have to get a bigger fridge for all the jams, cheeses, relishes, chutneys and gorgaeous fruit and vegetables we’ve bought in South Australia so far.

On the way home, we visited Melba’s Chocolate Factory in Woodside in the Adelaide Hills and sampled lots of chocolates and bought far too many goodies there as we couldn’t decide what to buy. 

THURSDAY 21ST AUGUST   -   We went to Glenelg in the Gulf of St. Vincent - a lovely historic town 10 kilometres from Adelaide City, along the sandy shores of Holdfast Bay.  It was one of Adelaide’s most popular coastal towns. 

It was a lovely sunny day, the first for a while and it was wonderful to see the ocean and long sandy beaches once again after 3 months of red dust and dirt in the outback, Northern Territory and Central Australia.  We walked along the promenade and onto the jetty.  There were lots of cafes and shops in the main street and we had lunch in Bracegirdles Café and Chocolatier which was delicious.

We visited The Bay Discovery Centre and Museum inside the historic Town Hall building.   It was a fascinating display showing the history of beach life and culture and the evolution of the swimsuit.  There were lots of interactive displays, photos and an actual beach hut to look inside.   It was a very interesting and well thought out display.

FRIDAY 22ND AUGUST   -   We left Belair and drove 158 kilometres to Ardrossan in the Yorke Peninsula. 

Coming into the Yorke Peninsula we noticed the deep green fields and hills.  They were quite flat in places. The sea was very calm also.

We stayed at the Ardrossan Caravan Park very close to town and $30 per night.  The caravan sites were quite small and squashy and we were up quite close and personal with our neighbours.  There was no grass anywhere, only crushed stones on the ground.  The amenities were excellent with individual en-suites that were very clean.  There was a big Foodland supermarket nearby and a café and bakery, post office, 2 hardware stores and a newsagency.

Ardrossan is a rich wheat and barley growing area on the east coast of the Yorke Peninsula, 150 kilometres from Adelaide, with a small population of 1,100 people.

Ardrossan was named after a seaport in Scotland.  The name comes from the Gaelic word ‘ard’ meaning height and ‘ros’ being a prominent rock or headland.

BHP opened an open cut dolomite mine there in the 1950’s for use in steel manufacture at Whyalla on the Eyre Peninsula (SA) and Port Kembla in NSW.  A new 1 kilometre jetty was also built in the deep water shipping port for loading salt and grain for export.

The Stump Jump Plough was built and manufactured there between 1880 and 1935 and was an important part of the history of Ardrossan, hence the name of the local café – The Stump Jump Cafe

We stayed in Ardrossan for 3 nights and took Sally to Tiddy Widdy Beach every day for a long awaited run on the beach which she loved.  There was a lovely cliff top walk overlooking the red clay coastal cliffs from the jetty in town right along Tiddy Widdy Beach.  It was a good start to our trip around the Yorke Peninsula.

NEXT WEEK:  We will be travelling further down The Yorke Peninsula and staying 7 nights at Port Vincent.