After hiking through the Flinders Ranges, our merry team headed to Clare; what a delightful township this is! Further out of Adelaide than many of the other wine growing districts, Clare has a rural feel that caters to many types of enterprises, including cropping and sheep farming (the shearers still make their annual pilgrimage to this part of the world), along with hills planted with mainly Riesling grapes.

Staying in town was fun, walking down the Main Street in the evening to one of the wonderful restaurants for dinner. The locals were friendly and welcoming – dare I say there was a feeling of the Mountain about this town?

We visited Bungaroo Station, which has been handed down through the family since settlement. The hand-cut sandstone buildings made up quite a community, and in its day, there was a police station, school, staff quarters, stables, their own church, a gracious house with beautiful gardens, and one of Australia’s busiest shearing sheds. At its prime, they were running 60,000 heads (some reports claim up to 80,000!). Imagine all the mouths to feed, all the staff to house and all the work. The family today is diversifying into tourism, with several of these buildings open to the public, and they are in the process of converting some of the cottages into accommodation. 

We also visited the historical Martindale Hall; this Georgian sandstone, the elegant house, was virtually imported from Britain by the family in the early 19th century. In its prime, house parties included polo on the grounds, garden parties and dinners in the William Morris-wallpapered dining room, with billiards for the men afterwards. Bequeathed to the state, it is interesting to wander around and feel a taste of yesteryear.

The Jesuits built a school for boys and filled a good wine cellar from the farm’s produce. Mary McKillop had connections to the church here, and pilgrims make their way to hear about her life story. Wander into the crypts to see where the priests are interred. Wine is still produced here, so linger a while for a wine tasting: their ‘stickys’ are delicious and reminiscent of altar wine!

Nearby Burra was the site of one of Australia’s largest copper mines; there are many grim tales of miners living in dugouts set in the river. There are so many sandstone cottages in need of restoration here. It would be a doer uppers paradise! 

Wine tasting and long lunches are a must, many overlooking wide-open valleys and others tucked into small historical buildings. The history of the region is fascinating, and we could all have spent more time wandering between the townships. We ran out of time to ride or walk the Riesling trail – you always need to leave something to entice you to return!

South Australia rightly has a reputation as one of the foodie centres of Australia. There are many fine restaurants and local eateries. Back in Adelaide, we had a fun-filled final evening enjoying a progressive dinner in the Adelaide market, meeting stallholders and sampling different produce. An excellent way to finish a wonderful trip!

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