Adelaide Hills, South Australia.

Let's take the time to wrap up the trip to Australia and specifically Adelaide. We now have just the Adelaide Hills and environs to finish. It isn't anything too hard core, and there aren't a great deal of photos of magical stories at all.

The cleanest window I could find in Handorf was in a gallery of art and craft.

What a lovely place to eat, alas we didn't have the time to do that on a busy day of cruising the hills. So, we just enjoyed the view of Bird In Hand's barrel room.

Then we got a tastin'. Bird in Hand have been one of my favourites for some time. I first visited them back in about 2002 or so when they were still quite new. Now they are a goliath.

A pressed ceiling in the hills somewhere.... I just can't remember where!

One of the local birds.

We got some pretty cool clouds one night.

The skin that tells a story. Eucalyptus trees have some really amazing bark that can protect them during fires. They also help make fires hotter, sounds crazy right? But the hotter a fire is the quicker it burns out and actually saves the trees, as a longer fire would kill both the tree and the seeds. Smart trees!

A bit of flora!

Ok, I'm not going to lie. This isn't the hills. It is actually "The Cube" which is the new part of the McLaren Vale winery D'Arenberg something totally different. It is a winery that does strange and interesting wines. Like Mencia, Sagrantino Cinsault and others. But the cube, feels a little like me when back in Adelaide. A little out of place but still able to nestle in hopefully not making too much of a stir.

Adelaide Hills and about.

Another of my favourite things to do in Adelaide is head to the hills. It is always a few degrees cooler than down on the plains of the city, so in summer it can be a nice change. I have always enjoyed the hills as it feels like another world, full of small creeks and rivers, it always seems greener than the rest of Adelaide and of course there is a thriving artisan community there. With cheesemakers, coffee roasters, wineries, breweries and famous bakeries there is an endless supply of things for the eyes, the tongues and the stomachs of the world.

First stop was Johnston's of Oakbank. Once a brewery and now a winery and cordial producer.

Their cordial range.

Next stop a little further along the road was Woodside Cheese Wrights

Where they make some amazing cheeses, especially their soft cheeses.

Like the Monet a goats cheese covered in edible flowers, this is worth the drive alone.

It runs out of the old SA Farmers coop building.

Then a cruise down to Gumeracha (pronounced Gum-er-aka)

if you are great with geography you will be able to figure out where we went next.

Or does this help?

This won't

a little more of a hint

This is just a babe on a baby

Because this is where we were, the world's biggest Rocking horse!

They also have a wildlife sancturary there so many rescued animals are to be found in the grounds.

Then we went about face and back to the town of Hahndorf where we found a wonderful coffee roaster

Who took us through the process of roasting coffee. What a great smell! Southern Crema Espresso Bar at 76 Main St, Hahndorf.

So that was a brief hills tour.