Gawler - Hahndorf- Barossa Valley

Hi everyone, we arrived Gawler on Monday. It is quite a busy town, about 45 minutes north of Adelaide & very close to the Barossa  Valley.  On Monday afternoon we drove through the Adelaide hills to the historic town of Hahndorf, first settled by German immigrants in the mid 1800's. It is a very pretty place, but packed with tourists ( like us!) The drive through the hills was very scenic, lots of orchards & vineyards, but we didn't take any photos of them as the road was narrow & winding & we couldn't pull over. Today we drove to the B.V., we had to get the VW's oil changed & the service centre was in a pretty little town called Tanunda. We had breakfast there, & then when the car was ready we went exploring. This is a long blog as I took heaps of photos. Below are photos of Hahndorf's main street- lots of cafes, pubs, all with a German theme. You couldn't spit without hitting a Kranksy or a bratwurst!

GAWLER

Some photos below of in & around Gawler. Below is the "Wheatsheaf" formerly a pub, now a restaurant, est in 1848. 

Railway Station

The Old Mill buildings. On the left under the trees is the river, bone dry at the moment.

Mansion on the hill overlooking town, now a nursing home. I tried to leave Graeme there but he wouldn't cooperate!

TANUNDA & THE BAROSSA VALLEY.

Below, you can probably guess Graeme took this photo of our engine with the covers off during it's service. I   wasn't allowed to remove it from the blog!

Grae standing under the car

Lutheran Church in Tanunda

Photos below of Angaston in the B.V.  Again another charming little village.

Views from the lookout over the B.V.- you can see how dry the countryside is; the green vineyards make a great contrast. We would really love to visit here in Autumn when the leaves on the vines turn  spectacular shades of red.

Chateau Tanunda Winery cellar door.

We also visited Maggie Beer's produce farm & food shop, a taste sensation, especially her sauces, not forgetting the chocolate & caramel ice cream. Below is a photo of the dam, taken from the produce shop.

Turtles swimming in the dam.  I would really love one for a pet  ( I reckon they would be ideal in a caravan- lots of caravan parks have a no dogs policy, but I've yet to see a "No Turtles" sign!)

Inside the shop.

We came across this building on a back road. very elaborate & Greek looking, but no signage  to indicate what it is.

Below, views of Seppeltsfield  Winery, a huge operation. Est 1851.

Small town of Greenock.