Monday 1st September HOME TO BURRA (by car)
Left Yelta by car in glorious sunshine and travelled through green
countryside and luxuriant crops, via Renmark and Morgan, to Burra.
Our friends John and Joan Birch accompanied us. We checked
into "our" miners cottage then went for a drive along the Mawson
Trail but it was too boggy. After stocking up with groceries
we relaxed in front of the fire with green ginger wine to warm us up
as the cold had descended.
Tuesday 2nd September BURRA TO CLARE 55km
The Birch’s farewelled us after we had breakfast in front of the
fire. They were driving our car back to our home via Clare.
We set off in a strong headwind and had to put on wet weather gear
at Farrell Flat. The road became hillier with a climb over Camels
Hump Range, which has the Old Stone Wall going for miles. It
became wetter and hillier approaching Clare. Len fell off when his
wheel went off the edge of the bitumen. My first thought was of his
artificial hip and then I only just missed hitting him and the bike
pannier, which had come off. He had grazes and bruising but was
otherwise OK – the bike too. The rain continued for the
remainder of the day so we booked into a cabin in the Caravan Park.
Leaving Burra
Riesling Trail near Clare
Riesling Trail near Auburn
Wednesday 3rd September CLARE TO BALAKLAVA 56km
The rain continued overnight. As we set off it was overcast but the
cloud was much higher. It was an enjoyable ride along the
Riesling Trail with the clouds gradually clearing. At the end of
the Trail at Auburn we sat in sunshine and enjoyed a large
cappuccino then Len had to mend the first flat tyre. It was
delightful riding from Auburn to Balaklava. It was a bit hilly with
a patchwork of green wheatfields and brilliant gold canola. There
was a lovely long downhill run into gently undulating country.
Len burnt his hand as he was using a magnifying glass to read the
map. He accidentally focused on his hand while looking for a spot
on the map! We found a pretty lunch spot in Hellfire Creek in
natural bushland near Halbury. Our intended camp spot for the
night was to be the caravan park but when we arrived there the only
way of contacting the caretaker was to ring his mobile phone so we
rode to the PO and rang. A message asked us to leave our name and
number and he would contact later. Without a mobile phone it was
useless so we booked into the Royal Mail Hotel. Our bikes spent the
night locked in the dining room!
Auburn - end of Riesling Trail
Royal Hotel Balaklava
Canola near Pinery
Thursday 4th
September BALAKLAVA TO ELIZABETH 80km
There was a strong North wind so it was delightful riding with such
a tail wind through flat country. The canola crops were in flower
with some wheat and lentil crops surrounded by Mallee trees.
We lunched in Two Wells and took a short walk to visit the wells.
After Two Wells the traffic became busy even though we were on a
minor road. Approaching Elizabeth through a market garden area we
rode through a swarm of bees that decided to stay with us.
Clouds of bees flew around our heads trying to get into the holes in
our helmets and also our ears! Len took off as fast as he
could as he is allergic to bee stings. He managed to shake
them off finally. I stopped and removed my helmet to get the
bees out but then they became caught in my hair. I battled for
about 5 minutes finally grabbing my water bottle and sprinkling
myself, which seemed to work. We decided not to stay at the
caravan park as it was too far out of Elizabeth. Despite heavy
traffic we managed to find the Rose and Crown Hotel and booked in.
We carried our bikes upstairs and they were stored overnight in a
dining room.
Friday 5th September ELIZABETH TO ADELAIDE 31km
We set off in glorious sunshine managing to cope with the early
morning traffic along Main North Road for a few kilometres. We then
turned left to enable us to get to the cycle path along the Torrens
River. Taking the left turn however, took us up a huge hill (Anstey
Hill) to Tea Tree Gully, the biggest climb yet. We found our way to
the cycle trail along the Torrens and rode about 15km through
magnificent parkland all the way into the city. We booked into
a cabin in the Adelaide Caravan Park then walked 2km into the city
to Rundle Mall and the State Library. Enjoyed a spa with a
bottle of bubbly in the cabin. It rained all night.
The well at Two Wells
Cycle Track through Adelaide
Adelaide
Saturday 6th
September ADELAIDE TO CLARENDON 39km
The sun was out by 9.00am and we had a leisurely ride along sunny
river trails to the East of the city. We used Bike SA trails along
streets South through the city. I think we were lucky it was a
Saturday as there was no traffic in the industrial area.
Another great cycle track along Patawalonga Water Canal brought us
to Marion Caravan Park by 11.20am, much too early to call it a day,
so we continued on. What a climb out of Marion it was!
We lunched in The Hub, Happy Valley, and were assured that there was
accommodation in Clarendon at the pub or the winery. After an
enormous climb, right to the top of the range, and a short sharp
downhill, we were in Clarendon. No accommodation at the pub.
No-one at the winery. We inquired at the local store and they
said there was no camping ground either. So we headed off to
look for ourselves. We found a spot to camp by the creek,
behind the sporting grounds, and within walking distance of the pub
for dinner. The dining room of the pub was a wine cellar and
it had a great atmosphere. We tried the phone box on the way back
from the pub but it was out of order so we couldn’t make contact
with family or friends.
Sunday 7th September CLARENDON TO STRATHALBYN
37km
We were snug in our little tent by the creek overnight. We only had
one lot of visitors - loud youths, loud music, loud car – who only
stayed for a short time. We doubt if they noticed our little tent
amongst the trees. It was fine as we left and, soon after, we
were passed by a group of bike riders. After that we were passed by
cars, motor bikes, horse floats, farm vehicles etc. It was Sunday
in the hills. We had a couple of really serious climbs out of
Clarendon, a great downhill into Meadows, then several less serious
climbs before downhill all the way to Strathalbyn. It was very
busy as there was a big soccer carnival on as well as usual weekend
visitors from the city. A helicopter flew over us and landed beside
the caravan park just as we pulled in. Apparently a motor cyclist
had been injured in an accident and was being airlifted to hospital
in Adelaide. We hired an on-site van and had no difficulty in
getting groceries on a Sunday. Luckily the on-site van was near the
showers. I heard a yell from Len. He’d forgotten his towel and was
standing at the doorway in the nude yelling for me to bring it!
Happy Valley
Camp at Clarendon
Punt across Murray at Wellington