Day 27: Biking in wine country and Koala!

Today we are in McLaren Vale, south of Adelaide, with bikes and no fixed itinerary. We are about a mile from the center of town along a ped/bike path thru eucalyptus groves with views of the vineyards.

Our hotel (motel with wine tasting room, really) has extensive grounds that are home to cockatoos, green parrots, some gray parrots with dusty rose bellies, magpies and more. It's a real menagerie. Last night the cockatoos squawked until an hour after sunset.  It's delightful to be so far out in the country. Think Sonoma County in the 1950's. If feels that quiet here. 

We have our standard breakfast (fruit, cereal and yoghurt, coffee) from yesterday's grocery store run. So nice to have breakfast in our room without hassle. 

We plan to ride into town for second cuppa, then out to Molly Dooker winery. It's a mile or two north of where we are, straight shot really. 

Coffee and a "sando" at Kikko are excellent. Long black, flat white, sando -- normal/slang food terms here really are different.  The idea that you could get a grilled haloumi sandwich at your average coffee joint is amazing to me.

After coffee we're back on our bikes towards the winery. We get about 50 feet on the road before we see trouble. Ahead of us the roadway narrows and angles up a hill. There's nothing outside the white side lines, and no bike lane or other bicycle accomodation, as the busy road goes up a steep hill. It's not safe to ride. 

We flex our flexibility muscles and change plans. Back to the bike trail. And a quarter mile ahead there is a turnoff toward McLaren Flat -- we take it. Who doesn't like flat riding? What follows is about five miles of peaceful riding through the vineyards along eucalyptus lined bike paths. There's some headwind, but it will only translate to tailwind on the return. 

On the bike trail amid eucalyptus groves.

In McLaren Flat we stop at Scarpantoni winery. It was started in 1958 and is still going, though it sounds like tough sledding since COVID started (and I thought people drank more during COVID). Kathy and I share a flight -- enjoyable wines with Shiraz showing the best flavors.

At the tasting room. 

Harvesting machine that fits over a row of vines. It beats the vines with those white loops, knocking the grape clusters onto the black paddles. There they are conveyored to the top and dumped into a pickup truck the drives nearby.

Eventually it's time to pedal home and that's so easy. Perfect temps, clear day with bright sun, and a tailwind! 

We are cruising along between the eucalyptus groves when Kathy suddenly stops. There it is! Our first wild koala sighting!! Woo hoo! Sure enough about 20 feet up in the tree there's a good sized koala just sleeping. Maybe two feet long, typical of the males in this part of Australia. So great to finally see one! 

I'm sorry that Blogger does not take video, he's so cute moving around.

At lunch we are back in town at Sam I Am, the corner joint. The smavo Kathy orders (smashed avocado toast) is a 3D work of art. My grilled mushroom sandwich is pedestrian by comparison, though still delicious.

Post lunch we ride back to the hotel, drop the bikes and call an Uber. The same driver as last night picks us up. Perhaps there is just one Uber driver here?? What happens when he is busy? 

At Molly Dooker winery.

The Molly Dooker winery is awesome! Very Instagramable, with a cute red pickup truck in front, logo painted trailer out in back, gorgeous tasting room, and hilltop views that are just so beautiful. Like Sonoma or Napa valley, except the wineries there are all in the valley. Here many are on the hilltops. We have an enjoyable tasting flight and of course like the priciest wine the most. It's a full Shiraz, that's the specialty in this region. Molly Dooker (Aussie slang for lefty) is a wine we've tasted since 2016 or so, so it's nice to actually see the place.

Tasting notes. 

From the hilltop we can see the d'Arenberg "cube", a hilltop modernist building a mile or two distant. It's not a wine we know, but the Instagram posts are everywhere. We Uber over there (brother of the first driver, then the first guy pulls up to take the next party, it really is a small town).

d'Arenberg is hideous! It's all sculpture and flash, set up for the 'gram Posts. We don't bother to pay the entrance fee or tasting fee -- we escape back to our hotel.

Back home we scour the eucalyptus trees for koalas. Where there is one there must be another!! Eventually we concede that they must live back over there, not here in birdland.

We walk to dinner at Vasarelli Cellar Door in town. Good food, decent wine. We gawk at having seen a real live koala in the wild. On the walk to dinner, and the walk home, we examine every tree. But alas no koalas. 

However birdland is in full swing as we return, with cockatoos raising a racket as bedtime approaches. So quaint!!