We make day-long forays into the countryside surrounding Adelaide. One of these was a road trip to McLaren Vale. McLaren Vale is a small valley south of Adelaide.
Our first stop was the Wulunga Farmers’ Market. This is a very local market. 
People come every week…in fact there are discounts for market members. The vendors are all local with fresh raw milk, cheeses, lamb, hand-brewed beers,
McLaren Vale wines, olives, olive oil, fresh-baked goods, honey and beeswax candles, flowers and plants, fresh produce including local oranges and apples and live music.
We got lattes and cinnamon rolls, sat and just watched. People knew each other and animated conversations sprung up in the market aisles.
Many people brought their dogs and there were lots of kids.
The feeling was of a day of the week looked forward to in a small town. 
After the market we were off to visit Hardy’s Tintarra winery. You may wonder how we choose the winery we will visit when there are so many. Dana and I are less interested in wine than we are in history, architecture and gardens. Tintarra had them all. One stupendous discovery was this fig tree. 
The buildings in the winery are circa 1860 which is old for Australia. They are built of native stone with tin roofs. And the wine storage tanks are out of doors which is something we have not seen before.
Next stop was Wirra Wirra winery. Wirra Wirra , an aboriginal name, means “amongst the gum trees . ” This was a quirky little place. We pulled in to be greeted by a giant wine bottle made of corks.
The growing fields of the winery sit on a flat plain. In a fit of humor the owner dubbed this a “scrubby rise” and built a “jetty” viewing platform to see out over the field of vines. Collaborating with a local artist, he installed a row-boat and rower that floats above the vines and gives the sensation of a green ocean.
You will be hearing more about Wirra Wirra in a future blog when we take part in a living artwork. Watch for the new entry in December as we are immortalized among the vines.
We did come across a mystery at the winery and thought you would enjoy a brain teaser.
WHAT IS THIS?
Have any ideas about what this is? Guess and click HERE to find the answer.
We ended the day by driving along the coast back to Adelaide…a very relaxing and fun day.
MedFlies 
What a fun and interesting day you had.
Thought it was interesting to see that the beach-goers were able to park their cars right on the beach. I can’t think of any beaches here in US where that is possible. In Michigan, most of the parking lots are full and closed if you aren’t there early in the morning…and you pay for the privilege. btw..what are you driving in Australia?
One of the things we have noticed is Aussies are very law abiding.So we were surprised to see it is perfectly OK to park on the beach. Did you note the big tent too?
Our car here is not exciting but it is very efficient. Just a grey something…so no pics.
I came pretty close guessing about that catapult, I was quite sure it was a catapult and would involve a contest but I thought it would be a barrel slingin’ context not a wimpy watermelon one.
Any chance to get to Ayer’s Rock?
The people look rather …………unperplexed……..there? Beautiful country.
n