The Wonderful Wines of Oz

Life in Sri Lanka is somewhat intense and without a real break for almost a year it was time to escape the chaos and have a rest, lose the wrinkles and enjoy somewhere a little less hectic by heading to my great aunt’s place in Adelaide. The journey took us through Singapore for a 16 hour stopover. 6 hours kip at the airport hotel in a bed which was long enough to fit my legs in was the start of 3 weeks of luxury. We’d only just managed to leave SL as the staff in the airport didn’t understand e-tickets and were mightily confused, we wondered if we’d be carted off by the ever growing military presence to be questioned about these 21st century means of travel, but one member of staff saved the day and we happily boarded our flight. When we arrived in Singapore we found out SL hadn’t actually activated our tickets (effectively we were still in Colombo) but a v friendly and helpful efficient Chinese lady sorted us out.

What a different world we had landed in – there were no toilet attendants trying to get money off us, the roads were bliss after the madness of SL drivers, and everywhere was so bloody efficient from checking in at the airport hotel, to getting the bus into town, to being offered genuine and useful help in the shops and cafes. All-in-all it was clean, safe, no touts or beggars treating us as walking wallets, shops had wearable clothes in them, cafes had drinkable coffee and wonderful chocolate brownies – the waft of chocolate reaching my deprived nose as the server lifted the lid off the brownie container was heavenly. We even saw a sign by one of the slip roads in the street reading “Beware, Vehicles Crossing” which we thought hilarious, though I’m sure no-one understood what we were laughing at and probably many crossed the street to avoid us!

We landed in Oz on Easter Monday delighted to arrive on a sunny autumn day, collected by Sue, greeted by 2 happy dogs at the house and spoilt by a wonderful meal of roast lamb to start us off on food we had badly missed. The first week was spent catching up on sleep and chilling out. Sue’s place is on the beach, a stunning setting and all the more as they were having an unusual hot spell. The water was clear powder blue with dolphins nosing along as they cut through the water - what luxury to be able to watch all this from Sue’s deck either with early (?) morning coffee in hand or sunset glass of wine. It was also fantastic to be able to cook again and many evenings were spent preparing some lovely meals with some even more lovely wines to accompany them. We also managed to make it up to the farm in Willunga for a night where Bron got his first sighting of Kangaroos and aussie snakes and the beautiful landscape of gum trees and scrub. Although it was all looking grey with lack of water – there has been a drought for months threatening farming and wineries amongst other things, a terrible time for the aussies.

One thing about living in 1950s third world SL is that you really are out of touch with most things that go on in the world and this may not always be such a bad thing. Watching the news again we discover that George Bush is being even more of a twat than usual, Tony Blair has lost his marbles and his party, the middle east is getting worse, and the Russians are so pissed off with the US that it could be back to the Cold War again. Aside from the news we wondered whether we had arrived in the 1980s due to the awful, ill-fitting, stupid looking clothes people seem to be wearing again. Sorry if this offends you fashion conscious types out there, and I’m sure I’d be puffball clad if I were still living in London, but really has the fashion world not just had the biggest joke on the general public for the second time?! Everywhere there were puffball hems, waistcoat top designs, stripes, polka dots, ill-fitting ¾ length trousers, unattractive plunge tops straight out of Dynasty, and pixi boots. Pixi boots?! Even jeans seemed to be edging back to waists rather than the more flattering hipsters we have adopted in recent years. And what are people wearing on their feet – the joke of Ugg boots has moved on to ‘Crocs’, bright coloured clog like shoes with holes in them. Please people what are you all excepting in the modern world??

Sydney Adventures

After a week of R&R and shock at being transferred back to the 80s it was time to head East for a few days. We flew to Sydney and caught the train straight to the Blue Mountains. I wasn’t too sure what to expect – it was school holidays in Oz so the place could have been crawling with noisy kids, also it was autumn not really a time of year to expect good weather. However we were very lucky and the day we arrived we could see clearly for miles, with no screaming kids in sight. The Blue Mountains are a wonderful range of mountains covered in blue gum trees giving off a blue haze in the sunlight, hence their name. It’s a 2 hour train ride from Sydney to the main town of Katoomba, first through some of Sydney’s less pleasant suburbs then winding through the breathtaking scenery of the mountains. The bonus for us was that it was autumn and the tress were stunningly colourful – reds, oranges, purples, leaves part turning both green and yellow gently falling to the ground. There are some easy and some tougher walks. Our first was easy, walking along the cliff top accompanied by the loud squawks of the King Parrot – a magnificent large black parrot swooping through the air making a terrible racket. Our second walk took 6 hours first walking down about 1,000 steps then along the forest floor losing all the ‘10m minute only’ tourist walkers to have the tall trees, screeching parrots, waterfalls, and sunlight beams all to ourselves. The problem was getting out – 1km upwards of steep steps, tough work for our 2 unfit bodies, but we made it and collapsed in a heap at the top of one of the lookout points on a rickety old bench that could hardly take our weight.

The following day we took our aching legs back on the train to Sydney where Bron was in for his birthday surprise. We stored our luggage in Central Train Station and I took him through the back streets avoiding all the great views of the harbour and opera house until we arrived at the Bridge Climb Centre. I had thought the best way for him to experience his first view of Sydney was from the top of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. I hadn’t appreciated that this of course might completely terrify him, but I had been subtly checking that he wasn’t scared of heights. Once through all the initiations, including wearing a terrible suit and harness, we got out onto the bridge starting at the bottom which is 60m above the harbour waters. Bron describes it as a fairly terrifying experience walking out under the bridge along a narrow catwalk with rush hour traffic and trains rattling overhead and fears of having to walk up a narrow little ladder to the top. I had already climbed the bridge and knew there were no rickety narrow ladders at the top so I wasn’t scared and was pointing out all the best spots in Sydney - where we would be staying, where the zoo was, what direction Bondi was in, and commenting on how small the harbour ferries looked as they cut across the water leaving little white trails below us. I’m not sure how much Bron appreciated his tour guide at this point! We were on the new Harbour Bridge Climb which takes you through the middle of the bridge and up the inner arch (the original climb takes you up the outer arch). This was a more interesting climb, and when we crossed the bridge at the top we walked across a narrow gangway looking down at the traffic below – the most historic part of the bridge as it’s where the 2 arches eventually joined, but sadly a part of the climb they were taking out the following week as they’d built a safer route down. The bridge is a magnificent feat of engineering and skill and seems quite an honour to be able to climb, it is painted grey (not the black you would imagine) and deserves the awe and wonder Sydneysiders attach to it. I think once we were back on the ground and Bron was getting over his shock in the nearest pub, he finally was able to feel he’d enjoyed his birthday surprise!

The rest of the tour of Sydney was on foot and boat and we squeezed in the last of the fantastic weather to do it. The obligatory brunch at Bronte Beach and the walk along the cliff tops to Bondi was as beautiful as ever, looking down from the jagged brown rock at clear blue sea dotted with surfers and lined with the white of the big Sydney waves. After this a stroll on the Woolloomooloo Wharf along the wooden slatted walkway past huge expensive motor boats, and back through the interior of the wharf which had kept some of the old machinery beautifully in tact. Leaving the luxury to those that could afford it we wandered through the Botanical Gardens to arrive at the classic view of the Sydney Opera House and the Harbour Bridge for sunset. A great way to see a great city. That night we ate at Darling Harbour with its mixture of tourist tack, smart restaurants and wharf walks.

Our boat trip was the following day with Jen and Tracy who we were staying with. Jen and Tracy do incredibly well putting up with many visitors to Sydney – both family and friends from Oz and abroad regularly descend upon them and they are the most wonderful hosts. We arrived at their apartment on Sydney Harbour (the most tranquil of spots) on Friday evening after our Bridge Climb to find Peg and Fish already there supping on some v welcome champagne, Adam and Britt to arrive later. I cannot justifiably describe what a treat we had that night but try to compare a plate of rice and curry (which we eat EVERY DAY) to the below:

a welcome shot….

* not entirely sure what was in this shot but it was a shot glass with an oyster in it, I’m sure quite a lot of vodka, tomato juice, Worcester sauce, etc. – like a very upmarket Bloody Mary.

a nibble to start….

* champagne
* Maggie Beer's pate (the aussies amongst you will know what a thrill to the taste buds this is)
* giant fresh prawns

main course….

* red wine (endless glasses with Fish at the helm)
* roast pork with perfect crackling
* roast veggies

to finish….

* more red wine
* home made hazelnut and strawberry torte with King Island cream

…well my mouth is still watering thinking about it. A great welcome back to Sydney and a true taste of gourmet food that we’d forgotten exists! Suffice to say we also are not used to drinking that amount of wine and our hangovers the next day were horrendous and justly deserved!

Back to the boat trip…. Tracy has a motorboat kept in a beautiful little place outside Sydney called Pitt Water. We had a lazy Sunday morning with an egg and bacon breakfast overlooking Sydney Harbour before travelling to the boat about an hour’s drive away. Worryingly driving through rain but reaching sun the other side. Adam and Britt joined us and by lunch time we were slowly motoring out towards one of their favourite bays to stop for lunch. Being on the water in Sydney is always a treat, beautiful scenery and very busy with motor boats, sailing boats and little dinghies all dancing through the water, the sailing boats most definitely winning the elegance competition as they effortlessly sliced through the waves – a pleasure for all to see. We had pate and wine and steak and salad using the BBQ on the back of the boat which we enjoyed as we gently bobbed up and down with the waves. The skies started to get heavier so we made our way back with dramatic dark clouds chasing us. As we docked a huge rain storm descended upon us, this was to continue throughout the night. When we got back to the apartment Bron and I got totally drenched wading our way through rivers of water on the roads, dodging thunder and lightening to get a take away pizza – essential for watching a Sunday night film.

Wine Time

Our Sydney trip was short but memorable and it was back to Adelaide and off to the wine regions next. We hired a car (a tad unhappy with it being an automatic, after so many months away from driving, they could have at least given us a manual!) and headed off to the rolling hills of the Clare Valley. A really quite beautiful area of small hillocks, green / grey landscape covered in gum trees with fallen down braches and trunks scattered in the fields due to some of the trees not surviving the draught. The vines climbed the little hills in precise rows, spilling over the horizon, gleaming a lovely golden colour in the autumn sun. A wonderful area to explore as you drive from one small winery to the next along pale dirt roads, winding through the tress and scrub, and often in the middle of nowhere you come a across a the smart brown stone or red brick of a winery enticing you in to sample their wares. One of the smallest and most spectacular in Clare is Skillogalee – a little winery set on a small hill with vines running down into a tiny valley overlooked from the wooden balcony of the old farm cottage they use for tastings and a very tasty restaurant. This is where we had Bron’s birthday lunch on a day not quite so magnificent as the first where we huddled outside wrapped in the thoughtfully provided blankets, staring through the branches of their centre piece olive tree enjoying the food and wine and wishing the rain would stop so we could enjoy the view. In fact Bron was enjoying the wine, I was elected as driver and which was bad timing because we got 2 glasses free due to a mistake they had made with our table. The night before we got a glass of wine free too due to the mistake a waiter had made with our order – clearly they give the stuff away here wherever you go!

It was on our second day in Clare that the skies decided to open. After months of allowing the sun to dominate it was high time the rains had their chance to take over and, as it did a few days earlier in Sydney, it absolutely chucked it down. A good sort of weather for sampling wine! In Clare we visited Pikes, Tim Adams, Knappstein (who have the most delicious Sparkling Shiraz and not a bad port either), Skillogalee and Annies Lane. Next stop was the Barossa which we floated to in our rain storm arriving in Tanunda to try to find somewhere to stay. The pubs that used to be lovely quaint country pubs, like The Rising Sun which we stayed in in Clare with it’s dark wooden floor boards and cold tiled bathroom floor, had become monstrosities of neon lights, snooker tables and pokie games. In despair we tried the very helpful tourist info place who found us a small cottage for $60 a night – a lovely little converted garage, very cosy and perfect for us.

I was saddened that the Barossa had become so commercialised and, well, simply naff. I have great memories of bombing around there in clapped out cars and Utes when I was 19 going to wine festivals and getting free beer from the friendly pub landlord. Times change, but fortunately the wine doesn’t. I thought Bron should sample some of what I think is the nicest wine in the Barossa (though how can I possibly say when I’ve only been to a few places). We headed out to Henschke when the rain had stopped and it was another beautiful drive away from the new horrors surrounding the Barossa towns and back through lovely gum countryside, farms and cattle, horses and vines. Henschke do some delicious stuff, most of it out of price range but very nice to taste. I wouldn’t have hesitated at buying every single wine we tried there, they were quite superb and also supreme. This was where the flaw in my trip to Henschke came in as after tasting their wines everything else came second best. Hey ho! We still tried other wineries. some for their produce and some for their location such as Rockfords set in a lovely old wooden farmhouse with old style farm buildings and equipment and red autumn leaves crawling up the walls of the tasting room. Other places we went to were Saltram, Peter Lehmans, the awful Yalumba commercial tasting room although a lovely country estate setting, and on our way back to Adelaide we popped into Two Hands. This had been recommended by Henschke as one of the newer wineries to try out. It was fantastic. A very contemporary tasting room with trendy wine bottles and a modern twist to drinking wine. Again I couldn’t fault any of their wines - they were stunning. We bought a low alcohol part sparkling wine which they suggested we try with Gin and Pink Grapefruit Juice as a wee cocktail. We nearly walked away with their scrumptious port too which can also be drunk with ice in it completely changing the flavour making it taste like a cooling Sangria. The rain was so heavy outside it was very tempting to stay there all day but we had to get the paddles out and get the car back to the hire place in Adelaide.

…and a few days later it was back to our place in SL after a lovely trip to Oz which hasn’t changed a whole lot except for the Barossa and the cost as Australia is now as expensive as home, or were the high prices quite normal and just part of the westernised culture shock? A thought to ponder as I tuck into a cheap bowl of Pringles and a strong V&T in the jungle house!