Monika & Jakob

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We had time for a very quick walk and then we had to return to the airport for our connecting flight to Melbourne!

Cheers -
Monika & Jakob

Brisbane 2 remains copyright of the author mkmk42, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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We found Waltzing Matilda, a small 14 person Yacht (11 Guests + 2 Crew) with a nice bunch of UKers (Canada, London, Scotland, etc...) and us two.

We snorkled and Jakob was so great! Not only did he try to snorkel for the first time but actually loved it - sometimes getting in the water before me! We saw so many beautifully Coral Reefs (we were on the southern tip of the Great Barrier Reef) with all its friendly and colorful inhabitants. It was like swimming in an aquarium!

We spotted and petted Elvis! Yes, Elvis!
Ok, so a Maori Wrasse Alpha Male is called Elvis - (but, had you going didn't I?) He was at least an arms width long, one arm tall and about one forearm wide. Very friendly and inquisitive. The others of his family are "normal" sized - so we really didn"t take notice of them.

One giant clam we spotted was the size of a small sofa - with dark purple fringes.

We didn't swim with the turtles or dolphins but did spot them as well as a Sea Eagle (a smaller version of a Bald Eagle with white under feathers)

The weather (even without wind) was heavenly. Clear skies most of the time, lovely cloud enhanced sunsets and starry, starry nights. Finding the Southern Cross, Orions Belt, Venus and Mars was easy. The thumbnail wide moon cresent - was a bit more difficult. The temps were around 30 C (I guess, 85 F) and little humidity. We took to bathing in Sunblocker and only on our return to harbor did Jakob get a light sunburn on his neck. This is serious sunburn territory - we saw more walking lobsters on the beaches than in most Lobster Houses ;-)) We consider ourselves very successful in this area - (as both of us could enter the "Reddest Lobster Contest" and come in within the top ten :-))

Sailing (or puttering about) was very relaxing and a great way to just shut out the rest of the world. No Cell Phone connection for 3 days (and imagine, Janne, we survived and loved it).

Though Airlie Beach is beginning to show signs of over-developed, using it as a starting point for a cruise is worth it!

Well, need to pack for our brief stop over in Brisbane and further on to Melbourne!

Monika & Jakob

Whitsunday Islands remains copyright of the author mkmk42, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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PS yes Jakob was there too! ;-)

Brisbane remains copyright of the author mkmk42, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Myth 6 - WINE HAS TO BE SERIOUS

d'Arenberg Winery with the strong personality of Chester Osborne and the very unique naming of his very serious wines is a must for all that enjoy the finer things in life with a smile! Here wines are named for birds, for accidents, for fun but the wines behind the names are well crafted. Dining in his restaurant is world class with delicate Lobster Ravioli and his Monkey Spider Roussanne as one of the absolute highlights of the trip. Views from the top of the tanks to the shoreline sound amazing (I didn't go up myself but do believe the reports from those who did).

Hardy's Tintara was our last official winery visit and there the lovely reminder was a 100 year old Moreton Fig Tree - great climbing and hiding for children of all ages (not me - found a spider on my first step under the canopy).

Well, that was Monika's official part of the trip. Friday evening was for finishing off FuW Matters and packing. Saturday, Jakob arrived and the trip continues...

Monika

McLaren Vale remains copyright of the author mkmk42, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Yalumba allowed us to raom about their Coopering Shed (Barrel Making) and we were invited to get up close to the coopers while they steamed, toasted, bent and formed the barrels. Amazing what wood can be made to do! The tasting was also very nice with my highlight being the Viogniers (white wine) rich and seductive!

Myth 5 - ALL AUSSIES ACIDIFY THEIR WINES

Though this is generally accepted practice (as is adding sugar in french wines) at Thorn-Clarke they proved that with judicious vineyard management and higher altitudes the ripened grapes can retain their own acidity and still ripen fully. Delicious wines and great vistas! Pics to be uploaded soon!

Dinner was with our most gracious hosts - The Australian Wine & Brandy Corporation. First we went to their offices at the edge of Adelaides Botantical Gardens and then off to dinner of great pizzas. Being a Brooklyn Girl - I know my pizzas and at "Good Life Pizza" they did a real good job - though miles away from true "Booklin Pizza";-)) Great Wines, Great Food, Great Company!

Tomorrow - McLaren Vale

Barossa remains copyright of the author mkmk42, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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The Visitors Center at Jacob's Creek is worth a visit even for the non-wine drinkers. A beautiful modern building set on lovely grounds and displaying the rich history of Barossa Valley. The tasting of over 30 wines proved to be very taxing but a pleasure none the less.

Peter Lehmann Winery and the person himself were absolutely phenomenal. A real life wine hero with his very interesting wife showing us their great wines and offering us their Guest House for Monika, Jakob and Wolfgang for 4 days proved that when the songs of praise for Aussie Hospitality were sang they were "off key". More later!

Penfolds - well there had to be a dark cloud somewhere and unsurprisingly it was here at Penfolds. BUT -

Myth 4 - THERE ARE NO CELLARS IN AUSTRALIA

Ron and Janet Liebich rolled out the bandwagon just for us for a more than memorable evening. A small, very, very small winery with loads of personality and heart! Ron started opening up wines from the 70's, 80's and 90's - some better some worse but all very interesting and educational. Clare Riesling, White Burgundy was one wine that neither was made from Riesling nor from Burgundy's white variety Chardonnay but rather from Crushon - a grape variety from the Pyrenees in France and no longer planted with any success. The dining room was in a old cellar - below the family house with thick field stones, candles galore and a delicious meal made from ingredients from the family farm - Lamb/Beets/Potatoes/Leeks/etc...

well, I left the festivities around 11pm - after almost falling into my dessert - but the rest of the group stayed till after midnight singing and dancing to Blueberry hill and enjoying old Fortifieds out of Rons stash ;-))

til tomorrow

Adelaide remains copyright of the author mkmk42, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Myth 1- SEMILLON IS A BORING WHITE VARIETAL

McWilliams Winery in Hunter Valley proved this myth to be fully bogus. They showed us great young wines drinking lightly now and rich, bottle matured Semillons made for contemplation! Not to mention that I tried an Port Stevens oyster at lunch and finally understood the whole bruhaha over oysters! Kangaroo Carpaccio and tender Lamb Ribs rounded off our wonderful visit at this winery.

Wyndham Estate was different - large scale and created for larger groups, the wines still showed us that Hunter is still a secret in the wine world. Lots of history (for Australia) and lots of laughs - had to wear a bushmans hat with corks tied to the rim to keep the flies from driving me mad - though the bouncing corks were doing a good job themselves ;-))

Overnight at Grapevines Boutique B&B - with a huge terrace looking over 50km of mostly uninhabited land, sunsets and a sky so full of stars that looking down seems a let down. Our hosts Michael and Mary made us very comfortable with a Barbie and Wines from Hungerford Hill - but first a few Coopers had to be emptied (the WInemakers Beer) and then the night got underway. Wonderfully comfortable small apartments with all the amenities that make traveling a pleasure - not sure how they get most people to leave willingly (we had to board our bus for the next leg of the trip).

Myth 2 - BIG IS ALWAYS BAD - WHEN IT COMES TO WINE

At 9am (remember, "we are not here for pleasure") we were given a wonderful tasting of Meerea Park Wines and found more reasons to grow roots in the Hunter Valley! But our driver was ready for that and had us in the car driving north by 10:30am! Rosemount was a wonderful venue for shing a light on the myth that large wineries make neutral/boring/lesser quality wines. Severine, a french ex-pat, and one of the master winemakers answered all our questions and the wines presented (ca. 15 or more) proved that big can also make great wines with careful selection and handling (like smaller wineries but with more money to allow for experimentation). In this part of Hunter the stunning Studs (as in horses!) are everywhere and the vineyards seem to all be hidden behind ridges.

We then rolled into our car are drove back to Sydney to catch our flight to Adelaide and more wine country.

see you there
Monika

Hunter Valley remains copyright of the author mkmk42, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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