{"id":2721,"date":"2022-07-25T21:34:58","date_gmt":"2022-07-25T11:34:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rjjc.net\/home\/?p=2721"},"modified":"2022-12-02T20:25:33","modified_gmt":"2022-12-02T09:25:33","slug":"leasingham","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rjjc.net\/home\/leasingham\/","title":{"rendered":"Leasingham"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Leasingham<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>
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Wineries<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>
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Mintaro<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>
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Cascades<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>
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Auburn<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t
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Crashed AVRO Anson engine – Tarlee<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>
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Unpainted Silos – Tarlee<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>
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Watervale Hotel<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>
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Watervale Hotel<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure><\/div>\n
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After two fairly relaxing weeks in Victor Harbor it was time to head north in the direction of Darwin. We were intending to spend a week on the Yorke Peninsula but changed our minds and headed for Leasingham<\/a>, in the Clare Valley<\/a> region instead. We decided to reserve the Yorke Peninsula for when we return to South Australia next year coming from Western Australia. It proved to be a good choice as we once again hit the South Australian wine trails.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The drive was fairly easy skirting the western edge of Adelaide, mostly on motorway. We had a brief stop in Tarlee, a small town that actually had a set of silos that were not painted. They did have an interesting little information area that had a mounted Armstrong Siddely Cheetah radial aircraft engine from from an AVRO Anson aircraft that crashed near the town in 1943 causing a bit of stir at that time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Tarlee it was just another short hop to Leasingham<\/a>, which is a small village south of Clare<\/a>. We pulled into the Clare Valley Caravan & Cabin Park<\/a> (in Leasingham<\/a>) to find a small but cosy caravan park that had been bought by new owners only three months earlier. The young couple had performed a big cleanup and were now in the process of preparing to get rid of a number of the cabins and create more caravan sites as well as upgrading the amenities and layout. At first glance our site looked a little tight between two other vans on a sloping rise but turned out to be a breeze to back into and really quite spacious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The owners wanted to create a boutique style caravan park with a social atmosphere, not a family fun park style of place. They had a public firepit that anyone could use and also provided the wood for a communal fire pit every Saturday evening\u2026 Unfortunately the Cafe\/Coffee shop (The Little Red Grape<\/a>) next door was closed while we we there. They had a staff COVID outbreak and decided to close for the period that we were there. The park was also bordered by vineyards and wineries, a number of which were within easy walking distance but we had already set our sights on a number Clare Valley<\/a> wineries that we wanted to visit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So aside from the caravan park and the closed cafe\u2026there’s not actually that much to Leasingham<\/a> but it is a very good place to base yourself for a week exploring the delights of the Clare Valley<\/a>, of which there are many\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Clare<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Clare<\/a>, as you would expect, is the heart of the Clare Valley and the largest town. Its about fifteen minutes north of Leasingham<\/a> and was notable to us in that it had a Woolworths and a couple of service stations. Other than that Clare was just a grocery stop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Watervale<\/h5>\n\n\n
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Watervale Hotel<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

A couple of minutes north of Leasingham<\/a> is the village of Watervale<\/a>. We had been told to try the Watervale Hotel<\/a> for dinner so we chose this as our last night pub meal for Leasingham<\/a>. From the outside it is your typical stone South Australian country pub but the inside has been extended to include a large dining area with inside and courtyard style seating. The kitchen is open to view and the chefs are on display as the whip up their range of culinary delights. The food was excellent and the service greate. The owner popped out at one point to check that everything was to our satisfaction and had a good chat with us without being overly-intrusive as well as telling about his vision of the pub. If it were’nt for Paulettes Wines<\/a> this would have been our star food pick for the region. Still… it was very good!<\/p>\n\n<\/div>

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Pikes Wines<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>
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Paulettes Wines Tasting Platter<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>
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Sevenhill Cellars Chapel<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>
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Sevenhill Cellars Quarry<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>
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Sevenhill Cellars Vineyard<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>
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Cellar at Sevenhill Cellars<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>
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Cellar at Sevenhill Cellars<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>
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Sevenhill Cellars Tasting Room<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>
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Sevenhill Cellars Tasting Room<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>
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Sevenhill Cellars Showcase Barrels<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>
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Sevenhill Cellars Grounds<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure><\/div>\n
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Paulette Wines<\/h5>\n\n\n
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Paulettes Wines Tasting Platter<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Our nephew Anthony and his wife Dee had previously recommended that we go to Paulettes Wines<\/a> and do the tasting flight with matched canapes, which we duly did. Wow!!! Just absolutely superb. At Paulettes<\/a> staff recommendation we chose to share a white and red flight between us. The wines by themselves were beautiful but when tasted in conjunction with each of the matched canapes took another whole dimension of flavour and enjoyment. The chefs at Paulettes<\/a> really know their business and the quality and freshness of the produce was completely first class. The two flights didn’t look like a huge amount of food but were more than adequate for the two of us without leaving feeling like we’d over-eaten or that we wanted more.
The tasting and canapes were just so good that we booked a table for lunch on our last day in Leasingham<\/a> as an additional treat. When that day rolled around the lunch was just as good as the tasting and we also had an excellent table out on the deck looking out over the vineyards in the valley below. The wait staff at Paulettes<\/a> were exceptionally good at making you feel comfortable and enjoy every aspect of the visit. There was no pretentiousness or ‘wine snobbery’ that you sometimes get in some wineries. THey were there to assure you of a good time and pleasant memories. They enjoyed working there!
There’s nothing bad to say about Paulettes<\/a>\u2026 They are just simply bloody good! Top quality food, top quality wines, excellent staff, beautiful location. We both agree that this was the best food and wine experience of our trip!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sevenhill Cellars<\/h5>\n\n\n
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Cellar at Sevenhill Cellars<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Continuing our seemingly never-ending wine tour in South Australia we drove out to Sevenhill Cellars<\/a> which is owned and run by Jesuit priests. The vineyard is set on a massive estate that with a monastery, cathedral, winery and gardens. The Jesuits study there as a kind of retreat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The winery is a massive old building with a truly impressive underground cellar with arching roofs and tunnels housing barrels of wine maturing in their own good time.
Before tasting we took a leisurely stroll around the property, despite the very cold conditions of the day, to view the cellars, the vineyard, a crumbling historic homestead being that is being preserved and a couple of small dry-stone chapels used by the Jesuits over the years. The entire estate just reeked of history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Cornish Pasty Hunt<\/h6>\n\n\n
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Little Red Grape – Cornish Pasty<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Whilst in Sevenhill, we stopped in at The Little Red Grape<\/a>, which was the sister cafe bakery to the one that was closed next door to our caravan park in Leasingham<\/a>. Rob took a last chance to get a genuine Cornish Pasty but was once again disappointed although the pasty itself was quite generous and delicious. The pastry, once again was more flakey than short crust and the filling was good but a bit over-processed when compared to the rustic dice of the genuine Cornish Pasty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pikes Wines<\/h5>\n\n\n
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Pikes Wines<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Having enjoyed a Pikes Reisling back in Nuriootpa, we decided to drop into Pikes Wines<\/a>, which are close to Sevenhill and Paulettes. We tried their range, which was good, but decided that their reisling was the pick of the range.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was a pleasant tasting with a casual atmosphere and an interesting host. It was our last winery tasting in South Australia and we were probably at the point we had had our fill of wineries and were well and truly stocked up in the van and car\u2026<\/p>\n\n<\/div>

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Martindale Hall<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>
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Martindale Hall<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>
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Mintaro Maze Garden<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>
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Mintaro Maze Toilet Sign<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>
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Mintaro Maze<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>
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Mintaro Maze<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>
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Mintaro Maze<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>
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Mintaro Maze<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure><\/div>\n
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On our first night in Leasingham<\/a> we took a short drive out to Mintaro<\/a> to the Magpie & Stump<\/a> for dinner. It’s your typical South Australian country pub, first opened in 1850. Can’t sat it was the best pub meal ever but it wasn’t the worst either. It probably would have been much more enjoyable sitting in the beer garden area on a warm summer’s day listening to live music instead of a cold, damp winter’s night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It wasn’t until later in our stay that we went back to Mintaro<\/a> for an afternoon to visit the Mintaro Maze<\/a> and Martindale Hall<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Mintaro Maze<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Mintaro Maze<\/a> was a bit of a surprise. A delightful place for kids but also a bit of fun for us old fogeys as well. It is a large hedge style maze with a steel-walled extension area. As a maze it is not difficult to find your way around but you are gicen a sheet of questions to see if you can find the answers as you work your way around looking for various statues and signs. They also have large gnome garden as well as some topiary trees in the garden area.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Martindale Hall<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Martindale Hall<\/a> is a grand Georgian style square mansion with stately gardens and grounds a shot way outside Mintaro<\/a>. The National Trust of South Australia is in a running battle with the former Liberal South Australian Government to keep it from being privatised (bloody Liberals!!!). It is probably most well known, despite being in South Australia, as the private girl’s school in the Australian classic film ‘Picnic At Hanging Rock<\/a>‘, the events of which occur in Victoria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can pay to do a tour of Martindale Hall<\/a> but at the time we decided that we had seen it from the outside and that that was sufficient on the day…<\/p>\n\n<\/div>

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The Cascades<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>
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The Cascades<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>
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The Cascades<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>
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The Cascades<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>
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The Cascades<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>
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The Cascades<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>
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The Cascades<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>
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The Cascades<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>
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Spring Gully<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure><\/div>\n
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As a change from wineries we decided to take a drive out to The Cacscades<\/a>. Located in Spring Gully Conservation Park<\/a> this is a series of rock pools that spill into each other like a slow moving waterfall.<\/p>\n\n\n

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The Cascades<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

We were hoping that it would be a bit more impressive than it was, especially given that it had been raining fairly consistently. As it was it really was just a series of rock pools slowly spilling into each other. But with that said it was a very nice gorge with rough hewn sides showing the red-brown colours that were a hint of the things to come as we headed north into the outback.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was also a nice walk out to The Cascades through Spring Gully Conservation Park<\/a> through the bushy scrub land. Not the most spectacular of sights but worth a visit when you’ve reached peak wine tasting…<\/p>\n\n<\/div>

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We took the opportunity to drive down to Auburn<\/a> for diesel one day as there in no service station in Leasingham<\/a>, the only other option being to go north to Clare. Auburn was also slightly cheaper at the time. There’s not much to Auburn<\/a>, although it is regared as the Gateway to the Clare Valley and the start of the Riesling Trail<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n

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C. J. Denniss birthplace memorial<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Auburn<\/a>‘s claim to fame is that it is the birthplace of C. J. Dennis<\/a>, the noted Australian poet and journalist wrote, “The Songs Of A Sentimental Bloke<\/a>.” The site behind the monument now holds a CWQ Meeting room, which is probably a fitting use for it.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Pie Floater<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The real gem in Auburn though was the bakery where Rob had the opporutinity to have a genuine South Australian ‘Pie Floater<\/a>‘. The uniquely South Australian dish consisting of a meat pie with tomatoe sauce (usually optional) floating in the middle of a bowl of thick pea and ham soup. The Pie Floater can be difficult to find these days but is a true culinary delight when you do. Eaten with a spoon, it is genuine comfort food and on a cool, damp winter’s day, such as we had, is sheer perfection. This one was good!<\/p>\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2658,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","wprm-recipe-roundup-name":"","wprm-recipe-roundup-description":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[130,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2721","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-big-trip-july-2022","category-the-grand-tour"],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/rjjc.net\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/20220719_121506.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"Rob Maguire","author_link":"https:\/\/rjjc.net\/home\/author\/rob\/"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/rjjc.net\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/20220719_121506.jpg",1024,768,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/rjjc.net\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/20220719_121506-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/rjjc.net\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/20220719_121506-300x225.jpg",300,225,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/rjjc.net\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/20220719_121506-768x576.jpg",474,356,true],"large":["https:\/\/rjjc.net\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/20220719_121506.jpg",474,356,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/rjjc.net\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/20220719_121506.jpg",1024,768,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/rjjc.net\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/20220719_121506.jpg",1024,768,false],"wprm-metadata-1_1":["https:\/\/rjjc.net\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/20220719_121506-500x500.jpg",500,500,true],"wprm-metadata-4_3":["https:\/\/rjjc.net\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/20220719_121506-500x375.jpg",500,375,true],"wprm-metadata-16_9":["https:\/\/rjjc.net\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/20220719_121506-480x270.jpg",480,270,true],"post-thumbnail":["https:\/\/rjjc.net\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/20220719_121506-672x372.jpg",672,372,true],"twentyfourteen-full-width":["https:\/\/rjjc.net\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/20220719_121506-1024x576.jpg",1024,576,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Rob Maguire","author_link":"https:\/\/rjjc.net\/home\/author\/rob\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rjjc.net\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2721","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rjjc.net\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rjjc.net\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rjjc.net\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rjjc.net\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2721"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/rjjc.net\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2721\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rjjc.net\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2658"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rjjc.net\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2721"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rjjc.net\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2721"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rjjc.net\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2721"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}