Farrell Flat and The Clare Valley

We left Terowie and pushed on toward Auburn in the Clare Valley. We had planned to stay at a campground at Auburn which was $20 per night unpowered. There were no powered sites left when we inquired. While we were still maybe 30km short of Auburn we drove through Farrell Flat and saw a beaut looking free camp so we stopped and checked it out. There were new toilets and water hook-up all for free. It was a no brainer really. So we set up camp there. This was our camp for two nights.
After set up we took a walk into the main part of Farrell Flat. I don’t think there were any shops at all but there was a pub and silo art, a display about the silo art and the old railway station. The old station is privately owned now so you don’t have access to it. So we checked that all out and had a drink in the pub. The publican explained that the owner of the railway station is a complainer and blames him for everything. He didn’t have any nice words about the town people as well. All a bit unfortunate really.
We walked back to camp and I had a late lunch. We then took a drive to Mintaro which was billboarded as a ‘Historic Town’ and it was only about 10km up the road. It was a nice little town and there were a few very old buildings there. It seems that almost every town in SA has that claim to fame. We stopped and checked out the Mintaro Maze and Café. They had done an amazing job with these hedges and plants.
It was pretty windy so we didn’t have a fire that night. Next morning after breakfast we drove into Clare and went to the Information Centre. We had been given the tip about the Skilagalee Winery as being worth a visit. We then went there for morning tea. It was a beautiful setting there. The scones, cream and jam were delicious.
We headed back to town via Neagles Rock lookout. When Linda and I got to it we realised that we have been there before, on our previous stay at Clare. It is a couple of kilometre return walk to go up to the lookout and it is beautiful. Jan and Ross were not keen on doing the walk and we did not have time anyway as we were going to lunch and had made a booking. So here are the photos we took last time from that lookout.
Lunch was at Mr Mick’s. Linda and I went there as well the previous time. They do a tapas menu and the food was very good. Following lunch we went out to the Sevenhill Winery just south of Clare. This winery was the first in the Clare Valley. A Jesuit priest started it and a monastery was established there. The church is pretty magnificent and the history dates back to 1851. There is a cript at the side of the church.
The winery was great and I sampled a beautiful red the previous time we were there.
We then went to the Quarry lookout which gives a view of the heart of the Clare Valley but does not take in the town. We could see Farrell Flat to the left and high in the terrain of the photo. Ross used his binoculars and we could just make out the silo art.
Then it was back to Clare and grabbed a couple of grocery items and back to camp. That night the wind died down in time for us to have a great fire.
Farrell Flat had been a great place to camp and Clare is a beautiful spot. I prefer the Clare Valley to the Barossa Valley.

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