Nuriootpa, Barossa Scenic Drive

Today we had on our list a trip to the Whispering Wall but we wanted to find out what else was in the area so before we headed off it was a quick trip to the nearest tourist information centre.  This is never a bad idea as we were loaded up with maps and ideas of where to drive.  The gentleman at the tourist information centre asked if we liked bush hiking and we quickly affirmed in the positive so he was able to show us a walk that we could include on our scenic drive.

So off we set heading first in a south west direction towards Tanunda, Lyndoch and Cockatoo Valley.  Not far out of Cockatoo Valley is the Barossa Goldfields Walks.  There are three to chose from and we picked the 4km circuit that would still allow us enough time to visit all the other places on our list.

The walk was both interesting (as we walked past some of the old abandoned gold mines) and beautiful as we followed the ridge line through the Para Wirra conservation area with wonderful views into the valley below us.   We were scanning the trees for koalas but none to be seen in this area.  I believe we will see them as we head a little further east.

Our next stop was the Whispering Wall at Williamstown.  This dam wall was built in the early 1900's and at one time was the largest dam wall in Australia.  It soars 9 stories high and is very impressive but what makes it super special is its acoustic abilities.  If you stand at one end of the wall and somebody else stands at the other end (a distance of 140 metres) you can whisper to each other and quite clearly hear each other.  Alas, today there were workmen at the other end so we didn't get to whisper sweet nothings to each other, but, we could quite clearly hear the workmen chatting away to each other and they also had music playing that was also very distinct.  Amazing.

It was time for a coffee after our walk so our next stop was at Mount Pleasant for a very good coffee (triple shot!) and muffin.  We were now heading in a north east direction towards the pretty little towns of Springton, Eden Valley and Keyneton.  We stopped at Springton to talk a walk around the Herbig Family Tree.  "Her" certainly is big!  The giant hollow red gum is estimated to be anywhere between 300 to 500 years with a diameter of 7 metres and a height of 24 metres.  We read that Frederick Herbig brought his wife to live in this tree house.  The couple had 16 children and after the first two were born Frederick erected more buildings around the tree.

We are now driving through grazing country with lots of merino sheep dotting the hillside.  We pass by the historic and iconic horse stud "Lindsay Park" that was owned by the legendary Hayes horse racing family for many years but is now owned by the Smart family, another horse racing family.  We catch glimpses of the magnificent homestead but there is nowhere to take photos.

The last place that we pass through today is Angaston.  There is so much to see at Angaston that we have decided to come back another day to explore the town properly.  Tomorrow we have an early start (4.45am) as we are participating in yet another Balloon Ride, this time over the Barossa.  The weather is absolutely perfect for ballooning so we have really hit the jackpot.  Considering what the weather was like a week ago, we consider ourselves very lucky....