Sun, Sea and Cyclists!

We went to Mt Barker to see the start of stage two of the Tour Down Under. Spectators are encouraged to get an autograph from the riders before they start, and you can see them all going through their preparations before the race.

It does feel a little invasive as though they are penned in cages and we are watching their behaviour. They are just normal (albeit phenomenally fit) people and we are gawping at them like zoo exhibits. It felt uncomfortable.

He may be a superstar champion cyclist, but even Geraint Thomas has to queue for the loo

The Sky Jag with coffee cart attached

Ian Stannard

Andy Schleck - unhappy

Andy Schleck - happy

Jens Voigt

And they're off...

We popped into Hahndorf to wait for them to pedal past, treating ourselves to a white chocolate chai latte and a dark chocolate hot chocolate. Well, we were at the No 5 Chocolate Cafe and it would have been rude not to.

Hahndorf is decorated in the TDU colours

Chris Sutton

We called in at the Hans Heysen Academy to look at some of his artwork, of which more later, and then Him Outdoors had to be rewarded with a trip to the Gulf Brewery. Happily they had a TV in there showing the cycling so we could sip our beers watching the end of the race.

We had a tasting tray with a selection of six beers: Cabin Boy Half Wit (4%) - a cloudy, lightly carbonated Belgian wheat beer with a taste of pears and a spicy, coriander finish; Harvest Moon Organic Beer (4.6%) - a soft bodied beer with a stonefruit flavour and a smoky aftertaste, like smoked peaches; Kitten 9 Tails Oktoberfest (4.3%) - a very malty German amber lager with a taste of caramel malts and stewed rhubarb, surprisingly drinkable; Humpback Pale Ale (4.2%) - an English pale ale with caramel flavours and a balanced bitterness; Trade Winds IPA (6%) - an English IPA with a full malt body and lingering bitterness, like a smoky peat whisky; Smoke Stack Rauchbier (5%) - up front smokiness with a sweetness to follow which isn't entirely pleasant.



Suitably fortified, we drove out to Port Adelaide, which is still working as a port, as well as certain areas becoming gentrified. It has boats, old colonial buildings and a lighthouse, which is enough to keep me happy, and there's a brewery to delight Him Outdoors.

The One and All is a tall ship built as part of South Australia's 250th Jubilee celebrations. She was commonly used for sail training and short voyages, particularly for youth at risk.

One and All

And this is the Port Dock Brewery Hotel. It came into being as a licensed premises in 1855. In 1909, however, a local preacher and temperance crusader, the Reverend J Kirby, launched a vehement crusade against the number of pubs in the port, and the Port Dock lost its licence.

Before the licence was granted again in 1986 the hotel was a boarding house, a stevedore's office and even a bordello. It is now restored to former glory and includes a boutique brewery, which we had to visit.

Black Diamond Bitter (5%) - a dark amber English-style bitter made with crystal malt and East Kent Golding hops to produce a 'robust, nutty, hoppy bitter' with a 'grassy floral bouquet'.

Port Dock Pale Ale - a fruity and malty pale ale with a golden hue and a bitter finish.

Old Preacher (7.5%) - a strong dark ale with a coffee aroma and a chocolate flavour due to an assortment of black, roast and crystal malets. The taste is slightly roasted but not burned, like lightly toasted almonds.

Black Bart Milk Stout- it has a sour milk aroma but a smooth creamy mouthfeel and a rich caramel flavour with a golden syrup finish. As lactose is added into the boil it is apparently known as 'mother's milk', although I would be worried about anybody's mother with this emanating from them.

Ginja - Fresh ginger is sterilized, minced, and added to the mash, and sugar syrup while the beer is fermenting to produce this sweet spicy drop like liquid crystalised ginger.

The Port Dock Brewery Hotel

The knit-bombers appear to have been out in force ensuring the street furniture doesn't catch a chill.

We finished off the day with a trip out to Semaphore, which is Adelaide's first seaside village.  It has all the usual amusements, restaurants and jetties you would expect to find plus a few scultpures, a time ball and a wonderful white sandy beach.

Mt Lofty, Hahndorf and Lobethal

From the top of Mt Lofty you can see Adelaide all laid out before you.


Mt Lofty summit

Adelaide CBD

The town of Hahndorf is absolutely delightful and is described as Australia's oldest surviving German settlement. It has a strong village feel; its streets are planted with 100-year-old plane and elm trees, and lined with cafes, shops, craft outlets and galleries, and the sandstone buildings are softened with roses, vines and lavender.

In 1838, a group of German Lutherans emigrated to South Australia to avoid religious persecution by the King of Prussia. They arrived at Port Adelaide in the ship Zebra under the captaincy of Dirk Hahn (a Dane). He had grown to respect the passengers and promised to help them achieve their goal of settling and farming together, negotiating a parcel of land in the Adelaide Hills for them.

The negotiated contract provided the families with 100 acres of land rent-free for the first year along with a years' provision of seeds and some livestock, all on credit as a communal debt. To earn the money to repay the debt, many of the men left the village to work for wealthy landowners clearing the bush and building fences. The women were left behind to labour on their small farms, raising animals and vegetable gardens and making butter and cheese.

These women found a ready market in Adelaide for their fresh produce (as almost everything was imported to the colony at the time) and they walked the 35km winding track with their goods in baskets on their backs or suspended from yokes across their shoulders. After a few years the 52 pioneer families had completely repaid their debt. They named their settlement Hahndorf (Hahn's village) in honour of Captain Hahn who had helped them achieve their freedom.

During World War One there was anti-German prejudice and this resulted in all the German names of settlements being changed. Hahndorf became Ambleside in 1917. It was reverted to Hahndorf in 1935 as part of South Australia’s centenary celebration.

The villagers are very proud of their German heritage and it is everywhere evident from the taditional menus at the pubs to the structure of the buildings, and the items on sale: clocks; steins and intricate woodwork, candles and German folk art.

I adored the musical boxes (spieldosen), nativity scenes, teddies and santas, little bakers, reindeer and carol singers in lederhosen. The wooden children's toys are outstanding with carvings of old men playing chess, mini fishermen and an entire range of nutcracker soldiers, dentists and beer drinkers!

We called into the German Cake Shop for morning tea, where we had giant pretzel doughnuts and cherry strudel.

Sausages are another German speciality: fresh, cooked, smoked, cured and dried. Several shops display racks of them hung up to tempt buyers with their delectable smell. We bought Aussie-made in the end with a kangaroo salami, and avoided the unsubtly-named bum burner.

Nearby Lobethal was renamed Tweedvale during the anti-German paranoia of WWI but reverted to its original name soon after. It is known for its Christmas festival of lights, its Grand Carnival, weekend markets, and old woolleen mill where the Onkapiringa blankets were made. We appreciated it for its support of the Tour Down Under and its microbrewery.

This artwork made from Paris Creek marble by South Korean sculptor Hwang Seong Woo was commissioned to celebrate Lobethal's woollen mill history - how's that for multicultural!

Naturally we had to visit the microbrewery at Lobethal Bierhaus! Once again we had a tasting paddle so we could sample the wares, beginning with a Bohemian Pilsner (4.8%) - straw colour, yeasty barley taste, crisp and refreshing; recommended as an accompaniment to a fish dish.

We moved onto the Hefeweizen (5.4%) which tasted like those fondant banana sweets and was supposedly good with a summer salad, and then the boldly named Good Bier (4.8%) which was an easy drinking beer with moderate bitterness and citrus flavours - probably a fine match for a cheese and pickle sandwich.

Lobethal Bierhaus, ouside and in.



My favourite was the Bruce (3.5%), which is considered a 'light' beer, although this is actually the usual strength of top English beers (Brakspear's is 3.8%). It's golden brown in colour and made with British malts (including Maris Otter), Whitbread yeast, and a hop combination of UK Challenger and NZ High Alpha variety 'Big Banger'. It's nutty, bitter, hoppy and absolutely yummy.

Their Pale Ale (5.6%) claims to be 'like Little Creatures' although I'm not entirely certain of that. It's an American-hop-based golden copper ale with a sweeter taste and an aroma of pubs. The tasting ntes suggest you pair it with a hot chilli dish or rich food.

The Red Truck Porter ((5.2%) has a roasted malt flavour and a strong suggestion of smoked almonds. And finally the Chocolate Oatmeal Stout (5.8%) relies upon golden rolled oats and English hops and yeast to present hints of chocolate and roasted coffee flavours with a smooth, silky finish. This would invariably be a winter favourite to be savoured in front of a smoky peat fire.

Him Outdoors compares notes with The Friesian

We returned to our hosts to eat our spoils from the markets - date sourdough bread, camembert, fig paste, kangaroo salami, and smoked almonds. Another fine day's touristing.