Day 12: Rest day in Clare. A very pretty
town with lots of old stone buildings. We had a very relaxing day walking
around town – and getting our clothes dry from the day before.
Day 13: The weather was overcast and cold –
but the rain has stopped. We followed the Riesling Rail Trail from Clare to
Auburn – then the Rattler Rail Trail from Auburn to Riverton. It was a very
easy day of riding as most of the way had a slight downhill gradient. We had a
short detour 7kms from Clare called “the Way of the Cross” which took us
through the Seven Hills Winery. It is the oldest winery in the Clare Valley –
and was started by the Jesuits for making sacrificial wine.
Day 14: The day started well with some great
riding though farm tracks – and the trails were quite firm considering all the
rain. Then….we turned on to a road
that was wet sticky clay that stuck to the tires like glue. After scraping off
the tires and looking at the map we made a beeline for the nearest bitumen
road. We called an early stop to the day at Kapunda as the rain had set in
again … and it was freezing. Rients bought a dishwashing brush and spent 3
hours cleaning the gunk off the bikes - while I reminded myself how to play
patience with the new pack of cards that he bought me. We have resorted to
staying in cabins instead of camping by now.
Day 15:
We had intending getting back on the Mawson Trail – but there was no
accommodation at Birdwood due to a Medieval Fair that was being held on the
weekend. We had a look at the map and decided to divert to Williamstown and
then get back onto the trail the following day. This proved to be a good
decision as there was a really fun bike path called the “Jack Bobridge Bike
Track” from Tanunda to Lyndoch. It went past heaps of vineyards – including
Jacobs Creek. Also, a High School friend of Donna’s lives in Lyndoch so it was
great – so it was great to catch up. Our cabin in Williamstown was directly
opposite the footy oval – so we could watch a game of Aussie Rules from out of
the front window.
There wasn’t much
of a food selection in the Williamstown General Store – so it was baked beans
for dinner!
Day 16: We got back on to the trail just north of
Birdwood – as it had stopped raining for a couple of days and the trails had
dried out a bit. The last days riding took us through the Cudlee Creek Forest.
The trails and scenery were awesome – although there was quite a bit of
climbing. The views from the top were amazing. After descending down through
the Gorge the trail took us onto Gorge Road – which was spectacular – but busy
and narrow. We were quite relieved to find the bike path that took us into
Adelaide. The bike path along the Torrens River was a great way to finish the
Mawson Trail.
No comments:
Post a Comment