Someones been having fun... |
I headed of looking for Hahndorf, a little town started by the Germans (could you tell) that we visited in 2006. I still have a business card at home somewhere for one of the chocolate shops there. Just before Hahndorf, I went through Woodside. I remember Woodside for their chocolate factory, which was no where near as good as the Hahndorf chocolate, so I kept driving when I found Melba's chocolate factory. Not to say they weren't good, I just liked the other place better.
As I drove through Hahndorf, I was looking out for this chocolate shop, but I couldn't see it (also the street is very narrow and I really had to watch where I was driving) so I parked up the top of the street and went for a push. As I rolled down the hill (fast, do I even need to say that) I saw lots of little shops I remembered. Uncle Mark brought a clock from one of the shops- they have the most amazing hand crafted cukoo clocks! They are quite beautiful. I also saw a leather shop we went to last time, but I was on a mission for chili chocolate truffles! I went into about 5 different chocolate shops (they are very big on chocolate, boiled lollies, fudge and ice cream in Hahndorf, all homemade and AMAZING), coming out with something at all of them I think. Mum, Anne and I are going to have a big couple of days ahead of us. Anyway, I found the shop! But their chili chocolates didn't look right, so I asked them how long they had been there. They were a new business, but there was a chocolate shop there before them, and they were now just down the street. Bingo! So I headed down the street (with a few of their chili chocolates, just in case they were amazing too) and sure enough, across the street, was Just Chocolate! Mission complete! I got some chili chocolate truffles, and they also had chocolate pasta, to be boiled, and served with ice cream and chocolate topping, so I had to get some o that too. Then I had to push up the hill. I'm not sure if I was just tired, or if the what-must-have-been-almost-5kg-of-chocolate was slowing me down. Possibly a bit of both.
Chili fudge- add to hot chocolate, plus many more... |
The whole way back up the hill, there was something that didn't feel right about the town, something was missing. Then I worked out what it was. Squirrels. When I was in Canada, we visited a little town quite similar to Hahndorf, called Niagara on the Lake. Same type of building, same village feel, but with squirrels everywhere. I think Hahndorf needs squirrels!
On my way back to the car I stopped in to the leather shop. It was much as I remembered it. Cramped, with belts and hats everywhere. There are also lots of quirky sayings everywhere, and a wall covered with notes from different currencies. And the floor was so uneven, I almost got bucked out of my chair, but I held on. The main thing I remember about that shop though, is they give out samples of port to the customers. And I was only 17 when I was there-I was such a naughty child!
Fireplace in the leather shop |
The money wall |
As I was about to leave Hahndorf, I realised I should probably grab some lunch, so I went for the sensible option. Ice cream! Mango sorbet, and raspberry. So yummy! I got about two minutes down the road and it started to rain, so I managed that well. First time I'd seen rain in two months, unless you count the 5 (maybe 6) drops we saw at Birdsville.
The freeway is right next to Hahndorf, and it was about 3pm by this stage, so I took the highway instead of the quieter roads. I didn't see anything very interesting for a while along there. Someone called one of the towns Padthaway. Made me laugh. I think it was just out of Padthaway that I saw something rather strange. One of the farm gateways had a heap of dead animals strung up along the fence. I think they were feral cats, they didn't really look like foxes. If I was going to guess (which I am) I'd say it was a demonstration of the feral cat problem, but I really don't know. I wanted to get a photo, but I had a truck right behind me.
I went past so many vineyards today. Penfolds wine was one of the ones I recognised, but they went on for a hundred kilometres or so, as far as the eye could see. If it wasn't vineyards, it was cattle properties. I thought it was interesting to see little triangles fenced off in the middle of the paddocks, with trees in them, to provide shelter. In Queensland, the farmers just seem to find trees a nuisance so they tend to get rid of most of them. It's good to see the farmers down here understand the importance of trees, and that they ar protecting them.
A bit further down the road they were doing something a bit different with the trees. They were lit up! Not all of them, but every now and then as you were driving along the highway, there is a big tree with fairy lights around the bottom, and a spotlight pointing up the tree. It was really quite beautiful!
Every time I drive through a down with a water tower, I'm reminded of Scotty McCreery's song, Water Tower Town. Great song, look it up. It always makes me smile.
I had planed on stopping in Mt Gambier, but it was dark, and about 7.30 by the time I got there, so I drive through. They have an amazing huge blue lake almost right in the town, and these gorgeous crater gardens. The gardens are in big holes in the ground, and lots of people chose to get married in them, they are So beautiful. They were my favourite part of Mt Gambier on my last visit, so I was disappointed to miss them, though I'm not sure how I was going to go see them, since I'm pretty sure they involve lots of stairs.
As I left Mt Gambier, the landscape changed dramatically. All of a sudden I was surrounded by huge pine plantations, it was quite eerie...
I had crossed the border into Victoria before I even realised it was coming up. And of course the speed limit dropped back to 100km/h. Stupid Victoria. The road is no different!
Dartmore was only about another 25km though, so I arrived soon enough. I had been thinking about where we stayed our first night in Victoria while I was driving, in a BBQ shed, because we had finally hit rain. I was also wondering where the carved poles we saw were. Well, now I know. Dartmore! I drove into the town and there they were! I found the house I was looking for easily enough. Brock had suggested a couple of people I could stay with in Dartmore, one of them being Millog, who I've known for years through the rodeos. I didn't even realise he had left Tassie. So instead of the caravan park I'd been planning on, I had a bed, and a hot meal waiting for me. It turned out the place we had a camped at is only about 5km from his house! Small world, again!
Another long day, time to hit the hay...
Distance travelled: 500km
Time driving: 6 hours
No comments:
Post a Comment