Pengi Goes To The Fleurieu Peninsula. Guest Blog!

  Hi Everyone, it’s Pengi again with a big adventure, within the big adventure!
  Despite already being on a holiday, Jess and Mr Smart had planned a few days away from Adelaide in Victor Harbor.  They made sure to let me know there was plenty of room in Jess’s bag for me to come along, making this little penguin very happy!
 The trip to Victor Habor also included passing through McLaren Vale, a well known South Australian wine region.
Mr Smart is very keen on his wine and Jess is growing fond of it as well, so they were both looking forward to this part.  I’m still quite a young penguin so I can’t buy any wine myself, but they let me have sips now and again, though they are sure to watch me carefully.
  The first stop was the Shingleback winery.  It is home to the very popular Chocolate Shiraz wine.  They decided not to try that particular wine though since they have already had it many times before.  Instead they tried a few others and decided that they liked them enough to purchase some bottles.

  The next stop on the mini wine tour was Maxwell Wines, famous for its honey and mead.  Both Jess and Mr Smart tasted quite a few of their meads and found them to be delicious. They ended up buying a lot more wine there than they had planned and decided that they needn’t visit any more wineries.  Jess also had a taste of their honey and decided to buy a jar of it as well, one that had been aged to the point it had candied!

 

  After Mr Smart and Jess loaded up the car, they had a quick run through the still growing Maxwell Maze.  Jess took the left wall and Mr Smart took the right.  Jess and I beat Mr Smart out and were waiting with the camera!  Luckily none of us got lost and we were soon off to our next stop.

  We were all quite hungry at this point and decided to head to another place that Jess had been keen to take us to, Blessed Cheese.  They had a nice cheese platter for us all to share which included some nuts and fruits.  Both Jess and Mr Smart were surprised by how much they enjoyed the Adelaide Blue, a blue cheese since they generally don’t like the type.
  After finishing lunch, we all walked down to another of Jess’s favourite places, The Almond Train.  They had also sorts of wonderful treats inside, though most revolved around almonds.  They selected a few treats, some to enjoy themselves and some to give as presents.

  We were going to head back to the car and continue our journey, but it began to pour down with rain just as we left the train.  We hurried into a nearby bakery that Jess had already eyed off and settled in to wait out the storm.  Naturally while we were there we had to order their cake and coffee deal!  Mr Smart enjoyed the coffee while Jess and I shared the cake.  The stop also gave me a chance to write some of my postcards ready to send off.

  The rain soon stopped and we made our way back to the car to finish our journey.  It wasn’t too long a drive and we soon found ourselves entering Victor Harbor.  Jess’s keen eye spotted the Kleinigs Hill Lookout and we pulled in to take in the view.  There was even a pair of fixed binoculars there that I got to look through.

  Binoculars are a pretty magical device since they make everything so much bigger and look so much closer!  I could see all the way to Granite Island, which Mr Smart told me we are visiting tomorrow!
  We could have stood there all day looking at the view but decided to head in and find our new home away from home away from home!  We missed the car park on the first pass but this just gave us a chance to see some of the back streets as we drove around the block. We checked in to Room 23 at the Anchorage Seafront Hotel and did a little unpacking, after which Mr Smart decided that being driven around all day was too tiring and decided to have a nap.  This gave Jess and I a chance to wander around ourselves and we got to see a wonderful sunset across the bay. Mr Smart sure missed out!

  When we got back, Mr Smart was suitable refreshed and ready to venture out in search of dinner.  The Encounter Restaurant at Hotel Victor was chosen, partly due to Jess having found a discount coupon for it.  The pub style service had Jess and Mr Smart worried but they were soon pleasantly surprised by the quality of the food.  All the meals proved quite delicious though it was hard to pick between the lamb ribs or chicken dishes as the standout of the night.  To accompany the meal, Mr Smart tried out the West End beer, which Jess described as the South Australian version of VB.  He seemed happy enough with it and was glad to have ticked off another local specialty as done. Jess and I shared a lemon lime and bitters.
  After dinner, we picked up some supplies from the local Coles. We had forgotten that plastic bags had been banned in South Australia so we hadn’t brought our own resuable bag and had to buy one. It proved fortuitous though since we had many souvenirs to carry back by the end of the trip!
  Overall it was a very fun day but we were all ready for bed by the end.  We piled into the bed and put on some Star Trek DS9 to end the day.
  Back soon!
  Love from Pengi.