Adelaide & South Australia - Central Australia: Adelaide to Darwin - page 158

A scenic drive from Adelaide to Birdwood leads through the Torrens River Gorge to
Gumeracha (population 400), a hardy hillside town with a pub at the bottom (making it
hard to roll home). The main lure here is climbing the 18.3m-high Big Rocking Horse
( www.thetoyfactory.com.au ; Birdwood Rd, Gumeracha; admission $2; 9am-5pm) , which
doesn't actually rock, but is unusually tasteful as far as Australia's 'big' tourist attrac-
tions go.
Behind an impressive 1852 flour mill in Birdwood (population 1130), the National
Motor Museum ( 08-8568 4000; www.history.sa.gov.au ; Shannon St, Birdwood; adult/child/
family $12/5/30; 9am-5pm) has a collection of immaculate vintage and classic cars
(check out the DeLorean!) and motorcycles. The museum marks the finishing line for
September's Bay to Birdwood ( www.baytobirdwood.com.au ) : a convoy of classic cars
chugging up from the city.
Nearby is Lobethal (population 1660), established by Lutheran Pastor Fritzsche and
his followers in 1842. Like Hahndorf, Lobethal was renamed during WWI and 'Twee-
dale' was the rather unfortunate choice. It hits its straps during the Lights of Lobethal
( www.lightsoflobethal.com.au ) Christmas festival in December. Repair to the Lobethal Bier-
haus (

08-8389 5570; www.bierhaus.com.au ; 3a Main St, Lobethal; noon-10pm Fri & Sat,

noon-6pm Sun) for some serious microbrewed concoctions.

FLEURIEU PENINSULA
Patterned with vineyards, olive groves and almond plantations running down to the sea,
the Fleurieu (pronounced floo -ree-oh) is Adelaide's weekend playground. The McLaren
Vale Wine Region is booming, producing gutsy reds (salubrious shiraz) to rival those
from the Barossa Valley (actually, we think McLaren Vale wins hands down). Further
east, the Fleurieu's Encounter Coast is an engaging mix of surf beaches, historic towns
and whales cavorting offshore.
Online, see www.fleurieupeninsula.com.au .