As I haven’t stopped raving about my trip to McLaren Vale, the team here at Travel Auctions insisted that I share a few tips and my favourite spots for you to enjoy.
I started off by purchasing a Travel Auctions package to the McLaren Vale Studio Apartments and made a booking for early September 2016, (I was being super romantic and taking my partner away for his birthday!)
We arrived at about 1pm on a Sunday afternoon after a scenic and peaceful 45 minute drive from the Adelaide Hills. Prior to checking in we decided to have a spot of lunch at the Tin Shed Café, which is conveniently located across the road from the apartments.
Lunch was delicious; the service was great and served with a smile. I ordered the Chicken Quesadilla (which I still don’t know how to pronounce!) and my partner ordered the hot wings which he thoroughly enjoyed, but could really have done with a bib!
After lunch, we headed across the road to check in to our accommodation. We were very pleased to find a carport out the front of the apartment and a lovely outdoor area with a couple of sun loungers.
Our joy continued as we entered our apartment and found that it looked just as good (if not better!) than the pictures. We celebrated by popping open our complimentary bottle of Wirra Wirra Church Block – delicious!
The apartment was very modern and very clean and we enjoyed our first drop (of many McLaren Vale varieties) sitting back and relaxing on the super comfy theatre style recliners. Soon enough, we had made our way through the whole bottle while watching a movie on FOXTEL with the surround sound blaring – felt just like we were in Gold Class!
We decided to take a walk up to the shops to get some bits and bobs (more wine!) and explore the town further. We came across the Almond Train (a 1920’s train carriage which showcases the best gourmet foods the region has to offer) and we also had a milkshake at the Carriage Café. We noticed that the Carriage Café also hired bikes out, so we had our inspiration of what to do the next day. Woolworths was also just a little further up the road which is where we decided to get our dinner from so we could utilise the apartment’s modern appliances.
The weather was perfect the next day for our biking adventure and it was very hassle free and easy arranging the bike hire. Once we had our helmets on (and I had figured out how to ride a bike again; it had been years I swear!), we set off down the Shiraz Trail and headed towards the wineries.
We did get a bit lost (but there are worst places to be lost!) yet we managed to make it to the following wineries:
- Serafino Wines
- Wirra Wirra
- Red Poles (although the cellar door was closed)
- Hugh Hamilton
Our adventure had us end up in Willunga! Not only was it great exercise to help work off the copious amounts of cheese, it’s also a beautiful town. High street has great cafes and also another cellar door Hither & Yon (more wine… yes please!)
The wineries we went to were all really lovely and we had a great time trying this, that and the other. I also noticed my cycling skills improved somewhat the further we got along, (not sure if this was due to more wines or more distance!)
The scenery was just delightful; really green and picturesque, helped of course by the amazing weather we had! We bought a couple of bottles of wine (luckily we had baskets on our bikes) and headed back to The Carriage Café. We then strolled back to our apartment and had a quiet night in.
We took off the next morning and decided to stop off at the Almond Train for more tasty Bon Bons. Even though they were supposed to be closed that day, the gentleman that owns the shop was in there doing some renovations and very kindly allowed us to come in and stock up on sweets.
Thinking back over the memories now, I really need to plan another getaway to the region!
I would highly recommend the accommodation and McLaren Vale itself to anyone looking for a peaceful, romantic getaway.
Best of all, we currently have a package to Mclaren Vale Studio Apartments available; click here for more details!
Until my next Travel Auction break,
Rachael