We spend most of the day in the Barossa Valley visiting wineries and the Whispering Wall
The Barossa Valley is one of Australia's major destinations, being known all over the world for its quality wines. A home to many major wine producers, this area produces over half of the countries wine. To the east flows the Murray River which is one of the largest river systems in the world. Irrigation introduced in 1887 transformed the northern section into a lush paradise with a wide variety of attractions, from watersports to wildlife and of course delicious fruits and wine.
The Barossa offers everything you'd expect from Australia's most famous wine region. Winemakers waiting to share their secrets at the cellar door; landscapes etched with manicured vineyards; passionate food producers proffering their wares at country markets; and grand chateaux surrounded by ornate gardens.
The region owes much of its appeal to the European peasant farmers and English free settlers who made the place home from the 1850s. You'll get a taste of their rich cultural legacy in superb Barossa.
We have a whole day in the Barossa Valley. We will drive among vines tended by the region's 500 grape growing families (many sixth-generation), call into a number of wineries for cellar door tastings and even have a tour of a winery. If you have a particular winery you would like to visit, just let us know. There is very little distance between the wineries and we are more than happy to visit any particular winery in the day we spend at Barossa. (Maybe visit Peter Lehmann, Henschke, Seppelt, Yaldara or Yalumba to just name a few?)
What’s a wine region without a chateau or two? We will make sure we visit a chateau winery. If you have not had your fill of all the magnificent bakeries in Tasmania, we will again visit one of the heritage bakeries in the Barossa Valley.
If you only ever do one wine trail in Australia you have to make it South Australia's Barossa. It is quintessential Australia where fine wine mixes with historical ambience, stunning cuisine and friendly laid back Australian hospitality.
The Barossa Valley
What would a trip to the Barossa be without a visit to The Whispering Wall?
THE WHISPERING WALL
The whispering Wall is the retaining wall for the Barossa Reservoir. An engineering marvel, the wall is a perfect ellipse and allows messages whispered at one end to be heard 140m away at the other. Built in 1902, the wall is 39m high and the top concrete section is reinforced with old tram rails.
It also provides excellent scenic views of the reservoir.