King Valley March 9

A day of sunshine & a trip to the King Valley wine region – does it get any better? Around 11 am we were on our way to Whitfield’s (63K) 6 wineries. Our plan, lunch matched with a superb glass of wine! Our maps didn’t indicate the 1000 metre climb on narrow switch-back roads; a slow drive but with amazing vistas. After 2 hours of driving we reached Powers Lookout, 20 minutes from Whitfield. Powers Lookout is 3K along an unsealed road (think of a log path); what the heck we were here. A lookout platform was just metres from the parking lot. Two friendly Aussie ladies (Janice & Lucy) admiring the view gave us the scoop on Whitfield (1 cafe town with ok coffee). They suggested driving the extra ½ hour to Milawa. Tom, in the meantime had read about Harry Power & his famous hide-away, just 300 m along the trail. Harry Power was a bush ranger (outlaw) who cumulatively spent 30 years in jail. His hideout was the caves in this rocky isolated region. Today, a well-engineered set of narrow steel stairs with handrails gives access to his private domain & fabulous ‘lookout’ vistas! The rocky cliff was covered with moss & low shrub the same colour & texture found on the Barrens in NFLD. The smell of peppermint filled the air from the surrounding bushes. We stopped in Whitfield for Lewis to grab a snack (2 pm) before motoring on to Milawa. We drove through cattle country and vineyards (no ‘For Sale’ signs like elsewhere) on a good road for 45K. At Milawa our designation was Brown Brothers; no, not the business Elsa worked at for nearly 7 years but Australia’s winery with the largest range of varietal wines! Their Epicurean Centre Restaurant offered a range of dishes, each with a matched glass of wine but it closed at 3pm (now 2:40). Wine tasting first; forget about the $32+ lunch. We purchased a 2008 Pinot Grigio, a Limited Release Riesling 2008 & a Limited Release Durif 2007 (red & specific to here) for Friday’s arrival on the Gold Coast. The town centre had locally grown/produced shops for: Mustard, Olives, Cheese, Bakery (where we ate) & more wine tasting outlets. We purchased a Beetroot & Horseradish Reduction for bread dipping or basting ($10-Olive Shop); a large Brie ($20) and said goodbye to this tourist town! We drove back to Mansfield via the Hume Hwy, a much faster route home! Lewis & Tom fired up the BBQ to grill steak, sausage, kangaroo and some minced mystery meat. Before sunset, we walked around the resort. Oh Boy - the Cockatoos were upset! There are hundreds (but it sounded like thousands) of these birds at the resort. Several sat in the highest tree & sounded the alarm as we approached. We walked on to witness the 2nd stage of their defence: swooping down over our head squawking at high decibels. When this failed, all the Cockatoos took flight! What a sight! P.S. - we purchased a $4 SIM card for Bob’s cell phone today ($10 prepay), now we need to activate!