J18.5 Port Augusta to Mount Gambier

This post is part of a series called Journey 18 ● PolArt 2015

So today was the first solo full-day of driving on this Journey and with that in mind I slept in by about 3 hours – which I was glad to do and still have energy to publish this post!
The day was fairly warm in the mid-high 30’s while the later start meant my intention of visiting the Barossa Valley and Adelaide Hills was put on hold for my return leg, plus another delay as I popped-in to Agostino Mitsubishi near Adelaide to diagnose that engine warning lamp and for now my mind is at ease! While I was waiting for the diagnosis, some of our Kukuleczka crew were in the area and dropped by to hang out. They are staying in Adelaide tonight while I pressed on from Mitsi toward my roof-over-the-head in Mount Gambier.

I drove past Dublin – but one day I would still like to visit Ireland – and the large wind turbines dotting the Snowtown. Beyond the Adelaide city boundaries, the highway drive out was really nice as it winds around a few hills & slopes, while the rest of the drive was cruisey and uneventful drive till the highlight of the day: The Padthaway and Coonawarra wine regions!

Driving through Padthaway, Coonawarra and Penola while the final glimpse of a golden sunset draped across the farmlands and vineyards was a lovely sight to behold while navigating the sweeping, curvy Riddoch Highway. Unfortunately at this point I was keen to get to Mount Gambier as soon as possible but I did slow down to examine the selection of winery options that invite visitors, each with their own unique Christmas-themed statues out the front!

With that conclusion, I think it’s an early night so I can back-track to the Coonawarra region and do some Christmas gift shopping for a few important people I’ll be meeting in the days ahead 🙂