October 22
Clare, Auburn and Sevenhill

The first lesson of the day was that if you leave an MP3 player for a week without using it or charging it, it goes flat. The second was that my pedometer only works if it is attached to a rigid belt. As my shorts don't use such a thing, the wee machine went haywire. These things apart, the planning paid off and everything worked.

I left the cottage, accompanied by howls from Isabella, parked the car down the road by the log pile, as instructed, and walked up Stanley Street to the main road.

Stanley Street, Clare	Ducati owners

No sooner had I arrived there than the exodus of the Ducati Owners who had been filling the town overnight, started. Groups of bikes drove along the main road for a considerable period of time.

Empty road	but the bus appears on time

Then, much to my relief and almost exactly on time, the bus appeared and stopped in front of me. A very cheery driver welcomed me aboard and we trundled gently along for about 20 minutes until we reached Auburn. Once there, everyone got off for a scheduled breakfast stop and I turned round and started walking back to Clare.

It was a distinctly crisp morning, with a clear blue sky and a breeze blowing from over my right shoulder. This made it quite chilly and I wore my jacket throughout the day.

An un-marked Trail	But a good, smooth surface

The start of the Trail is unmarked. Not a good sign. The surface looked encouraging, however. When I walked the Central Otago Rail Trail, my feet were wrecked by the large rough pebbles with which it was surfaced. This trail had very fine gravel. By the end of the walk I am able to report that my feet showed no signs of wear and tear. It was the rest of me that wore out.

After about 5 minutes, the Trail forked, with no directions given. I was about to chose the high road when I realised that it turned sharp left after the junction, which seemed unlikely for an old railway line. I took the low road, which turned out to be the right choice.

Riesling Trail speak with forked path	Olives to the left

	Grapes to the right
Pine plantation with hazardous weapons

There were vineyards and olive groves to both sides which then gave way to a pine plantation, which had shed large fir cones across the path. Luckily none of them landed on my head as I would have been struck a nasty blow.

The fields to the left opened out and a sign pointed to the old Mellor Quarry on the right. I can't say I could actually identify it but it seems to have been an important source of blue stone for use in Auburn and even some significant buildings in Adelaide. It is now entered in the State Heritage Register. Shortly afterwards, I did see an outcrop of blue stones on the side of the Trail.

There were a few farms and at one of them the chickens were running around at the side of the Trail but they weren't too keen on my approach & went into hiding.

Chooks in the undergrowth	Another person - at last!

At long last, another person appeared, a woman with a pram. I hoped that she hadn't come from Clare that morning, which would have put my own efforts into perspective.

I entered into a cutting, a sign that the Trail really had once been a railway line, and then re-emerged into open country, with a large but almost empty irrigation pond on one side. It has to be said that everything looked quite green, even the edges of the Trail. I had expected everything to be very brown.

Into a cutting	Irrigation pond

The Trail descended towards a road, passing what must have been one of the old bridge abutments. And then rose up again to the other side.

Bridge abutments	Artwork
Artwork and shelter	Neighbouring bench

Here there was a shelter with seats and a modern sculpture. This was constructed of local slate, steel etc etc and, so the signs informed me, symbolised a platform, railway lines, points etc etc.

I studied the sculpture with interest rather than enthusiasm, reserving that for the seats, of which I made full use after an hour on my feet. At least the sculpture showed that the Authorities are taking an interest in the welfare of the Trail.

	I progressed slowly but steadily, passing a board detailing the history of the tribes who lived in the area before the Europeans arrived and then decimated them with flu, TB and the like. In more recent years, they have relied on alcohol to achieve the same result. Another small bench allowed me to rest and prepare myself for some more effort. More open spaces, more cuttings, and then a huge new processing plant. I was later told that this belonged to O'Leary Walker Wines, who process grapes from the Adelaide Hills as well as from local sources.
Elegant tree on the Trail	O'Leary Walker winery

Leasingham station arrived, complete with the old station sign and some more abutments. The Old Copper Road passed through here, the route by which the copper ore from the Burra mine, which I was to visit in a couple of days, was transported to the coast at Port Wakefield. Another pair of cyclists passed me but, throughout the day, I only saw about 8 people.

On the outskirts of Watervale, I wandered nearly a kilometre off the Trail, down a side road and into the village.

Off the Trail ...	... past the smart houses
Inconsiderate geese	and beautiful school grounds

There were some very smart looking houses, a couple of geese, who refused to face the camera, and some wonderful flowers in the school grounds.

Watervale Hotel and Library

Once on the main road again, I made a beeline for the pub, which had more nice flowers on the outside and cold beers on the inside. I had a quick one and then, at the landlord's suggestion, walked past the Library and round the corner to Crabtree wines.

The nice lady at Crabtree poured me lots of large measures of wine, both red and white, which I happily slurped while we chatted. I explained that I was walking and not buying but she wasn't the least bit concerned. When I asked if the wine was available in New Zealand, she said that it wasn't but that they were on the lookout for an agent. I gave her some suggestions. I just hope that they come to fruition.

Her Rieslings were good, there was a very unusual Muscat based wine and some stunning reds, particularly a cabernet shiraz. Outside the door of the tasting room were 3 large chickens, which effectively blocked the path as I tried to leave.

Up the hill ...	... to Watervale Station

I lurched uphill to the old station, where I sat and ate my lunch in the shelter. This one actually had some water tanks for the benefit of passers by. My own supplies, however, were proving adequate, particularly with the liquid I had taken on board at the pub.

Watervale shelter	Fierce local resident

A couple on bikes appeared with a dog. I had seen them before, at my first stop, when the dog was running happily around. By this time it was looking distinctly tired and went to sleep under the shelter. Its daddy said that it was a working dog and always refused a ride on the farm quad bike, irrespective of how tired it was. They also told me about the snakes they had seen, which was very encouraging. All I had spotted was a baby rabbit, which didn’t seem threatening.

The Trail continued on its merry way, past more irrigation ponds, through tree-lined areas and past vineyards which seemed to have more pretty flowers than grapes.

Eventually, I passed under the main road, which has a large new bridge. There was a fascinating old cottage and then I reached Penwortham Station.

Penwortham Bridge	Old cottage
Penwortham Station

It was becoming hot as the breeze had dropped and I was beginning to feel tired. The Church at Penwortham is supposedly on the Trail - but only if you want to climb over a wire fence.

The Trail converged with the road again, and the surrounding countryside changed from grapes to farmland, with a few cows, sheep and horses to be seen.

Trail and road meet again	Some animals, at last

Eventually, I dragged myself to Sevenhill station, which still had an intact platform as well as a signboard.

Sevenhill Station

This gave me the opportunity for a final rest before I marched the kilometre (or a bit less) down the hill into the village and through the front door of the pub for a much needed beer. The pub was nothing much to look at from the outside but the landlord was friendly and the Cooper’s Pale was cold. What more could a walker want? It has to be said that the pubs on this Trail are much better than those on the Otago Rail Trail.

Opposite the pub (Hotel really although it doesn't do accommodation) is Rosella Cottage, a huge and antiquated edifice (1858 I think it said) which is intended to be a mini conference centre.

Rosella Cottage
	Main bedroom
Bathroom	Lounge

The rooms are all dark and furnished in period style. Not as cosy as last night but there is a working bedroom, bathroom, lounge and kitchen - several of most of them, so I should be OK. The notice about snakes & other visitors wasn't too encouraging. "Please consider that you are in the country. This bring with it occasional additional wildlife such as blow flies, field mice and snakes." Even the back garden was spectacular.

A shower was much needed and an examination of my feet revealed no damage of any sort. Excellent news. I then had a long rest before venturing across the road to the pub for dinner.

There was another couple in the dining room when I arrived. By the time I left, it was almost full. There were about a dozen tables there. The zucchini, bacon and coriander soup was delicate and good. The steak, cooked perfectly rare, was huge. It was far too much for me.

With it I had a couple of glasses of Riesling, both selected by the waitress. As I later learned, there is a huge cellar under the place and anyone wanting a whole bottle is sent down there to chose what they want. What is available by the glass depends on what is left over. I had read good reviews of the place on the WWW and they were justified.

I finished dinner with a final beer in the bar, the only other occupant of which was a dog asleep in the corner. I had heard its Mummy & Daddy discussing it in the restaurant. No sooner had I taken its photo than it got up and rushed to the door - its family had finished dinner and were leaving. I followed suit.

In spite of the water I had consumed on the walk, the wine & beer with the meal etc etc I drank lots of water and orange juice back at my cottage. Just hope I sleep well and don't keep on having to get up during the night.

October 23