Getaway to the Adelaide Hills

Local Getaways

We’re sharing some of the beautiful regional towns that were hit hard by summer bushfires and lack of tourism due to COVID-19. 

First up is the Adelaide Hills in South Australia. A short drive from the CBD, the area is home to some of the state's most picturesque scenery, outstanding wineries and great food. We visited two towns, Mount Barker and Lobethal to find out some of their must see spots.

Mt Barker

Mount Barker is a charming town surrounded by gorgeous sprawling countryside. 

We called in at Prancing Pony Brewery an independent brewery selling fresh beer and food every day of the week. The busy brewery was full of plenty of happy faces enjoying themselves and was the perfect first stop in the Adelaide Hills.

Next we stopped by Vinteloper which is home to six local producers including wineries, breweries and distilleries that are all powered by solar panels and water recycling. Vinteloper specialises in organic and sustainable hand-crafted Pinot Noir, Shiraz, Riesling and Pinot Gris. Their vineyard in Lobethal lost approximately half of their vines in recent summer bushfires, so visiting their tasting home at Lot100 is the perfect way to enjoy a good drop and support them.

Lobethal

Next, is the town of Lobethal which was unfortunately one of the regions hardest hit by summer bushfires. You can enjoy breakfast at Emma and Ivy. Located inside an old garage, the space is part café, part indoor terrarium and also features a homewares boutique, plant studio hosting workshops and even a cellar door. Their delicious food and coffee makes for an ideal place to fuel up before a full day of winery hopping. 

Don’t forget to visit Robert Johnson Vineyards, a historic cellar door and past trophy winner for the best Sauvignon Blanc in the Adelaide Hills. The owner Robert, can tell you a story about the past two years as a business owner in Lobethal.

'The last 12 months have been a challenge for all the residents of the Adelaide Hills. So much of the conversation revolves around what happened with the fires and people who have been affected trying to navigate a path to rebuilding their lives as best they can.'
 
Hearing of the struggles of Lobethal locals further cements the importance of the return of tourism to affected towns all across Australia.
 
Finally, we asked Robert why Lobethal should be at the top of the holiday destination list.
 
'People should visit Lobethal and the surrounding region for the beauty of the landscape. There are reminders of the fires looking across the Hills, stands of burnt out trees still exist, houses still need to be rebuilt, but businesses still need to rebuild. People should visit the region and listen to the stories of affected people to get an understanding of what happened and how resilient people can be'.