Local getaways: Adelaide Hills

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

Mt Barker

First up is Mount Barker, a charming town surrounded by gorgeous sprawling countryside. We paid a visit to our Mount Barker branch to chat to the staff and discover some local tips.

They sent us straight to 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 up we stopped by Vinteloper which is home to 6 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. Vinteloper’s vineyard in Lobethal lost approximately half their vines in last summer’s bushfires so visiting their tasting home at Lot100 is the perfect way to enjoy a good drop and support them as they recover.

Lobethal

Next, we stopped by the town of Lobethal which was unfortunately one of the hardest hit hard by last summer’s bushfires. First on the itinerary was 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 first stop to fuel up before a full day of winery hopping.

Next, we paid a visit to Robert Johnson Vineyards, a historic cellar door and past trophy winner for the best sauvignon blanc in the Adelaide Hills. We spoke to the owner Robert, to hear his thoughts on the past year as a business owner in Lobethal.

’The last 12 months have been a challenge for all of 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. Since I’ve reopened Cellar Door [Robert Johnson Vineyards] I’ve had several friends who lost their houses and possessions, and there are intricate stories of wedding dresses being remade – that was the most important thing for one friend.’

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  their 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'.

If you pay a visit to Lobethal or Mt Barker, be sure to use the hashtag #BBlocalgetaway on your socials so we can share your pics and help support the Adelaide Hills.