The Barossa and the Adelaide Hills

Adelaide’s Sunday morning was overcast and cool, with the ever-present possibility of showers. I went on the Barossa Valley trip by myself. Well… along with another eight Ghan passengers. Amanda met us in a little Toyota bus and we headed for the hills. First stop was the Barossa Sculpture Park at Mengler’s Hill Lookout, one of the best vantage points in the valley, with sweeping views over the patchwork of vineyards and farmland below. Scattered across the hillside are more than a dozen large stone sculptures, created by artists from around the world during two international symposiums. We didn’t stay long. I’m sure the view would have been lovely on a clear day.

Amanda couldn’t get the bus started. The engine wouldn’t even turn over. We all exchanged looks. Being stuck in a broken down bus well away from the city on a damp Sunday morning hadn’t appeared in the play book. Amanda rang the office and was told to wait while the office person talked to the mechanics. Oh dear. It wasn’t sounding good. Then a male voice piped up. “Are you sure it’s not in gear?” It was. The relief was palpable and we carried on.

The Barossa Valley was settled in the 1840s, mainly by German-speaking immigrants from Prussia who were fleeing religious persecution and economic hardship. Many of them were Lutherans who had left their homeland after restrictions on their faith became intolerable. Drawn by the promise of fertile land and freedom of worship, they established small farming communities across the valley. Alongside them came English settlers, who took up land for grazing and agriculture. The combination of skills—particularly the German traditions of viticulture and food production—shaped the character of the region, laying the foundations for the vineyards and wineries that now define the Barossa.

There are many small towns across the valley. We visited Tanunda, which resulted in an earworm for me. “No wonder, no wonder, it’s Chateau Tanunda aged in oak by Seppelt…” Anyway, it’s a nice little town with public toilets and Wohlers, a delightful department store, one of the few outliers of a dying breed. It’s online, too, of course but I enjoyed browsing through the lovely home wares. And the animal glove puppets. The possum is gorgeous.

After a brief stop to sample some of the local soft cheeses we made our way to the first winery, the famous Jacob’s Creek, where we sampled five wines. The winery is in a lovely setting, beside the little creek but the wines we tasted didn’t sweep me away. I enjoyed watching a large family of wrens hopping through the grass outside.

Next stop was Lambert Estate Wines where we would be having lunch. It’s a relatively new, modern place, established by an American. We sat in a room dominated by a stone fireplace with log fire and sampled wines and enjoyed food. The meal was superb and the wine (IMO) a cut above. I was so impressed with the sparkling wine I bought a half case.

From Lambert we left the Barossa and crossed to the Adelaide Hills, driving through picturesque farmland and vineyards. We passed the Herbig Family Tree in Springton, in the Barossa foothills. This giant, hollow red gum became home to Friedrich and Caroline Herbig, German immigrants who lived inside its trunk in the 1850s. The space was large enough for the couple and their first two children, giving them shelter until they could afford to buy land and build a cottage. The tree is fenced for protection but it’s open for visitors to see where one family began their life in South Australia, a vivid reminder of the hardships faced by early settlers and the determination that built the region.

We were headed for the famous town of Hahndorf. It’s Australia’s oldest surviving German settlement, founded in 1839 by Lutheran migrants from Prussia. The town takes its name from Captain Dirk Hahn, the ship’s master who brought the group to South Australia and helped them secure land. But he never lived there, never visited. The settlers were simply grateful for help he was not obliged to give. Many of the early settlers’ traditions remain visible: stone cottages, half-timbered buildings, and streets lined with elm and plane trees planted by the first families. Unlike other towns that modernised beyond recognition, Hahndorf has carefully preserved its German heritage, with bakeries, restaurants, and craft shops continuing the legacy, making it feel authentic rather than reconstructed.

For much of the 19th century, German was widely spoken in South Australia, especially in the Barossa and Adelaide Hills, where Lutheran migrants had settled. Children were taught in German, churches held services in German, and newspapers were printed in the language. This strong cultural identity lasted for decades, but during World War I suspicion and hostility toward anything German ran high. The state government banned German-language schools, changed German place names, and discouraged public use of the language. Although English eventually replaced German in daily life, traces of that heritage remain in family traditions, food, and the enduring influence of those early settlers.

I found Hahndorf very touristy. It reminded me a lot of the village at Mount Tambourine. Cuckoo clocks, art and crafts, German food etc… But I was interested to find an opal shop. The proprietors mined part time at Coober Pedy and the photos I shared about how opal was formed actually come from this shop in Hahndorf. Here’s my Coober Pedy article.

It had been a long day. We arrived back at the hotel at around 5:30, just in time for drinks with our fellow travellers. Here’s the link to that story, already posted.

By the way, if you’ve happened across this post by accident, see the whole trip here.