Old plough along the Riesling Trail near Clare, South Australia

South Australia has a rather short history since European settlement in 1836. We don’t have buildings and monuments which are hundreds of years old like you get in Europe, for example. Despite this, throughout our state we have many buildings regarded as historic scattered across the rural landscape.

The rural regions also contain remnants of a bygone era. Almost every farm has a collection of machinery used in earlier times, like the plough shown in the photo above. I took this photo on a walk I did on the Riesling Trail in the Clare Valley during the Easter weekend earlier this year. The photo below shows one of the many gum trees along the trail, lit beautifully by thesetting sun.

Along the Riesling Trail near Clare, South Australia

Along the Riesling Trail near Clare, South Australia

I enjoy taking photographs of trees lit up by the last rays of sunshine in the evening. I was pleased to get these good shots of eucalyptus (“gum”) trees along the Riesling Trail in the Clare Valley in the mid north of South Australia. The photos were taken one evening on a family walk last Easter.

Along the Riesling Trail near Clare, South Australia

Creek bed at sunset along the Riesling Trail near Clare, South Australia

The Riesling Trail runs from Auburn to just north of Clare in the mid north of South Australia. This popular walking/cycling trail follows the old railway line which serviced this region in the early days of settlement.

My family and I walked a good part of this trail over the Easter weekend earlier this year. On the last day we walked just on sunset and this accentuated the colours in the surrounding hills and paddocks and lit up the many gum trees lining the many creeks meandering through the landscape. Most of these creeks are ephemeral, only flowing after good rains.

Sunset along the Riesling Trail near Clare, South Australia

One of the challenges I set myself with my photography is to create attractive shots of sunsets. And sunrise too – when I’m up early enough! Over Easter earlier this year my family and I went for a walk every day along the Riesling Trail near Clare in the mid north of South Australia. The name reflects the fact that this is one of our leading wine regions.

On our last walk I managed the nice shot shown above with the last rays of sunshine lighting up the gum trees lining the walking trail.

Along the Riesling Trail near Clare, South Australia

Over recent days I’ve been featuring photos taken along the Riesling Trail in the Clare Valley, South Australia. This part of my home state features many beautiful scenes, most of them highlighting either the many vineyards or the iconic red gum trees, like those shown above.

During Easter this year my family and I walked along this trail, tackling it in easy stages. I had a hard time concentrating on the walking; everywhere I looked I saw another photographic opportunity. I’ll be sharing more of these shots in coming days.

The Riesling Trail follows the old railway line through the valley. The rails and sleepers were removed some years ago and replaced with compacted gravel making walking and cycling a wonderful delight. An added bonus for wine lovers are the many wineries within a few minutes walk of the trail.

Along the Riesling Trail near Clare, South Australia

Walking the Riesling Trail from Auburn to just north of Clare in the mid north of South Australia is a wonderful way to experience this beautiful part of our state. The Clare Valley is renowned for its excellent wineries and the walking track passes near to many of them.

The Riesling Trail follows the old railway line which was dismantled some years ago. The rails, sleepers and ballast were replaced with compacted gravel. Consequently it is both easy walking and great for cycling along. On the Easter weekend earlier this year my family traversed a good part of this wonderful part of the state. I’ll be showing more photos of the countryside there in the coming days.

Along the Riesling Trail near Clare, South Australia

During the Easter long weekend earlier this year we went walking along various stages of the Riesling Trail in the Clare Valley in South Australia. This walking track used to be the old railway line through the wine growing district. On one of our walks I took many photos of the late afternoon sun on the adjacent farmland.

Along the Riesling Trail near Clare, South Australia

I’ve been a little tardy in getting up these photos from Easter earlier this year. Over the long weekend we stayed with our daughter who teaches in the local high school. During our stay we went for a daily walk along the Riesling Trail. This walking track used to be the old railway line. It now has a new life as a tourist attraction in its own right. People visiting the wine growing region can walk from Auburn to just north of Clare. Access to many of the region’s wineries is quite easy from the trail.

I’ll share more photos in coming days.

Riesling Trail, Clare, South Australia

This series of posts is somewhat overdue. During Easter in April of this year we stayed for a week with family in Clare in the mid north of South Australia. On each day of our stay we went for a half hour walk along the Riesling Trail.

The Riesling Trail is a 27 kilometre walking and cycling trail through the Clare wine region area. It runs from the small town of Auburn in the south through the Clare Valley and ends just north of Clare township. It passes through vineyards and farming country, with many fine restaurants and wineries within easy reach of the trail.

The Riesling Trail is very easy walking and cycling, for it used to be the railway line through this area. The sleepers and rails are no longer there and have been replaced by smooth gravel.

On our first walk we tried to ignore the cold, damp conditions. I was delighted to get a good photo of a beautiful butterfly as well as some very interesting fungi.

For more details of the Riesling Trail, click here.

Along the Riesling Trail, Clare, South Australia

Vanessa kershawi, Australian Painted Lady

Fungi along the Riesling Trail, Clare, South Australia

Lane Cove National Park, Sydney

Several days after Christmas the family had another reunion, this time in the Lane Cove National Park. This park is about a ten minute drive from my son’s home in Artarmon, Sydney. we knew it would probably be somewhat busy because of the Christmas holiday break, so we went early. Before having lunch four of us went for an hour and a half walk through the park.

Members of my family going on a walk through Lane Cove National Park

It was quite hot and humid with no breeze, so in no time we were all soaked from the effort. My son and I had our cameras and we were on the lookout for interesting things to photograph, especially birds. I think I may have converted him to being a moderate birder after he was pleased to receive a bird field guide for Christmas. Perhaps “bird photographer” would be a better appellation.

Lane Cove National Park, Sydney