A bygone era
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
Trees at sunset
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
Along the creek
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 on the Riesling Trail, Clare
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.
Walking the Riesling Trail, Clare
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.