On the 2/3 days off a year you get at home, what is your favourite thing to do?
I love just tinkering about in my garden. I do spend quite a bit of time in the garden with my mad dahlia obsession. Otherwise I really love mowing my lawns, weeding, and just making my house look like I love it as much as I actually do. If I need proper downtime I do like to find a comfy spot in my house where I can sit with Frank The Tank (my chonky-boy cat) and read.
Controversial – Kingston vs Robe?
Cape Jaffa all the way! For me when I am after a quiet beach walk or a swim on the hottest of hot a days, that’s where I go. The water is warmer than Robe (which is not hard to achieve) and often I’m the only one on the beach. Otherwise I am a local in both Kingston and Robe. I love each town for its own reasons and I love the communities of both towns, it’s not fair to make me pick!
Favourite underrated location/attraction in the Limestone Coast?
Tantanoola Caves it’s a lovely and quick stop to visit. It’s amazingly accessible for those whom may not be able to visit other caves. The caves are full of cave decorations, which throw a more pink hue than the caves at Naracoorte as the base rock is dolomite instead of limestone. Then you can sneak over to the Tantanoola pub and grab a beer and look at some cracking taxidermy.
Summer vs Winter?
Summer. I prefer the longer days to garden after work… The area is also more vibrant with visitors and people are out and about having fun.
Another controversial – favourite Wangolina wine?
This is a hard choice for me as it generally is whatever is new or something that looks particularly good for that vintage. In saying this I will always come back to Semillon. It’s a variety that I love – the style I make is textured and interesting and it’s a great food wine. To be honest there is more Semillon in the museum than anything else, as that is what I am drinking when I retire!
Go to’s for:
Coffee – In Kingston, Bliss does a pretty good job. When I am in Robe I swing between Hook and Harvest who have a great coffee from Mt Gambier roaster Bricks and Mortar, and of course Mahalia Coffee, a local roaster who make a mean Magic.
*Most of the time I am actually buying coffee from what I think may be the busiest coffee joint in the southern hemisphere per square metre, Happy Daise in Meningie. They do a great job of the mid-drive coffee and have some good toasties too.
Lunch – In the fishing season Lacepede Seafood is a great for a sneaky take away F&C, but for long lunches it’s worth the trip to see Tilds and Pauly at Ottelia.
Dinner – I go to the Crown Inn at Kingston pretty frequently – I play bridge there every fortnight when I am home. The Roast Chook at the Robe Hotel is worth a mention, as is the seafood platter at Sails in Robe. I have been to Elementary by Soul Projects in Mount Gambier a few times as well, and that is seriously worth a mention. In Melbourne I love treating myself to a single girl night out at Supernormal and in Sydney I am a bit of a fan of Midden at the Opera House.
Drinks – Black Swan in Robe. Andy has set me a challenge to ask for a new cocktail every time I go in. Most of my time I am out and about in Adelaide and I joke that I have two “offices” one at Good Gilbert and one at Bar Lune. GG offers a great list of wines and most of the time I just get them to choose for me. The team at Bar Lune are handy with a cocktail shaker and are rather conveniently located for where I stay.