Day 5: Our stay in Clare

After last night's rain, everything is shining, including me. Today is a rest day. Yippee.

With a luxurious chauffeured (thanks Mick) drive into Clare for coffee and provisions accomplished, we spent the afternoon picnickIng at 'Shut the Gate' winery and touring stately houses from the outside, as we were too miserly to pay $60 to enter.

We managed to track down the owner of the cottage at his art gallery in Blyth. He was ready for a chat and a tour of his nursery next door, where he propagates lots of Australian plants to use on the cottage property. Apparently he plants about 2000 per year. When he is not busy digging holes, he paints birds extremely well. We even bought a print.

Rather than eat out, we decided to have a barbecue, so that we could watch the sunset over the valley. We were accompanied by lots of kangaroos. Obviously, we had muscled in on their sunset viewing patch, but they didn't have champagne and were jealously eyeing us off.

As the sunset over the valley, we contemplated our short ride (only 50 kms) on the morrow.

Enjoying the Shut The Gate surroundings including the novel toilets seen in the background which are actually small water tanks or possibly septic tanks.

Very funny. Brenda can't even make a decent knotted hankercheif beret. On the other hand I am something of a past master as Dad would often have one on when working in the sun, and he taught me, from a very early age, how to create a masterpeice.

Now that's a HAT.

No one was home so we didn't go in. Or maybe they wouldn't answer the door because  we wouldn't shell out the $60 to get in.

The windmill of Windmill Cottage at sunset.

Plenty of  Kangaroos were there to share the sunset with us.

The sun has gone to bed.