We decided to leave the Clare Valley today, even though we could have easily stayed longer. With the long weekend coming up and Adelaide in the middle of the Fringe Festival (information here) we were worried that we might have trouble finding some accommodation. Experience had taught us that the longer we stayed in one place on either side of a public holiday, the more chance we had of securing a booking. We were right. The first two caravan parks we rang couldn’t fit us in. Finally, we found one about 20km out of Adelaide that seemed ok, and it had a pool! We booked for 7 nights to see us through the long weekend. 
On our way out of the Clare Valley, we detoured past a winery. While it was too early to partake in any wine tastings (other people were, but we decided that 11am just seemed all wrong) we had a look around the estate of Sevenhills. This winery was the first in the Clare Valley after Jesuit Priests came to Australia in 1851 to escape religious persecution. They started making their own sacramental wine which was soon the talk of the valley. 
Seven oaks has a church built with the winery and it is the only parish church in Australia to have its crypt underneath the church. We were able to go inside and have a look. I tried to freak Caleb out by telling him that behind every panel was a dead body. He corrected me, telling me that by now they were skeletons. I believe I detected him rolling his eyes at my misinformation. Ray explained how the confession box worked and Caleb thought it was pretty cool. He loved all the secrecy but unfortunately, being the model child, had nothing to confess. (!?!)
The winery’s cellar was hand dug and was musty and damp. Caleb covered his nose and mouth and clambered back up the ladder. The grounds were so lovely. Lush green grass and huge shady trees. You could purchase a platter of cheese and biscuits and have a picnic. We seriously contemplated it but decided the hour of the day didn’t quite suit. 
We left and headed for Adelaide, 90 minutes away. 
Our caravan park is an oasis! We were pleasantly surprised by the size of our site, the lagoon pool and the fact that the cleaner was mopping BEHIND the washing machines by actually pulling them all out. What a great place to stay for a week!
We took a quick drive to Adelaide and surrounding suburbs, but the traffic got heavier and as peak hour approached, we retreated. That is something we have forgotten all about and we were not keen to sit in gridlock when we didn’t particularly have to. We went back to our sanctuary.