Lyndoch Hill -- and 30,000 roses

Two hours' drive north of Adelaide is one of the great joys of this part of the country, a rose garden opened officially by the Queen in 2002. For rose lovers -- like Dave and myself -- it's a treat that money couldn't actually buy, yet it's free for the strolling through! Imagine 22 hectares of walking paths through garden-like woodland, planted in with 30,000 roses bushes and trees; and at any one time, around twenty percent of them will be in full bloom...

The rose garden is associated with Barossa Chateau Estate, which offers a cellar door, massive gift store, and restaurant. Lyndoch Hill also offers motel-style accommodation. Staying there would be another treat: imagine waking up on the skirts of 22 hectares of roses!

The garden is about three minutes up the road from the town of Lyndoch, which was settled c. 1840 by German immigrants, after having been surveyed and named by Colonel William Light, who pitched camp in the area where Burge Family Estates now stands. The town is still quite small, with under 2,000 residents; but you'll find German-style pubs, bakeries, cafes and stores ... not to mention the surrounding vineyards, most of which offer cellar doors, wine tasting, and some of the best wines in the country ... uh, the world.

But, wines and fine food apart, it really is the roses that one goes to Lyndoch Hill for ... at least if you love them, as we do. If you've ever browsed through a gardening catalog and seen these plants advertised, you'll know some of the exotic names of the blooms. Many are not the kind you could expect to see in suburban gardens, but you'll see them all here --

Dozens of paths twist this way and that, not quite randomly, giving the impression that the gardens are, in fact, much larger than 22 hectares. You could walk for hours -- and will, if you want to see everything. Statuary, benches, pergolas, hide away in unexpected nooks; oriental-style bridges span tiny watercourses which are dry most of the year ... parrots, whistlers, fairy wrens and a myriad native birds thrive in the woodland while vineyards stretch away beyond the periphery of the gardens, like vast green lakes. But it's all about the roses, really. So here we go: