Here’s a great Lavender Trail Adventure story about three women, two of whom are from Victoria. They take two days to ride from Gawler to the trail head at Clare, do an improvised version of Clare to Eudunda and then ride the official trail from Truro to Mount Pleasant and then on to Murray Bridge. Well done to Sally, Simone and Lee and thank you for sharing your story.
“We are three friends who meet once a year to go on an extended cycling trip. Lee lives in Victor Harbour, and Sally and Simone live in suburban Melbourne. We heard of the Lavender Cycling Trail, and about three years ago decided that it should be one of our annual rides. Family, social and volunteer/work commitments had prevented us from doing it, but we decided that this was the year and locked the dates in!
In preplanning, we discovered our dates coincided with the first week of the SA school holidays, and having heard that accommodation options along the trail were limited, decided to pre book all accommodation.
Our loose plan was to meet in Adelaide, train to Gawler, stay at Riverton Caravan Park, Clare Hotel, Eudunda Motel, Weighbridge Motel, Talunga Caravan Park (Mt Pleasant) and end at Murray Bridge. From Murray Bridge, Lee had transport back to Victor Harbour, and Simone and I would get the Overland Train back to Melbourne.
Overland Train to Adelaide
Simone and I caught the Overland Train to Adelaide on Monday 8th April 2024 and the three of us reconvened at Gawler the following Thursday.
Gawler to Riverton
Our first day cycling, following country gravel roads with NO traffic, took us from Gawler to Riverton where we stayed at the delightful Riverton Caravan Park. Whilst in Riverton, we learned about the Rattler and Riesling trails and decided this should be our route to Clare.
Sally, Lee and Simone’s bikes on their first day cycling from Gawler to Riverton
Riesling Trail to Clare
On our second day, it took us a while to find the start of the Rattler Trail, but there it was at our Caravan Park, and behind the footy oval scoreboard. Both trails were excellent and must dos!
Clare to Eudunda – Change of plan
On arrival in Clare, we looked at our route options, but decided we could not do the Lavender Trail out of Clare because 110km’s from Clare to Eudunda was beyond our fitness levels. This also highlights the dilemma of booking accommodation before you actually get to a certain place. We therefore decided to go back down the Riesling and Rattler trails and turn east along the gravel Golf Course Road, through Saddleworth and eastwards to Eudunda, a distance of about 75kms.
Puncture at Saddleworth
Just before we arrived in Saddleworth, Lee got a rear tyre puncture. Fortunately, Simone is excellent at repairing punctures, so under the Welcome to Saddleworth sign, we extracted a very small sharp piece of twig which had pierced both tyre and tube. Simone made good use of a $10 note by lining the tyre to protect it further – genius, and really the only option given the lack of new tyre availability!!
The only place open in Saddleworth was the service station where we ate some lunch and discussed our options. We decided to continue to Eudunda on the bitumen B84 and hope the tyre repair worked – it did. The bitumen road was little-used so very pleasant, despite the big hill at the end.
We were sad that we missed the start of the Lavender Trail and determined to return to do it again. On arrival at Eudunda, we met a lovely chatty fellow who was a fabulous source of local information and suggested we go to the workers club for dinner, a great recommendation.
Eudunda to Truro
Finally, on our fourth day we started the trail proper, after having an initial photo stop at the Silos and grand old railway station. Out of Eudunda, the trail was quite rough with loose gravel and sand, but thankfully well sign posted. We had downloaded the GPX of the trail but only needed to use it for reassurance and points of interest reminders.
We travelled from Eudunda to Truro thinking it would be a nice easy 40km day but were surprised at how tough it was! It was much hillier and more challenging than we had expected.
On the Lavender Trail between Eudunda and Truro
On arrival at Truro, we headed straight to the bakery!! We stayed at the Weighbridge Motel which was opposite the service station. The service station offered some snacks, allowing us to stock up for the next day. We went to the pub for tea, an interesting little pub and worth a visit to meet the publican, Max.
Truro to Mount Pleasant
On our fifth day we planned to stop at Eden Valley Pub for lunch, but disappointingly, it was closed. As we were getting rather peckish, we decided to deviate via the bitumen to the Springton General Store, which turned out to be an excellent decision. The authentic Indian curry, cuppa and rest, and chats with the locals, gave us the motivation to resume the trail.
Heading off again we attacked hills, and more hills, and were grateful for the beautiful sunny day with bright blue skies!
When we arrived at Mount Pleasant, we arrived at the Talunga Caravan Park and after checking in, were greeted by trail royalty, Helen Dominish (coincidentally staying there whilst working on the Lavender Trail). We had a lovely chat with her and decided to meet at the pub for dinner to continue our conversation and exchange information about the trail.
Sadly, there was no food at the pub (Monday night) and so dined on beer and chips.
Mount Pleasant to Murray Bridge
On our sixth and final day, we left Mt Pleasant to tackle hills and more hills. We visited both Mt Pleasant bakeries to have brekky and stock up on the day’s supplies, given there are no further food stops during the day. Again, there were lots of hills, but eventually the trail is more down than up, and goes through beautiful country.
The Monarto Zoo fence line is a bit tricky with the sand and we walked some distance before resorting to the parallel bitumen road.
Sandy track near Monarto Zoo
We rejoined the trail, and navigated more sand, narrow turn styles and had a brief encounter with three corner jacks, with no punctures thankfully.
We finally arrived in Murray Bridge late afternoon where we stayed at a fabulous Airbnb house with a washing machine and all mod cons!
Finish photo – the Lavender Trail head at Murray Bridge
Summary of our Lavender Trail Adventure
We all felt a terrific sense of accomplishment and joy that although we missed the first part of the trail (Clare to Eudunda) we had finished our Lavender Adventure without major mishap. The weather was perfect, the country magnificent and the experience made richer by the people we met along the way.
Meeting Helen was a highlight, and we gratefully acknowledge the huge time and work that Helen and the many volunteers dedicate to the trail, so that people like us can visit SA and enjoy a unique and challenging cycling experience.
We will be back … to complete the first section of the trail that we missed and may even consider doing it all again!”
If you would like to read another story about a Lavender Trail adventure, see this story about recumbent trike riders on the trail.
