Adel Aide & South Au
Str Ali A
PENOLA
&THE
COONAWARRA
WINE REGION
Adel Aide & South Au
Str Ali A
INFORMATION
Adel Aide & South Au
Str Ali A
PENOLA
&THE COONAWARRA
REGION
Bullfrogs ̈ MODERNAUSTRALIAN$$
(%08-8723 3933; www �bullfrogs�com �au; 7 Percy
St; mains$11-32;h11am-late) Spread over three
floors of a fabulous old stone mill building,
this is the place for beef and lamb grills, bou-
tique beers, Coonawarra wines, cocktails,
trusty coffee and occasional acoustic trouba-
dours. Hard to beat.Banana ̈Tree ̈Cafe ̈& ̈Terrace ̈ THAI $$
(%08-87239393;www �bananatree�com �au; 53 Gray
St; mains$16-33;h11am-2pm&6-9pm) Authen-
tic Thai in Mount Gambier! Colourful and
appropriately tacky (faux rattan, chandeliers,
commercial FM), backstreet Banana Tree
serves chilli-laden dishes like beef-and-basil
stir-fry and a smokin’ green chicken curry.Jens ̈Town ̈Hall ̈Hotel ̈ PUB $$
(%08-87251671; 40 CommercialSt E; mains$15-29;
hnoon-2pm&6-8pm) The most palatable place
for a beer in the Mount (there are a lot of ram-
bling old pubs here), the 1884 Jens has a vast
dining room plating up equally large steaks,
mixed grills, pastas, seafood and a damn fine
lasagne. There are $12 lunch specials.88 Information
Mount ̈Gambier ̈Visitor ̈Information ̈
Centre(%08-87249750,1800 087 187; www �
mountgambiertourism�com �au; 35 JubileeHwy E;
h9am-5pm)Has detailson local sights,activities,
transportand accommodation�Lady ̈Nelson ̈
Discovery ̈Centre(adult/child$2/1)is here
too, featuringareplicaof the historicbrig Lady
Nelson�PENOLA &
THE COONAWARRA
WINE REGION
A rural town on the way up (what a rarity!),
Penola (population 1670) is the kind of place
where you walk down the main street and
three people say ‘Hello!’ to you before you
reach the pub. The town is famous for two
things: first, for its association with the Sisters
of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart, co-founded
in 1867 by Australia’s first saint, Mary MacKil-
lop; and secondly, for being smack bang in the
middle of the Coonawarra Wine Region.1 ̈Sights ̈& ̈Activities
Mary ̈MacKillop ̈Interpretive ̈Centre ̈MUSEUM
(www�mackilloppenola�org �au; cnr Portland St &
Petticoat La; adult/child $5/free;h10am-4pm)The centre occupies a jaunty building with
a gregarious entrance pergola (perhaps
not as modest as Saint Mary might have
liked!). There’s oodles of info on Australia’s
first saint here, plus the Woods MacKillop
Schoolhouse, the first school in Australia
for children from lower socioeconomic
backgrounds.John ̈Riddoch ̈Centre ̈ MUSEUM
(www�wattlerange�sa �gov �au/tourism; 27 Arthur St;
h9am-5pmMon-Fri,10am-4pmSat &Sun) F
In the visitor centre building, this museum
casts a web over local history back to the
1850s, covering the local Pinejunga people
and original Penola pastoralist Riddoch,
who ‘never gave in to misfortune’ and was
‘steady and persistent’. Closed for a refur-
bishment when we revisited.Petticoat ̈Lane ̈ STREET
One of Penola’s first streets. Most of the orig-
inal buildings have been razed, but there are
still a few old timber-slab houses, redgum
kerbs and gnarly trees to see.4 ̈Sleeping ̈& ̈Eating
See http://www.coonawarradiscovery.com for B&B
listings. Many local Coonawarra wineries
also have restaurants.Must@Coonawarra ̈ MOTEL$$
(%08-8737 3444; www �mustatcoonawarra�com �au; 126 ChurchSt; rfrom $165;aW) (^) S On the
way up the winery strip, plush Must is a
newish option with jaunty roof curves rem-
iniscent of a certain opera venue in Syd-
ney. Accommodation ranges from studios
to apartments, with sustainable features
aplenty: rain-water showers, double glaz-
ing and insulation, solar hot water, natural
cleaning products etc. Bike hire costs $20
per day.
Heyward’s ̈Royal ̈Oak ̈Hotel ̈PUB $
(%08-87372322;www �heywardshotel�com �au; 31
ChurchSt; s$55, d&tw $88) The Royal Oak −
a lace-trimmed, main-street megalith built
in 1872 − is Penola’s community hub. The
rooms upstairs are a bit tatty and share
bathrooms, but they’re good bang for your
buck. Downstairs the huge tartan-carpet-
ed dining room (mains $20 to $33, open
11.30am to 2pm and 6pm to 8pm) serves
classy pub food (roo fillets with pepper
crust and cabernet glaze) and schnitzels as
big as your head. There’s a summery beer
garden, too.