This morning while walking Tanner, Angus saw an “Open” sign at a café that normally isn’t, so we tried to go there for breakfast, but by the time we got there (not much later), the place was closed. Such is life in the Outback. So we had breakfast up the street at the Quandong Café. A quandong, as it happens, is an Australian native fruit, and it’s popular in this area – quandong jam, waffles with quandong, and Adam and I tried a slice of quandong cheesecake. Very nice. Maybe a bit like rhubarb?
After breakfast, Adam and Angus decided to climb Devil’s Peak. No thanks. I do not have the same affinity for reaching the summit of things as Adam does, and I’ve been all walked out recently. But Adam kindly supplied me with a couple of photos for the blog:
Opting out gave me some time to do work, to do laundry (and fight with Angus’s Hills Hoist), and to enjoy some “me” time – with an empty pub all to myself!
And Adam still had a hiking buddy.
When the guys got back, we took a leisurely stroll around Quorn, with Angus, our very own local, narrating. Turns out, lots of Aussie movies have been filmed in and around Quorn. One local establishment advertises a selection of them:
(I will have to watch a few of these.) What’s more, Angus says a number of TV and movie scenes have been filmed at his pub – for example, a scene in Jamie Dornan’s series The Tourist, the bottle shop that’s part of Angus’s pub is turned into a bedroom. (I like Jamie Dornan, so I will indeed watch this one.)
We stopped at Michie’s Kitchen for a quick sushi roll; then we had somewhere we had to be.
Quorn is also home to Flinders Gin, a small-batch distillery that’s going like gangbusters in this current resurgence of gin. Flinders Gin is family-owned by Leah and Alby Trotta, and because they are in the process of building an amazing new facility complete with distillery and tasting room, they opened their home to us for the tasting. We had a great time talking to them, learning their story and that of their gin, and tasting their products. The tasting consisted of their four gins – all of which incorporate Australian native ingredients. (Guess what? Quandong was again one of them.) They poured them for us straight, and then with tonic:
Plus, they sell ready-to-drink Quandong G&Ts and Outback Lemon & Lime G&Ts. (We bought a 16-pack of these.)
They also sell tea, candles, and other gifts. Also, they gave Angus a sign to hang up in his pub, which we did:
More darts, pool, and hanging out at Angus’s, then it was back to the Trans for a dinner of massive steaks (mine was half the size of Angus’s!):
After dinner, I did want to catch a glimpse of the famous Quorn silo light show, so we did (but I don’t think my photo does it justice):
