18 Sept 2010 - Victor Harbour/Goolwa/Strathalbyn

Another cool day to look forward to but that does not stop us from heading off to explore the area below Adelaide making our way first to Victor Harbour before having lunch at the historic town of Goolwa. Victor Harbour was enjoying a weekend of 50s to 60s Rock and Roll....a couple of the dancers were very good I must say. Max had a look at some veteran cars parked nearby. That is something else we have noticed about this part of the world is the interest in old cars and there seems to be something on in one of the beautiful towns that have so much character each week-end.
Driving out to see the mouth of the mighty Murray River was great as last time we were here the poor Murray had hardly any water in it so it is so good to see the area looking green and lush. We planned to celebrate Max's birthday this evening as a late night Sunday would not be so good as we are leaving first thing Monday morning for Swan Hill. Wayne and Kay suggested a lovely little restaurant just up the road and a great night was had by all with a very different rendition of "happy birthday" courtesy of Wayne. Max also, not to be outdone, sung a Chad Morgan favourite "The Sheik of Scrubby Creek".

13-17 Sept 2010 - Adelaide

We left Nuriootpa and drove the short distance to Adelaide setting up camp at the Adelaide Shores Caravan Park which is a top park. As there is a cycle/walk track to Glenelg we all set off for a brisk walk....I think it was about 12 deg. and a strong wind blowing but I don't mind that so long as you are dressed for it. Kay and Wayne, our Adelaide friends arrived for happy hour that evening which was great. The next day Pete, Lyn and ourselves went for a drive to see the sights around the city before enjoying another lamb roast. Yesterday Kay and Wayne accompanied us to Hahndorf and Mount Lofty...great view!!!! Hahndorf is a gorgeous little town and one I have always wanted to visit and it did not disappoint....I could have stayed longer. There is much to see in this beautiful area and it will not be the last time we will visit here. We had dinner with our very hospitable friends to round off a perfect day. Today we pulled the golf clubs out for the first time on this trip and played 18 holes with Wayne....surprisingly we all had a few good shots considering our lack of practise. Unfortunately we forgot the camera whilst we were in Hahndorf until we were about to leave so we missed photo opportunities. We were more focused on whether we were going to be warm enough as it is very cold here at the moment.

12 Sept 2010 - Winery Tour

The Barossa Valley is a lovely part of South Australia and driving around is a pure delight as there are many little towns all with beautiful old stone houses and buildings. We visited some of the more well known wineries tasting as we went. The wineries must have been a wonderful hive of industry in the earlier days when more manpower was needed to work these places. Today these big estates seem to be more like museums than working wineries but I guess everything is done differently now.

11 Sept 2010 - 45 Years and Going Strong

Happy Anniversary to Pedro and Lyn....45 years and enjoying life. We were on our way to Nuriootpa from Wallaroo passing through Kadina and Balakava. The countryside was picturesque and again the crops in the area looked great. Kev was our leader today and at times we were wondering if we would arrive in the Barossa Valley as he was taking us on some unplanned routes...oops another u-turn. A little tale on Kev, we are not letting him forget that he failed to see Pete's caravan go past him leaving Yulara and was looking for him in the rearview mirrors only to learn he was in front all the time!!!! Of course due to the special occasion we dined out with Lyn and Pete in downtown Nuriootpa. We had a very brisk walk back to our camp afterward as it was quite chilly.

10 Sept 2010 - Through Port Broughton to Wallaroo

The forecast higher winds arrived through the night at Port Pirie but we were 'tucked up as snug as a bug in a rug' in our Jayco Sterlings. Our bacon and egg breakfast was moved inside, no less enjoyable I must say when we heard some noise coming from the inlet behind us. On investigation we at first thought it was a man calling for help in the water but soon realised it was a gentleman swimming singing what sounded like an italian song....he swam around for about an hour singing at the top of his voice. We were freezing watching him so he certainly was a hardy soul. Today we only had a short distance to travel as we were headed for Wallaroo through Port Broughton. The drive was lovely and great to see the country looking so good....the wheat, barley and oat crops looked very healthy. After setting up the guys went to try their luck on the jetty with crab traps as the locals said blue swimmer crabs were plentiful. Max caught a Port Jackson shark, thrown back and Pete and Kev caught a lot of crabs but the two legal ones they gave to a fellow fisherman. Max has a photo of the shark on his phone but I'm not sure how to put it on the blog so you will have to believe me.

9 Sept 2010 - Port Pirie

An overnight camp at Pimba last night signalled the end of our outback adventure as we were heading back to 'civilisation' as we know it when we left for Port Pirie this morning. It was only 172 ks from to Pimba to Port Augusta so it did not seem long before we arrived at Port Augusta for our morning tea stop. We travelled through more country that a rabbit would need to take a 'cut lunch' to survive in and this in a good year, when the landscape started to change slowly to see the beginning of agriculture on the approach to Port Augusta. We have thoroughly enjoyed seeing the beauty of the outback and now look forward to seeing parts of South Australia green as during previous visits this area has been in drought. I could not resist finding a seafood shop to buy some King George Whiting fillets to enjoy whilst we are in the area and a childhood jam 'quandong' from a roadside stop. We spent the afternoon doing a bit of spring cleaning as the red soil of the interior has a habit of invading your space a little.

8 Sept 2010 - Pimba/Woomera/Andamooka

We headed south again this morning leaving Coober Pedy behind....a unique place to visit. The landscape does not change much although we do pass some large inland lakes that are usually dry but one Lake Hart had water in it so a photo had to be taken. We turned off the Stuart Highway as no-one had been into Woomera or Roxby Downs....we unhooked the vans at Woomera and after a little tour around left for Roxby Downs which is a sizeable township dependant on mining. The lady at the Information Centre said Andamooka was was worth a look as it is an old opal mining centre. The early mining huts definitely lacked modern amenities to say the least...a tribute to the resilience of the early miners. After the above average rainfall this area has had this year the Sturt Desert Pea is easily seen in patches along the highway....the colour is so vibrant and is very pretty.