Adelaide
Kilometres 28025 - 28674km
The start of our full week in Adelaide couldn’t have been more
relaxing. Well at least it was for the kids and I, Leonie on the other hand had
decided it was time to get most of our Christmas shopping done, so just after
9am she headed off to the biggest shopping complex in Adelaide to get her
shopaholic fix for the month…. For most of the day the kids and I did it pretty
tough, the kids either rode the pedal carts around the park, swam in the pool,
played pinball, ate ice-cream, went for a ride on the cycleway, had a picnic
lunch and we did a few domestic chores…. Meanwhile the barrage of text messages
from Leonie meant she wasn’t having the best of days. How could a shopaholic
not have a good day doing something she loves? Apparently she couldn’t put her
hand on the right gift and she kept getting lost in the huge shopping complex.
At least by days end most of our Christmas shopping was complete.
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| Adelaide skyline |
Tuesday was one of those days I’ll remember for a long time to come.
Our holiday schedule coincided with the cricket test match in Adelaide and the
unfortunate death of Phil Hughes placed great sentimental significance on this
match and I wanted to be a part of the day 1 action. My first time inside the
Adelaide Oval was amazing. There were 23000 people on hand to witness the
tribute to P.H and throughout the day the emotional tributes continued. The
weather was perfect, the Aussies piled on the runs and I had a great day. Late
in the day I caught up with another old school mate who was in town on
business, we made a quick dash to a pub where we downed a few bourbons….
Meanwhile Leonie and the kids had a relaxing day getting a few more presents, the
kids had Santa photos and generally had an enjoyable day.
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| 1st ball Adelaide Test match |
On Wednesday the weather was more conducive to staying indoors, constant
light rain swept across the Adelaide region. We chose to head to Glenelg where
we jumped on a tram and headed into the city. The kids had a ball traveling on
this form of transport for the first time. Once in the city we meandered up and
down the Rundle Mall, while the rain may have dulled the brightness it didn’t dull
our enthusiasm with the sights n sounds of Christmas providing a most enjoyable
buzz. We had lunch as we watched the buskers entertaining the crowd…. Returning
to Glenelg we had a brief look around the surrounding mariner and jetty before
heading back along the coast to the van.
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| Rundle Mall - Adelaide |
Thursday saw us up early and heading north to the Barossa Valley. We
opted to only go for a day-trip as our previous visits to wine regions have proved
very costly, so to reduce the temptation we thought it safer to only stay for
the day. Heading north we drove past the Holden manufacturing plant where we stopped
to take a historical photo. Our first stop in the Barossa was the “Wolf Blass”
winery where nothing is done by halves. The kids were well looked after
ensuring the parents could dedicate their time to tasting and spending money. We
spent most of the day zigzagging through the valley, stopping at various wineries
and shops such as Penfolds, Peter Lehmanns, Jacobs Creek and the Maggie Beer
farm shop just to name a few, with each of them offering their own speciality…..
With the kids nagging us to see some Christmas lights we made a full day of it
by spending a few hours of our return journey driving around the suburbs
checking-out Christmas lights.
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| Penfolds winery - Barossa Valley |
With us having such a big day on Thursday there was no urgency to get
out of bed on Friday morning, but by late morning we were heading across town to
catch up with some of our traveling friends who live in Adelaide. Meeting at a
park the kids were quickly enthralled with the skate bowl and playground equipment
leaving the parents’ time to relax and chat. Before we knew it a few hours had
lapsed and it was time to head for home. We had a few shopping stop-offs on the
way before spending the remainder of the afternoon relaxing by the van.
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| Henley Beach sunset - Adelaide |
Saturday was predicted to be a scorcher, the temperature peaked at
35deg. As we didn’t have anything planned for the day we spent much of our time
lazing by the pool or at beach, even the shade offered minimal relief as a hot
breeze blew across the area. Late in the day with the temperature dropping we
headed out for a leisurely drive into the city where we checked out the V8
supercar track, china town, some of the parks that surround the CBD and a few of
the picturesque church’s that are dotted across the city. We ended our day by
having dinner at the beach with a fantastic sunset backdrop.
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| BIG Rocking Horse |
On Sunday we had another busy day planned. We drove across town and up
into the Adelaide Hills where we spent a few hours visiting the small villages
of Lobethal, Gumeracha and Woodside. We stopped at the BIG Rocking Horse and
the Melba’s chocolate factory, the latter being very dangerous with so much
yummy chocolate on offer….. By mid-afternoon we were heading back to the city
as the kids had a birthday party to attend, once again the good friendships
made traveling were evident. While the kids played at Jakobs party Leonie and I
took the opportunity to do a bit of retail therapy….. To wrap up our beautiful
day and great week in Adelaide we had dinner with friends and then both
families went to “Carols and fireworks” in Modbury.
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| Fireworks at Christmas Carols |
Another great week on the road!
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