We decided that we were going to go to Adelaide for the weekend which is about an 8 hour drive. To make the most of our time there we decided to leave the night before and arrive the next morning. One of our neighbours Katie was having birthday drinks in town so we went there first. Got home at about 9.30 and slept until about 1.30 and left at about 2am for Adelaide. Man it was a bit of a struggle!!!
Poor Shailen drove pretty much all of the way so I was able to get a little bit of sleep. I must say though that I drove for about an hour (and no I didn't crash!!!) so it was the first time I had driven on the road. It was a little scary but the road's were so straight and there were hardly anyone on them so it was ok.
Before we left we went on to whereis.com.au which is like our wises website in NZ to get directions. We were staying with extended family of Shailen's who live outside the main city. But the directions were crap!!! Imagine us lost in the middle of the bush at 9.30 in the morning with practically no sleep and with the petrol light blinking!!! And who should come to our rescue??? Drum roll please…… Shailen's flash new GPS phone!!! (I take back everything bad I said about it!). So we finally made it there and learnt along the way not to follow instructions from whereis.com.au!
We stayed with Dan, Viveka and their most beautiful little boy Kavi. Dan is the head chef for a restaurant in the city, Viveka is studying to be a school teacher and Kavi? well, he is making women everywhere swoon with that cute smile of his and cheeky laugh.
Viveka, Dan and Kavi.
We were pretty hungry arriving as we hadn't eaten anything since waking up at 2am so they took us out to a winery for lunch. They are quite famous for their wineries in this region of South Australia and there were heaps to pick from! We went to a place called Cariole and stopped at their cellar door to have a few wine tastings (absolutely free!). Also they have a couple of cheeses you could try. One was a goat's cheese and was described to me after Shailen and Dan tried it as tasting like a Goat's armpit. They didn't sell me on that one LOL. The combination of lack of sleep, lack of food and wine soon meant we were quite jolly. The weather was absolutely beautiful and we sat on the veranda sipping wine and eating fine food. We had platters of food which had a range of cheese's, meats, vegetables etc. Shailen was introduced to his first taste of Roo. Yes he ate one of those cute bouncy Kangaroos! It was smoked and he described it as tasting like smoking a cigar. Again didn't sell me.
After lunch we went to a couple more wineries to try some different ones. For all you wine lovers I know Shailen want's to tell you about the different ones that they have which we don't get in NZ so I'll let him do that now.
All I wanted to say was that coming here and seeing the immense range of wines they have available here just makes you realize how young and sheltered NZ is as far as wines go. We may have them but they are not mainstream. Some wines they have here are:
- Sparking Red Wine!!! (Apparently a must at Christmas lunch)
- Zinfandel (red wine that’s a Californian style originating from Czech)
- Chenin Blanc (a smooth fruity white wine)
Just to name a few. There are more types but these stuck out at me.
That night we went and had dinner with Viveka's parents who live close by. Dan was working that night and we were planning to go in and meet him afterwards and have a look around the city. I am a little bit embarrassed to say that we didn't quite make it. Instead we tucked ourselves into bed and slept like logs!
The next day we were cooked the most beautiful breakfast that we had to take a photo of it! LOL
(Shailen why aren't you a chef?!?).
Clockwise from the Bread: Omelette, fried cherry tomatoes, bacon, mango chutney and smoked trout. YUM!!!
We were planning to go fishing because Shailen has never been before but it was too windy so instead we went to Cleland National Park. On the way we stopped at the top of Mount Lofty which gives a beautiful view over the city. Although we went on a beautiful day it was quite hazy over the city (probably due to smog). Cleland's is a big park where you can pat Koalas and feed Emu's and Kangaroos and so on. We did the touristy thing and got a photo of us holding the Koala (only when bribing it with Eucalyptus leaves) so that was fun. Their fur is so soft! We fed the Emu's which is a little scary cause they come in so fast and grab it. It amazed me how tame all the animals were. Everywhere you looked there were Kangaroos lying on the grass or bouncing around. We fed them and even saw one with a baby Joey in its pouch. We also saw an albino Kangaroo which was interesting. I'm sure the Kangaroos wouldn't have been so nice to Shailen if they had known he ate some the day before!!!!
Emu
Us feeding Roo
If you look carefully, you can see a baby joey in the mothers pouch. (Its only his legs and tail)
We got home in the early afternoon and decided rather than rushing off to get back to Melbourne we would stay for another day and enjoy ourselves. We went to dinner again that night at Annabelle and Raj’s (Shailen's great Uncle and Aunt) where there were also some friends over. The friends were telling us how they used to open a map book put their finger on a page and try to go to the place so we decided to give it a try. By my reckoning I need to go to Israel and Jakarta. Shailen needs to go to Calcutta and Libya. So stay turned to see if any of these actually happen LOL.
The big sport here is the Footy and the grand final this weekend is between Port Adelaide and the Geelong Cats (they are based about 40min out of Melbourne). The friends that were over for dinner gave us Port Adelaide Scarves to wear and we have been given strict instructions to support them due to our lack of allegiance. I think if we wore one of those scarves on the streets in Melbourne you would get beaten!!!! LOL We headed to bed after watching the Illusionist which I really liked and Shailen nearly fell asleep watching it. So you might have to make your own mind up about that one!
The next day we woke up early and headed out fishing. Dan had a boat that he took us out on. We anchored the boat and put some nets in for crabbing and also did a little fishing. It was a disappointing day overall in terms of fish as we left with one crab and that was it (although we caught several crabs, they were either too small or didn't look very appetising). Shailen actually caught a Puffer Fish which are pretty toxic to touch. Luckily it shook itself off the line so we didn't have to worry about it. For me the best thing was all the Dolphins we saw. In total we saw about 10 and at one point they were right close to the boat! We had a really good day (even though I got sunburnt and Shailen got seasick – yes Shailen you were seasick) – but I did not chunder!!!! - and now Shailen has been fishing. Tick that off his life to-do list.
It was back for a quick bite of food, a quick goodbye and we were on the road again heading back to Melbourne (this time without getting lost). Again I drove for about an hour and this time in the dark! Shailen actually slept for a little while when I was driving so he must have had some faith in me LOL. We got home just before 2am in the morning and it was straight to bed. I didn't have work the next day but poor Shailen did. So that was Adelaide. We drove 8 hours to get there and never once went into the city! LOL
With us leaving on Monday (1st October) for South Africa this will be our last post in Australia. We have really enjoyed our time here and will come again and see more of the country. We are not too sure how available the internet will be in SA but will try and keep you updated as much as possible.
Take Care
Alisa and Shailen
xoxo
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