Blogs from South Australia, Australia, Oceania - page 220

Up bright and early for the start of our outback safari from Adelaide to Alice Springs...3000 KM!! ...glad someone else is driving especially since we are driving NE right into the sun. We were also pleased that only 10 people signed up rather than the typical 24, so we have plenty of room in the bus to spread out and relax. We are headed to Parachilna by way of the Flinders Ranges National Park. Our first stop was for some wine testing in the a little pub. There signage best represents the Aussies sense of humor and speak frankily about the most practical issues of life. Lunch at a public picnic area at the side of the road. In AUS they provide a gas grill which is coin operated and make cooking easy. We are ... read more

Yes, we are still in Mt Gambier and even survived a week of liver abuse when all our best mates came to visit for the June Queens birthday weekend…and stayed for a week!! Prior to that Jeff has been still loving himself sick at his work as a motorbike mechanic, we also went to the local track when they had a motorcross weekend not too long ago. Was freezing but full of mud & great stacks as you would expect. Jeff’s birthday was spent at the Mt Gambier Cup horse races, went out for dinner afterwards and dancing after that. It was only when we’d drunk Mt G dry that things started to go pear shaped…but more about that later…NOT! Believe it or not Tab has been pouring beers…and no, not down her gullet for a ... read more

I had been waiting impatiently for the Asia Cup tickets to go on sale because I plan to attend the Semifinal and the Final (hopefully Australia will do the right thing and make it), after a bit of swearing I finally managed to purchase these tickets over the net, they only cost about $15 AUD each so no big deal if I dont get to the stadiums on time for start of play. I have booked my main return flight to Kuala Lumpur and have also booked a half a dozen one way legs shooting off all over Asia. Departure date will be the day after my last exam on the 27th June and I return home on the 1st of August. I will stop over briefly in Singapore and over night in KL where I ... read more

Managed to find some beautiful back roads for part of the ride to Port Augusta. Roads were smooth and traffic light, so it wasn’t hard to stay at 100 kph most of the way. Went through several tiny towns with lots of open space in between. Had lunch in Port Pirie where we saw the stack of a huge lead smelter, and locals told us lead contamination was a real problem. Ugh!. We leave civilization tomorrow when we head north out of here so we bought two 10 litre jerry cans for petrol and water. Haven’t filled them yet, but getting worried again about our weight.... read more

Came within inches of getting knocked off my bike at 90 kph yesterday by a motorist in a hurry, Almost decided I’d had enough right then and there. But the afternoon was much better and today was beautiful blue sky all day. Cannot believe how good if feels tonight. We’re in McLaren Vale. We’re here not so much because it is a major wine centre (though that certainly helps sway the logic), but because McLaren is Helen’s maiden name. How could we miss having a glass of wine here? The night before last we were in Mt Gambier where there are a series of amazing crater lakes right in town and last night we were in Meningie where we saw the most spectacular sunset with herons and storks on Lake Albert. Crossed the Murray River ... read more