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Published: October 8th 2006
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Loxton
Kiera by some typical aussie scrubland. Hello to everyone and hope the autumn is not setting in too quickly! We have been zipping along again over the last 10 days, but also having some rest and recuperation for my birthday. We left Swan Hill and drove about 300km in all across the Little Desert Wilderness. It was not as bad as we thought it would be and the longest we went was 22 minutes without seeing another car - yes, we were counting!! It was pretty isolated, but lots of farm land/crops etc and also very scrub like in the areas that hadn't been cleared. While driving along we kept seeing the most bizarre lizards that were like big striped sausages trying to cross the road - some made it, some didn't...... We eventually arrived in a small town called Loxton, still by the Murray River where we camped right beside the river and met a really nice couple, Roy & Kirri Goodeve and their daughter Ruby who is the same age as Kiera. The girls had a great time running around the campsite and climbing trees (!) while we had a good natter and a few beers. The town itself was lovely with piped music playing
Lizards
Run, Run.... out of hidden speakers as you wandered around town - very bizarre - and it was really nice walking along the river into town. We finally had our first decent Aussie meal as well in the local hotel. I say that because the food has been really disappointing up to now with more or less the same thing everywhere you go - mind you, can't be that bad as we haven't lost any weight!! Sunday was my birthday and it saw us going out for the day in the local area and we went with Roy & Kirri to an adventure playplace for the girls to run around, until it started to rain. Monday dawned nice and sunny again, so it was back on the road and heading for the Barossa Valley. Those of you who are experts will know that it is a major wine producing region, hence everywhere were fields and fields of grape vines. It is beautiful scenery, with some lovely towns and was intially settled by English but then had a major German influx. There is still a lot of german influence in some of the place names, road names, shops, bars etc and felt really
Novotel Barossa Valley
View from our balcony. weird because it was like being in Europe. We stayed at the Novotel Barrossa Valley Resort, once again getting a fab deal through their website. The hotel was wonderful with amazing views of the valley and a fantastic swimming pool where we spent most of our time. While there, we had some freak weather with the thermometer hitting 36 degrees but very, very windy - Rik said it was very much like the desert without the sand. We also managed to get a few of our other gems cut that we found when fossiking earlier in the trip, so now have some lovely zircons to go with the sapphires to make some jewellery when we get back. (Mr England please note!).
Having only intended to stay for 2 days at the Novotel, it was so lovely to be out of the van that we stayed an extra night. Our budget is proving to be plenty and we are able to save some money most days to put towards trips or hotel stays etc. Luckily we are not big wine drinkers as we would probably have got quietly paraletic and stayed there for a week!!! I can think of a few
Adelaide
The festival hall of you who would very happily while their life away there......
Finally dragging ourselves away, we headed to Adelaide for a look around, content in the knowledge that we have now visited every mainland state capital (or will have done when we get to Melbourne.) Again, a nice city with some beautiful old buildings and unlike a lot of the others, they have preserved whole streets or blocks of buildings. We decided we did not want to go to any more museums for the moment so went to the Jam Factory Design Centre. Nothing to do with jam, but is a place where art graduates can rent office space and sell their stuff. Some really funky stuff for sale, but way out of our price range unfortunately - we are unable to pay off someones student loan at the present time! In the building there was a glassworks where graduates learn about mass production of glassware and undertake commission work. We sat and watched them making vases for table centres for a Business Awards ceremony to be held in Melbourne, so it was really interesting, but hot as hell. How they work in front of those furnaces all day is
Pigs!
Metal pigs in the Adelaide City Centre... a miracle. It was then along to the Central Market where practically every type of world food must be for sale, and a fascinating wander around there. As with all australian cities, Adelaide is very close to the coast, so we had a drive out there and ended up in Brighton walking along the jetty!!! Hove was just up the road as well.
So, where to now. We are currently on the Fleurieu peninsula and were going to go out to Kangaroo Island until we found out the ferry would cost about 160 pounds (aussie keyboards do not have a pound sign) so instead are staying a couple of days in Victor Harbor (www.victor.sa.gov.au). This was a huge whaleing station settlement until about 1876 and is now a popular retirement area. Our campsite is right on the beach front at Port Elliot and the sea is crashing on to the beach due to the gale force winds!! Tomorrow is forecast nice though......
It is a very quaint place with a horse drawn tram going along the jetty to Granite Island. We shall go there tomorrow to see the penguin colony. It will then be on the road again continuing down
Brighton
Rik & Kiera on Brighton jetty - sky looks a bit different to ours! the coast towards Melbourne.
Hope you are all okay and "blog" you again soon. Lots of love Nicchi, Rik & Kiera xxxxx
Top Campervan tunes this week:
West End Girls - The Pet Shop Boys
Wild Wood - Paul Weller
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The Englands
non-member comment
Good to hear from you
Hi Nic, Rik and Kiera, Good to hear from you again and that you are managing to get out of your campervan every now and again. Are you going to stay at Riks brother's when you get to NZ? If so, can you send me the address? Take care Sam, Shane and Lucy xxx