SA

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Here is a belated South Australia entry. We didn't realize how many pictures we'd taken here, so hopefully they will add to the rather meager text I am typing in.

So - we crossed the border after completing The Great Ocean Road and stayed over at the very beautiful but not so peaceful Mount Gambier. We then trucked on up towards Adelaide City and after staying on a beach and mooching about town one day we stumbled across the very colourful and energetic Rock & Roll festival (again - detailed in the pictures). Met up with my adventuring Mammy for a light lunch and a few drinks and then decided it was far too hot to be exploring cities so we'd just loafe on all the beaches to the south of Adelaide instead. We did that for a few days and completely blew off doing Museum's and the like (we can do all that on another adventure in another blog some time) but had a great time soaking up some rays and being pretty inactive.
We then felt it was time for some more wine so we checked out McLaren Vale, Coonawarra and Barossa Valley and enjoyed all of them. We put our Hunter Valley training to the test and felt we blended in pretty well with the tasting etiquette and general pretension. We were even getting offered special tastings from special reserve barrels which we coo-ed and "Yah-ed" to correctly, then giggled at the looks of horror we received when we'd plum for the cheapo cleanskin bottles in bulk.
It was in between the wine guzzling that Thom faced some bad luck with a spider (species we will never be able to identify) when we were half way through a delightful Sauvignon Blanc and he decided to go and bring the washing in (a major DON'T in Australia, in the middle of the night). Again - see pictures for the details.
We then needed to get back onto schedule and make our way north to begin our Outback adventures - I was beginning to get the desert fear at this prospect (again - see pictures for more info) but managed to suck it all up and get into the arid grooves ready to explore The Red Centre.

Overall - loved loved LOVED South Australia. It was not at all how we'd expected. The changing landscapes were amazing, along with the sunsets. Fabulous wine, lovely people and we will most definitely be returning at some point in the future. To be continued in the Outback!

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Photos

Mount Gambier
The best James Bond moment so far in our travels was staying very close to Mount Gambier. It's a Volcano that is dormant and the silica content in the water that has settled in the top of it makes the water insanely blue. Either that or it's a load of poster paint and it slides open to reveal a villans lare within.

Who lives in a house like this?
One very lucky bugger, that's who!

Blue Lake Lookout
We dodged in and out of speedway tracks and then scaled up a hill to get in this little turret to get this pic.

Saturday Morning Alarm
At the peaceful Mount Gambier campsite we stayed at there was an uphill speedway race which we had no clue about. Unfortunately the race began at 8am, this was accompanied by a very squeaky PA system and really dull commentary from a prime SA.Aussie accent. Thom got up especially to take this photo mid-fury.

Rolling SA Countryside
Completely breath-taking and not at all what we'd expected southern SA to look like

Tiny Photographer at Work
Thom loves to take pictures of neat man made forests. I haven't a clue why, something to do with the lines/linear art. This photo captures many many moments of me waiting in a nice refridgerated van watching him leap about on the side of the road and then returning to swear about the light or chatter with success.

Long Tunnel
On the way into Adelaide City.

Rock n Rollers
Excellent dancers sweating their cods off jitterbugging in the scorching sun at the rockabilly festival we stumbled across in Adelaide

50's Car?
All of the super shiny super souped cars were bombing around the grounds of the festival as part of the fun. In the night-time they were still cruising around but with much less of a Happy Day's vibe and a bit more of an initimidating 'Warriors' rev in their engines. Never mess with a rock and roll dude......singular or plural!

Politically Incorrect Cheese
Makes me giggle every time I see it in the supermarket. Not a racist giggle, just a "How can they do that?" giggle. Has been in the stores for donkey's years aparently.

Supermarket Snaps
Thom ate a can of this to see if it would make him snappy.
It did.

Aldinga Beach
It's that huge you can drive onto it and pick your spot for chilling. So that's what we did.