Feb 2007

Nic with Tom (the world's most impratical farm dog)

Getting ready for our campfire dinner

Nic about to help herd the cows!

One of many nice dinners!

David preparing to kayak

After bidding farewell to Sydney we headed to a farm in a small place called Quirindi. Five hours on the train and there we were, sat around the table eating home-made biscuits in the middle of nowhere!

The farm was fantastic! Peter and Lynda, our hosts were very welcoming and over the next few days we met some great people and took full advantage of Lynda's delicious cooking and the surrounding countryside! We mucked in with the farm jobs too; milking the cow for the breakfast milk, fixing water pipes, feeding the animals, helping pump the water from the creek to the tanks and also rabbit hunting! This was great fun, riding through the fields in a open topped 4WD whilst standing up holding a super strong headlamp looking for rabbits, once spotted, Diesel - a beefy looking dog was ordered to jump off the 4WD and chase! We were close but unfortunately didn't catch anything......

We got a feel of 'real' Australia in the countryside. The farm was completely self sufficient, electricity was collected from solar panels and stored, rain water was collected and saved. Whilst staying on the farm Lynda and Peter took us out for the day. We took a picnic and some kayaks and headed out to a lake. We kayaked and David even went for a dip. It was just then that the red back spider was found! He'd made himself quite at home in one of the kayaks (not the one we used - phew!) At least we've seen one up close and know what to look out for!!!!

Sydney Bridge!

The QE2

The Bridge climb!!

We arrived in Sydney after intermitent sleep, despite having four seats each to spread our wings the train made plenty of strange bangs in the night and we're sure we ran over several aminals!

The hostel seemed clean, modern and well organised - we assume all accommodation in Sydney to be like this anyway after our last visit! The only difference being that instead of the harbour only 5 minutes away we were now 30-40 minutes walk away! Still, this gave us the opportunity to check out some of the surrounding suburbs! The city looked a little different from last time, it was very sunny - nope that wasn't it...we were allowed in places not previously because of New Year's security...umm nope. Ahh, that was it, a big ass massive ship in the harbour the QE2!! She was beautiful.. a nice reminder of home!!

After a touch of sightseeing the day of judgement was upon us - Bridge Climb day! We hadn't avioded the bridge up to this point, we just hadn't got very close - we were saving it! In the evening of the 23rd we donned on our safety equipment, head torches and sexy overalls ready to tackle the heights! The way up was butt quenching. You could see through the corragated floor down to the water and also see the little people walking below. The temp was still 24 degrees, humidity at 100% and even with the wind picking up, nervous sweat started to appear as we started to walk up the exposed, near vertical ladders!! We eventually made it to the top with breathtaking views of the city, all lit up - all we had to do now was get down! This involved crossing from one side to the other, over 8 lanes of traffic and two train lines... squelch!

We've enjoyed our time in Sydney and glad we came back to see the Botanical Gardens, the Bridge, the market at The Rocks and more of the surrounds... would we come back - Ah hum for sure!

The cool Adelaide library

David's home before the downsize...

and Nic's home before the downsize!

At last, we'd achieved complete relaxation and made our way into the big city of Adelaide! It was roasting! It was 40C plus and was just too hot to walk around and do much sightseeing. That said we still managed to pack a lot in. We visited the museum (air con here was good) and the library (air con slightly more powerful than museum) and had a brief look around until the heat got to us!

So, defeated by the heat we decided to take the opportunity to get ourselves organised. Our bags had begun to feel too heavy so we completely emptied them out and binned/posted back home some of our stuff. It's made a huge difference, though Nic still has most of her shoes and has since bought new clothes......

We stayed in Adelaide for four sweltering days and with bags slightly lighter we boarded the Indian Pacific once more for our overnight journey back to Sydney.

View from our lodge

The Barossa Valley

Jacob's Creek

The world's biggest rocking horse!!!!

After all the driving David had done yesterday he thoroughly deserved a drink and so to the Barossa Valley we went. We stayed at a fantasttic hostel where we shared a lodge with another couple. It was a brilliant setting, overlooking vineyards and we stayed here for two nights. We visited 5 local wineries plus the biggie; Jacob's Creek and fell in love with the Barossa Valley. We completely relaxed here, drank a nice amount and even managed to learn something about wine and ports. So from now on, we want only the best darling! A bottle of vintage port might even be making its way home!

So, with bottles of wine in hand we headed to Gelnelg, a beach suburb of Adelaide. On our way we stopped by at a little place called Gumeracha, this is where the world's biggest rocking horse lives!!!!! We just couldn't top the big bobo and resigned ourselves from its dizzying heights to relax on Glenelg beach for the next few days!!

Our cell for the night

The exercise yard

Nic with Larry the Giant Lobster

For our third night on the road we camped at Mount Eccles National Park. Mount Eccles is an extinct volcano and you could still clearly see the edge of the volcanoes cone, very dramatic! Just as we were relaxing David pointed out there was a koala high up in the tree right near our tent. Then to top it off he began grunting (the koala, not David) to another koala just a few trees away! We had dinner, Nic made a fire and for the rest of the evening and night we could hear the two/three koalas grunting away to each other, scrambling up and down the trees and even having a koala fight!

The following day we drove straight to Mount Gambier, known for it's volcano and brilliant blue lake but not much else! It was a pretty place but quite commercialised. We headed to Mount Gambier Jail, where we'd be stopping the night. The place stopped being a jail in 1995 and became a hostel. We'd booked ourselves into a lovely pokey ensuite cell complete with prison bed! It was an interesting place to be staying.....

So after our stint in the cells and a little exercise in the courtyard, we were given our freedom and made a b-line to get across the border to South Australia. We ended up having a long day of driving via a place called Kingston SE known for Larry the Giant Lobster and finally finishing up in Hahndorf. The Lonely Planet Guide describes this place as a German village theme park but it wasn't that bad! We stayed in a cabin here and enjoyed a pint of German Beer and a curry!