Adelaide – Lorne

10 December – 16 December

Friday:

After our time in the ‘outback’ it’s weird to be in quite a built up area again.  And weird to not be roasting hot.  Unfortunately things have swung a bit too far the other way.  We arrive in a cold, wet and windy Adelaide, which is brilliant, as we’ve picked a campsite with direct beach access. Hmmm.  We have a quick picnic lunch in Henley, then set up camp and head to the shops to pick up some food.  For the first time in Australia we’re actually cold and have to go digging in the suitcase for jeans and warm tops.

It’s a little bit of a wake-up call.  Camping has been brilliant all up the west coast and down the middle, but when it’s cold and raining it’s not so much fun.  We’re a little worried about xmas (as we’d planned to camp) and not quite sure how to tackle the cooler climes of New Zealand.

Janet adds: McCain’s sweet potato fries rule.

Saturday:

We’re feeling a bit unsettled after a cold night in the tent.   Nevertheless, after a warm breakfast and a cup of tea we’re ready to head out.  Adelaide CBD is surrounded in green, leafy parkland and sports grounds.  The Torrens river runs through it, with well-manicured lawns and cycle-paths along the banks. 

It’s all very pretty and civilized.  We have a wander through the main shopping and historic district and stop for lunch. 

The suburb of North Adelaide is quaint and historic, filled with boutique shops and lovely old houses with wrought iron verandas.

In the afternoon (after stopping off to buy warm pyjamas) we take a lovely stroll along the beach to Glenelg.  

Well, it would’ve been lovely if a cold wind hadn’t been howling.  Glenelg itself is disappointing too – seaside kitsch mixed with docklands snobbery.  We’d planned to stay out for food and drinks, but as nothing really takes our fancy, we decide to head back.  Tired and cold, we then spend the next half hour trying to find an open supermarket so we can eat.

Janet adds:  Adelaide is not quite doing it for me at the moment.  This could possibly be because we’ve spent a large proportion of our time here parked outside McDonalds using their free wifi.  The lengths we’ll go to for decent internet these days… We’d expected internet in Oz to be freely available, but it’s expensive with rigid download limits that prevent you from doing most of the things you need to do.

Sunday:

After another stolen wifi session this morning (thankfully though we get some non-camping accommodation sorted for xmas), we decide we’d best head out and have some fun.  It’s a bit warmer today, and the sun even makes the odd appearance.  Nick is in a generous mood and ends up chauffeuring me around the Barossa valley wineries.  The scenery is gorgeous: rolling hills and scenic gorges interspersed with vineyards. 

I have a great time, better with each stop off.  The first couple of wineries I found a bit intimidating, but as the tastings progressed my confidence grew (funny that).  We pass a couple of the big wineries and stick our heads in to Jacob’s Creek, but find the small, family wineries much more interesting.  I treat myself to a couple (okay, 3) bottles of wine.  My excuse is that I’ll save them for a xmas treat.  From the Chain of Ponds winery I get a lovely rose and a shiraz (even Nick likes it, and he doesn’t drink wine).  My favourite though is Lou Miranda Estate, where we’re treated to some free churros (mmmm) and I get an unusual bottle of sparkling Shiraz. 

We have another quick explore of lovely Henley on the way back.

Janet adds: it’s been an emotional day today.  I found my first ever grey hair, and said goodbye to some old friends.

Monday:

We leave Adelaide today for a slow drive across the Fleurieu peninsula.  We stop for lunch at gorgeous, long Carrickalinga beach.  The temperature is hovering about 20 degrees, so not quite warm enough for a swim, but we have a lovely stroll out. 

We stop for the night at Port Elliot, a beautiful seaside town.  The temperature hasn’t risen much, but after a long day looking at gorgeous beaches, I decide it’s time for a swim in Horseshoe Bay, dragging a reluctant Nick with me

We’ve managed to pick a campsite with no camp kitchen, but on our way to the supermarket to find some dinner, we pass a nice looking pub with some specials on, and a little pizzeria…  Needless to say, the self-catering plans went a little out the window.

Tuesday:

In the morning we drive on to Goolwa, which has it’s own great beach, and then head to the Murray River.  Much to my excitement, we have to take a little car ferry across.

The sun is finally out today and I’m DYING to enjoy some of the beaches we’re passing.  We arrive in Robe at about 2.30 and I’m determined to have an afternoon on the beach.  Nick is equally determined to stop me – insisting that we do all sorts of unnecessary things like putting up the tent first.

In the end though I get my little swim.  Once again, we have gorgeous sea views from out campsite.

It’s a fairly warm evening, but as we turn in, a storm is brewing over the sea.  The lightning displays are brilliant, but the tent flapping about in the wind is less so.  Sleep is patchy to say the least, though Nick says he saw the best shooting star ever.

Wednesday:

We’re both a little tired after a bad night’s sleep, so it’s a slow start.  We drive first to Beachport, which was apparently named after somebody called Beach and is nothing to do with the big beach it has.  It has beautiful stone buildings shadowed by giant fir trees.  Oh, and there’s a super long jetty (750m).

Next stop is Mt Gambier with the striking sapphire blue volcanic lake.

Shortly after leaving Mr Gambier we cross into Victoria and lose another half hour – putting us now 11 hours ahead of UK time.  We take a drive down to wild Cape Bridgewater

then decide to call it a day in Portland Bay.  I find a campsite with (gulp) free internet.  Unfortunately I’m blinded by this and don’t notice that a) there’s no kitchen and b) there are sandflies EVERYWHERE.  I have a very rational fear of sandflies after my nasty Port Hedland 140+bites incident.  

The cold weather and sandflies lead us to spend most of the evening in the car.  On the plus side, our free internet lets us Skype Andrew, whose birthday it is.  He asks how many nights we’ve slept in the car.  We say none (apart from the brief spell in Turkey Creek when I made us hide from the coming storm in the car).  So I’m blaming him when we wake up at 3.30 in the morning: it’s freezing and our mattress has decided to deflate so we’re both lying on the ground.  I jump in the car, meaning to pump up the mattress again, but Nick decides he’s had enough and it’s a night in the car for us. 

Thursday:

We wake up tired and there are still sandflies everywhere.  We can’t leave Portland Bay quickly enough, but in our slow state it’s still after 10 by the time we get on the road.  We’re taking on the Great Ocean Road today. 

The scenery is gorgeous, and we take in all the favourites, like the 12 apostles.

My favourite bit is from Apollo Bay to Lorne – where it’s all forests, rugged mountains and beautiful coastlines.  There are eucalyptus trees everywhere and I’m desperately looking out for my first koala.  Finally I see a fluffy shape up in the branches – though my squeals of excitement alarm Nick and don’t help in negotiating the twists and turns of the road.  Finally though we see this guy:

Shortly afterwards we arrive in Lorne and treat ourselves to a cabin.  We’re both fed up with being cold and in desperate need of sleep.  The locals are interesting

and I’m munching on some lovely local cherries.

Janet adds: Nick has just reminded me that I have about 2 and a half weeks to get my bikini bod in shape before hitting the busy east coast L Definitely not long enough to undo all the damage done from sitting in a car eating crisps most of the day…

Nick adds: We nearly experienced our second crash of the trip due to Janet’s over excitement when seeing a koala for the first time.