Alison graciously took me up to Barossa Valley on Wednesday 14th August for some more wine tasting, visiting Penfolds, Maggie Beer and Jacob's Creek. While in nearby Tanunda, we stopped at the Museum where we saw the oldest concert organ in Australia. On the return journey we spotted many kangaroos grazing by the side of the road and stopped at the world's biggest rocking horse where there were also various talking birds! In the evening I was taken to a production of Macbeth with Adeo and his father, Bruce. Shakespeare seemed odd spoken with an Australian accent...
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| Penfolds |
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| Australia's oldest concert organ |
Sue took me, Bene and Franzi to Montefiore Hill next morning so we could see the view over the city from the Colonel Light Statue before wending our way along the River Torrens to the Botanic Gardens where we spent a while climbing trees! In the afternoon we caught the tram across to Glenelg beach. We were lucky enough to see some fishermen catch a dog shark - the first shark sighting of my trip - and hung around to watch the sun set over the water. After dinner we had cake in celebration of Sue's birthday followed by playing some games.
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| River Torrens on the way to the Botanic Gardens |
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| Dog shark |
Friday was rather rainy and after a short morning of playing card game Canasta Sue thankfully gave me a lift in to town to meet relatives Stephen and Liz who took me on a scenic route to their house - the weather was not conducive to getting out at Port Adelaide but we made a quick stop at Ikea (apparently the same the world over) to make a collection. Up in Salisbury we had delicious roast lamb for dinner, which had been cooking for 9 hours; son Aaron (who had visited us with Stephen and Liz in 1992), girlfriend Elysa and Aaron's cousin James joined us for dinner, after which they introduced me to card game Phase 10 (which I had also played on Fraser Island, struggling with the German rules!)
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| Liz and Stephen - on a clear day the sea should be visible... |
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| Bit chilly in Adelaide |
Next morning the weather was still not letting up as we embarked on another drive up towards Barossa Valley, stopping at a few 'viewpoints' which offered little to no visibility! We dropped in on Stephen's aunt Melva, and Trevor, in Tanunda; they gave a guided tour round some of the Barossa's sights, finishing by going up to one of the viewpoints of the morning, where we could now actually see down to the Valley as the weather had cleared up somewhat! Next stop was a visit to Stephen and Liz's daughter Tara's place - we went for a quick stroll along the beach at Semaphore to watch the sunset before it was time to return to Sue and Paul's place in Belair; Ben was having a party to celebrate his birthday the previous weekend... I was wished a happy birthday once it had passed midnight, and before we went to sleep!
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| With Melva and Trevor overlooking Barossa Valley |
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| At the beach with Tara |
As I have come to expect, the weather on my birthday was appalling and meant it would not be an outdoor day. After a drive to Marion Shopping Centre to stock up on some provisions for Ben, Bene and Franzi's travels of the next couple of weeks we stayed indoors chatting, playing games and looking at some slides of mum travelling around Europe. Dinner was pizza baked in the pizza oven, and my amazing hosts made me a chocolate cake, complete with candles!
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| Birthday cake! |
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