Adelaide

Sunday 4th July - Sydney - Adelaide

Adelaide Treasury - Medina Grand Hotel

Availed of the free breakfast of cereal, tea and toast in the motel before catching the bus to the domestic airport for our Virgin Blue flight to Adelaide. No hitches apart from a very 'bumpy' start to the flight. No sooner had we arrived at Adelaide than we met Alison (she recognised us from our photos on the travelogue) who brought us back to her place in Huntfield Heights on the outskirts of Adelaide. Here we met her other helf, David and chatted over beer and our first roast dinner since we left home! Later Gina and Geoff came along - we chatted some more and headed back Gina and Geoff's house for the night - it was great to catch up with everyone at last and they all made us feel right at home!

Fountain in Adelaide city centre

Monday 5th July - Adelaide

Today Gina and Geoff took us under their wing and brought us around in their car. First off, we stopped for morning coffee in a local cafe up the road. We headed off up the hills stopping along the way to see their old house (and meet an old neighbour of theirs) - in the end they left there due to the threat of bushfires in the area. On to the German settlement town of Hahndorf where you can eat and drink yourself silly with all things German. We had lunch there, though no schnitzels or metwurstmeat for us! We drove back home past billabongs (water-holes) and some vertically striped cattle we'd never seen before. The evening we spent watching old family videos of all the Crossman (Sue's cousins) weddings from 20 years ago.

Gina and Geoff & Ali and David

Tuesday 6th July - Adelaide

Enjoyed the best muesli of our travels for breakfast before Derek and Geoff took Sheena (the dog) for a walk. Visited the church close to where Gina and Geoff used to live - it's now got a church hall built entirely by local volunteers. Stopped for lunch at the 'Wild Rose Gardens' where we sat next to a proper fire and had some flies of all thinkgs for company! Gina and Geoff dropped us off at Granite Island and we caught the horse-drawn tram accross the water. The island is surrounded by rough waters coming from the Antartic and sometimes has small penguins on it at dusk. We've had plenty of chances over the last couple of days to catch up on stories from our and Gina and Geoff's past and will definitely try to stay in touch.

Gina and Geoff and Derek

Wednesday 7th July - Adelaide

Said our goodbye's to Gina and Geoff and headed off with Alison who was showing us around Adelaide city centre for the day. Saw the local beaches (where sharks are often around!) before catching the local 'metro' train into Adelaide city centre. Caught the tram out to Glendelg - a picturesque seaside resort not far from the city. Back into town for a fish and chips lunch before we took a spin on the free 'city loop' bus. Said goodbye to Alison and checked into our deluxe apartment at Medina Grand - Adelaide Treasury' - one of the oldest buildings in South Australia. It was amazingly well kitted out with our own washing machine, dryer, dishwasher, fridge freezer and stereo as well as the TV. We went for a swim and used the sauna and jacuzzi before deciding we didn't fancy any tea! A first for us on this trip.

Horse-drawn tram

Sue and long lost family