Saturday - Chris' pre-birthday party

It was even hotter today, but, thankfully, it didn't quite touch 40 C. Nonetheless, it was still stinking hot, even early morning. Jo and I took a short stroll up to Largs and had a soft drink in a cafe there, making sure we were back in good time for the planned noon departure to Chris' brother Matt's where a pre-birthday party/barbie was being held.

Parents David and Lorene were there, as was Abigail, Matt's daughter and her Mum Amanda. An elaborate system of sheets and covers was erected to protect everyone from the blazing sun, but the real winner was the decision to bring Miller's playpool along. It wasn't long before all - young and old - were dipping their feet in it and even when the hose got in to the wrong hands, a good soaking was gratefully received.

Here's a couple of shots I took:

Cooler tomorrow we believe - just as well as we're off to the Sting/Paul Simon gig at Cooper's Brewery.

Friday

It's been our hottest day yet - 37C - and they're threatening us with a week in the 40's. We liked it in the 20's - but the locals were all complaining about the unseasonable "cold"!

Kelly was off again today and it was all go this morning - Chore Day she called it - but our K was determined it would all get done in the morning and then we could chillax this afternoon. Toilets cleaned then off the launderette. (Forgot to mention that the washing machine had a terminal collapse yesterday). We filled 3 huge washing machines, then drove off to fill the car up with fuel then shopping at Foodland in Henley. At this stage, Jo and I were dismissed - we were allowed to go for a coffee while Kelly and Miller did the grocery shopping. The cafe has 2 outlets - one in Semaphore and the other in Henley and goes by the name of:

Kelly was so quick that Jo and I had only just settled down to our tea/coffee/muffin when she appeared, ready to go again. We quickly converted our liquids to take-away containers (as above) and off we went, back to the launderette (also as above) to pick up the washing, then it was back home to hang everything out to dry and we were off in the car again to get Chris' birthday present (Monday for those that may have forgotten).

Back home again to fill up the "Eskie" (Aussie for cool box) and a short walk down to the beach for a picnic lunch. The tide was way out so we settled for a spot midway where there were some little sea pools that Miller could play in:

We didn't stay long - it was way too hot and sunny to keep the little fella out there for long.

We had arranged to meet Chris for dinner at Entropy (http://www.entropysa.com.au/), a really interesting place that was an old railway shed, made famous in WWII when General MacArthur visited its then location at Terowie:

Excellent vibe - and menu:

Miller was in good form and shared everyone's meals:

Tonight we've eschewed the usual red wine in favour of G & T - Chris thought it was too hot for our usual tipple. Tomorrow we're off to brother Matt's for a BBQ and on Sunday it's Cooper's Brewery for the Paul Simon/Sting concert.

Thursday so far

It's been a day of things going wrong so far. I decided I should get up and go for a cycle before breakfast so I headed up to Port Adelaide to go round their new Loop Route, only to discover part of it was closed as they were putting up a bandstand for a gig.

I had forgotten to take water with me - and also put on sun cream - but the biggest error was not taking the bicycle pump with me. Yes, you've guessed it - I got a puncture - a slow one, which meant walking the last mile or so home.

Then, when I did eventually get back, I had forgotten - as everyone else had - that we had received a notice earlier this week that the power was going off from 9 am to 3 pm - so no cup of tea for me when I got back. Worse still, Chris and Jo had arranged for us to have corned beef again for dinner tonight, done in the slow cooker - now it has to be the slightly faster cooker!

Jo and I drove to nearby Grange and had tea/coffee and fancies - Jo's was outrageous and even she couldn't finish it. We sat on the beach for a while and I took a tentative dip in the sea. Tentative, not because it was cold or anything, but I was the only one in the sea - nobody else had ventured in, and when I saw a small spotter plane going up and down the beach several times, there was only thought in my head - duh, duh, duh, duh - you know the tune.

The water was very shallow - I went beyond the end of the pier and it was still only up to my shorts. Nothing that could harm me would come in to water this shallow surely? Then again, how long would it take me to get back to the safety of the beach? Calculate, calculate.

Anyway, we're back in Derby St. now and, as you can see, we have power again. To close this post, here's one I took on my cycle this morning - more on my Cycling blog and FB:

Wednesday evening

Jo is watching The Block (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Block_%28Australian_TV_series%29) - a reality series that's on every midweek evening - Chris is in his office next door working and Kelly and Miller are in bed. It's 9pm.

Our trip to the Barossa today was good - we did 2 wineries - Gibson's and Penfolds and then headed for lovely Tunanda where we hoped to get a beer at Barossa Valley Brewing, but, like all remote little country breweries, it's only open at the weekends. We did have a picnic in the grounds however:

The Barossa is not quite as Germanic as the Adelaide Hills/Hahndorf area, but even here, the bakery was called Barossa Wurst Haus & Bakery and the local church is Lutheran:

Time for bed now. A chapter of John Connolly's The Killing Kind first, I think. I've got ample stocks of reading material now, having acquired both Mick Fleetwood's and Viv Albertine's autobiographies in the last 2 days.

Tuesday tales

Australia feels very familiar if you're a Brit. The language is the same obviously, and, unlike USA, they don't phoneticise the spelling - they just leave it the same quirky way we do. Many of the place names came directly from the first immigrants, hence Brighton, Hove, Exeter, even Peterhead and Greenock.

On TV, there are many familiar faces and styles of TV programmes - sometimes they import British shows intact, other times they "Aussie-fy" them using local presenters. One programme they have only recently taken on down here is I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here. In the UK, we send the contestants to Australia, but here they are sending them to Africa!

They drive on the left as well, but, unlike us, they have gone fully metric - road distances are kms and weights are all kilos and volumes litres etc.

There are little differences/quirks, however. Did you know it's illegal to park facing the wrong way? No, I didn't either - until yesterday. Jo and I drove down to nearby Henley (there you go again) and Glenelg in Chris' car and when we came back, I drove up from the beach - eastwards. Their house is on the right and the road was completely clear so I just pulled over and parked facing the way Chris normally goes. I thought it might save him making his usual U-turn in the road, but I was advised otherwise when Kelly got home. Whoops - quick change!

We spent Tuesday morning on deserted Henley Beach, reading our books and occasionally snoozing (in my case):

Lunch was at Stella's (http://www.stellarestaurant.com.au/) where we had lunched with Kelly a couple of years ago. We then (in the car this time) re-traced our steps of a few years ago when we had walked along the coastal path to Henley from Glenelg - and back.

Parking in Coles' car park was easy, free and very convenient - right next to Jetty Road, where it's very difficult to find a parking space. That's another difference from the UK - we expected there to be some fee or time restriction for parking in the supermarket car park in the heart of a busy tourist area, but there was none.

A little bit of shopping - including some browsing round the various book stores - and then we were home - just ahead of Kelly and Miller.

Today, Kelly is off work and has been to the gym again and we are now breakfasting. Plans are to head to the Barossa for a winery and a microbrewery.

Monday - start of week 4

It was 3 weeks ago yesterday that we descended on the Steeles, having left Aberdeen 2 days before, so we're officially now more than half way through the longest single holiday we've ever taken. We've kept ourselves busy so time certainly hasn't passed slowly.

Being home alone at the start of the working week affords Jo and I endless choices. We took our time - leisurely breakfast, shower etc plus some essential clothes washing - but we eventually headed out about 11 am, heading north towards Outer Bay. It was a lovely sunny day, albeit with a strong prevailing wind from the south. The walkway beside the dunes and beach is very nice. At one stage, when it got a bit closer to the main road, we opted to head down to the beach and have a paddle along there. It was a fair distance away:

Heading back towards the walking/cycle path and the marina, we came across swathes of the washed-up dried seaweed, which we attempted to walk through. At times, it felt like a swamp, but we made it through and headed up towards the Port Authority at Outer Harbour, where we met a lovely couple, originally from Swansea, but who had been in Oz since 1971. Peter and Pat still sounded as Welsh as could be and she, in particular, was very talkative and effusive, belying her 77 years.

They had arrived at the same spot as us to take a photo of the cruise liner they would be taking in October - flying to London, then cruising down to Madeira, across the Atlantic to the West Indies, through the Panama Canal, on to Tahiti and then Australia. All of this in what we thought was a pretty small boat - we would have thought twice about crossing the Channel in it, although they said it berthed 600 in all. 45 days in this on the high seas - no thanks - but they were keen.

We stopped for a quick bite of lunch at an Italian cafe at the marina:

Now it was the long walk back home - but we had to do some shopping first of all, which meant walking past Derby St. to the Semaphore Road shops and then back again, adding unnecessary miles to what had already been a longish walk in the unrelenting sun - 20 kms in all, taking 6 hours, including lunch and shopping.

Chris did gym this morning and Kelly this evening, after which she picked up Miller and came home, not long after we arrived. Dinner was fritattas by Chris, with salad made by Jo. We were all off the wagon again and the wine was flowing - but we all had an excuse, having done a fair degree of exercise today.

Incidentally, bush fires today down at Yankalilla, where we just came back from yesterday.

In other news, which some may know already, it looks like the planned wedding at Drumtochty Castle in the summer of 2016 won't be happening after all. Other priorities have taken over and it is now more likely that the wedding - when it happens - will be in Australia, probably at Coriole Winery, where we were on Sunday, at some time to be determined. Await more news from Chris and Kelly in due course.

Weekend in Carrickalinga (2)

Early Saturday morning, Chris went to get some groceries and Kelly, Jo and I took a stroll down to the beach with Miller. He loves the water - check out this video - http://youtu.be/qIuLCFj2fBA

David and Lorene rolled up - slightly unexpectedly - just as we were getting ready to drive back to McLaren Vale for lunch at the lovely Coriole Winery, but it was no problem to increase the table size to 6. Miller had to be entertained whilst we waited for our food so I took him for a wander round the grounds:

Here we are at lunch:

and here's Jo and I, sitting in the lovely spot where we drank wine a couple of years ago:

Back at Carrickalinga, Lorene was sporting the hat that Kelly was wearing on the infamous day of the near-drowning incident when Chris' Uncle Harry's boat sank a couple of years ago:

We had a good go at the wine stocks that evening and, as a result, we all signed the pledge the following morning - Sunday was to be another alcohol free day for us. I tried to go a step further and have a little bit of early morning exercise, using one of the bikes in the large shed. Unfortunately, technical issues spoiled things a bit and I only managed a very short ride:

Chris made us all a really hearty holiday breakfast of bacon, eggs, mushrooms, tomatoes and toast and then it was time to tidy the house before heading back up to Adelaide.

This Monday morning, Jo and I are home alone again and will probably go for a walk. It's due to be another modest temperature day - just 25C - so it should be perfect for us if we get going mid-morning. Forecast is for the thermometer to rise back to the 30's for the weekend.

Weekend in Carrickalinga (1)

Kelly, Jo, Miller and I headed south on Friday to the holiday home that Chris and Kelly had rented for the weekend. It's one of their favourite spots and it's an area Jo and I knew as well, having just spent a week in nearby Normanville.

We took a detour in to Glenelg - another place we know well, having stayed there on our two previous trips Down Under - to get me a new pair of thongs. (Don't panic - that's Aussie for flip-flops!) We bypassed the dancing waters in the square at Glenelg - Miller was in his element:

He didn't even mind when the waters shot up his trouser leg - as witnessed above.

We had lunch overlooking the Marina, adjacent to the apartments we used to stay in. Miller had his favourite Babycinno:

Further south, we had another quick pit stop at Myponga Brewery:

It's known as the Smiling Samoyed brewery - and here's why:

Finally we arrived at what we thought would be a beachside "shack" in Carrickalinga:

This is the view from the upper decking:

Chris arrived a bit later - after a day's work, and having picked up the emergency supplies of red wine and champagne, which we planned to attack over the 2 nights here.

More to follow.