Adelaide / Barossa Valley Wineries

Adelaide is such a beautiful city and it was interesting to hear that the city was settled by free British immigrants rather than convicts. The River Torrens meanders past peaceful parks, well preserved colonial architecture and many sidewalk cafes which there seemed to be an abundance of.

 Above is the most photographed heart in South Australia at Glenelg Beach Adelaide. We took the tram from the inner city all the way out to Glenelg. A 12km trip.

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The beach is beautiful with white sand and gorgeous blue sea.

 The lovely old Town Hall building  which is very well maintained,

 The city centre Christmas Tree with its ever changing lighting. Quite spectacular.

 The old Town Hall in Adelaide where the Beatles appeared on the balcony during a concert visit back in the 70's.

 The changing scenery of the countryside was interesting on our drive to the Borossa valley.

 Wine tasting awaited us at Torbreck Winery.

 The Jacobs Creek vineyards in the Barossa Valley.  A really serene and sophisticated setting but the wine tasting was really just joining a production line of tour groups and the information given and serving of tastings was very automated with no real passion shown from the staff assigned to looking after the tours.

 Richard found this 1928 Chev Truck at Jocobs Creek, which is the same model of the one we had restored at work a few years ago.

 The lovely display of wildflowers at Jacobs Creek.

 Sepelsfield Vineyard.

 To finish off our day we had a delicious lunch at the Boutique hotel Louise. Jellied Beets with goats cheese, marinated relish, and walnuts. Followed by a chocolate mousse, berry sorbet, lemon curd and fresh berries. Not to mention the most tender Filet of Angus steak for mains.

More of Rotnest and Albany

 The sleepy little harbour on Rotnest Island.

 The Quokkas had great camouflage with their surroundings but this guy didn't cut the mustard with his effort!!!!

 Great aqua fun for the kids in a specially sectioned off piece of the bay.

                                         Pelican parade.

 Treated ourselves to breakfast in town in Albany on sunday morning. The cafe, The York, was recommended by the bus driver. There was so much choice. Terrific coffee, great choice of food, friendly staff. Our orders arrived quickly and lived up to what the driver had told us. Mine above, was , smashed avocado topped with tomato salsa and poached eggs with holidays sauce. It was beautiful.

 The main street of Albany. A town about the size of Ashburton. There were many beautiful colonial buildings which housed art galleries, museums and restaurants.

The town hall in Albany.

Rotnest Island Western Australia

 Unfortunately, but not surprising for me, the last post on Perth ended up in between the  Santorini and Crete postings so thats where you will find it if you wish to see where this current journey started. My life is full of mysteries in the technology department. A ramble of discoveries that are not always on the positive side!!

After spending time in Perth and Fremantle we decided to take a day trip to Rotnest Island, 18km west of Fremantle and 40 mins by boat. A beautiful sandy low lying island with a casual atmosphere and beautiful scenery. The Bays and beaches were gorgeous white sand. The island is only 11km long. We took the hop on hop off bus around the island and got to see most of the sights.

Above is a huge Osprey nest made of sticks and twigs. There were several around the rocky parts of the shore line. They are fish eating birds of prey which hunt by diving into the waters surface and gripping fish with the pads on their feet to help them pluck the fish from the water and then carry them for great distances head first to ease the wind resistance. They are huge birds with up to an 180 deg wingspan and 60cm in length.

 One of the many stunning bays on the island.

 Plenty of walkways across the island.

 The number one Star of the island. The Quokka. Very friendly and inquisitive.  They are about the size of a domestic cat. They are supposed to be mainly nocturnal but there were quite a few around the morning we arrived

 The ferry harbour on Rotnest Island.

The Rotnest museum gave an interesting insight into the history of the island.